Transcribe your podcast
[00:00:00]

So much scrolling is about buying stuff.

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Okay, you seriously do not want to miss today's haul.

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But now a new movement online, rejecting the consumption overload.

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I don't want to shop your Amazon storefront or your TikTok showcase. I don't want to see your haul. I don't want to see any more products.

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It's called Underconsumption Core. With many of the videos set to relaxing music like Nora Jones, it's about being frugal, getting more use out of old things, and taking the pressure off of yourself to keep up with the influencers.

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Underconsumption is seeing, Oh, what shoes are we wearing this fall? Come up 20 times on your For You page and knowing that the shoes we already have will work perfectly fine.

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Some creators breaking a million views as this trend takes off, casting aside perfectly esthetic spaces, trading them for more functional living. Thrifting quirky items and spontaneity are encouraged, too. That outlook can also help save a buck by downsizing on makeup, beauty products, and new clothes.

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They care about the environment. They like buying second-hand. They don't care if things are used or beaten up.

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While the name Underconsumption Core is new, the idea isn't. The no spend trend also going viral and buy nothing groups gaining popularity. Experts say it could be linked to younger Americans feeling persistent economic pressures, like the pinch of inflation.

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It has bubbled up pretty regularly at other times of economic slowing. It happened in the '90s. It happened when the dot com bubble burst, and it happened again during the Great Recession.

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Relentless consumer spending helped drive a lot of America's post-COVID economic growth. But now, some large US companies say they're seeing their customers looking for deals and buying less.

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Consumer spending has basically been fueling this economy for years. I mean, post-pandemic, everyone wanted to go out and travel. But now, Now, high interest rates, high prices. They've taken a toll. Maybe it's time to reassess all of that revenge spending that we've been doing.

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The big question, whether underconsumption core is just a short-lived coping mechanism or the signs of a deeper shift that could lead to economic slowdown. Vicky Wyn, NBC News.

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