
Young people flaunt their used stuff as 'underconsumption' goes viral
CTV
Young people on social media are showing off their 12-year-old water bottles, sweaters from high school with patched holes and dish rags made from cut up old T-shirts.
Young people on social media are showing off their 12-year-old water bottles, sweaters from high school with patched holes and dish rags made from cut up old T-shirts.
It's all part of a trend that has taken social media by storm in recent months called "underconsumption core," where users boast about how they're continuing to make use of the things they already own and repurpose household items instead of buying new ones, all while saving money along the way.
"The underconsumption core is really refreshing to see because it's just making the best out of what you have," said Christine Lan, a Montreal-based content creator who showcases her lifestyle focused on underconsumption and being environmentally sustainable.
"(I like) appreciating everything that I have to the fullest and making sure when I do buy something, that it's made of good quality and will last."
Lan initially found success on social media when she posted about how she made her own makeup instead of dropping serious cash at cosmetics retailers.
Experts say this trend of underconsuming is essentially a rebrand of minimalism, which has some roots in the current economic conditions and high joblessness that has particularly affected young people.
"If you don't have a job or if you're facing economic pressure, then certainly it's difficult to overconsume," said François Côté, CEO of online lender Fig Financial.

While Canada is well known for its accomplishments in space — including building the robotic arms used on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station — the country still has no ability to launch its own satellites. This week, Ottawa committed nearly a quarter‑billion dollars towards changing that.

It’s an enduring stereotype that Canadians are unfailingly nice, quick to apologize even when they have done nothing wrong. But an online urban legend claims the opposite of Canada’s soldiers, painting a picture of troops so brazen in their brutality that international laws were rewritten to rein them in.











