TikTok made overconsumption cool. Now, it's turning against it.

• In many ways, TikTok has become a forum for people to show off their armfuls of stuff.
• But an online movement known as deinfluencing is challenging the app's aspirational culture.

From fit checks and pantry re-stocking videos to beauty product hauls, TikTok is brimming with footage of creators showing off armfuls of products. We're constantly watching people who buy and own excessive amounts of stuff, and influencers telling us we should too.

Social media users have long called out the consumerist culture fostered by social media, but recently a group of anti-heroes rose into the TikTok spotlight to battle this kind of overspending using their online platforms.

They're known as deinfluencers — creators who are trying to convince people not to buy viral products, although they often encourage users to buy cheaper alternatives instead.

Now there's also another, more radical wave of de-influencing that's been picking up steam on the app — the fight against overconsumption.

'Overconsumption' is becoming a key buzzword associated with the deinfluencing movement

As the deinfluencing movement has grown over the past year, the idea of overconsumption is becoming an increasingly buzzy concept on the app.

Many creators argue that TikTok in particular has created a culture that teaches us we constantly need to be buying new stuff to be happy or successful, due to the continuous displays of excess we see on the app.

The result is overconsumption — people are buying way more than they need, some creators argue. This has a negative environmental impact and it's led to people spending money excessively or unnecessarily, they say.

"When overconsumption is like your coping mechanism, like it is mine, not only is that so bad for your mental health and the planet and whatever, it's going to make you so broke," said a user who goes by Michelle in a TikTok posted in February.

Another creator, Ellie, said in a November TikTok that many people are facing financial struggles at the moment and that "it is so discouraging to come on social media and to see young people traveling the world and buying all these useless luxury convenience products."

Specific creators are getting called out too. On November 11, a TikToker who goes by Kim reshared another user's video showcasing huge collections of beauty and lifestyle products organized into storage boxes and open shelving. It's not clear who originally posted it, but it is similar to many videos on TikTok where people share tours of the products they own and how they're stored.

Kim said she thought most of the items in the video would expire in a year, describing the behavior as overconsumption.

She talked about influencers posting sponsored content as a "cash grab" to earn money, with consumers buying these products and putting money in the "corporations' pocket."

"We're in the era of the influencers, so everything is just flashy and to be shown off, and so I get why people feel like they have to keep up," she said.

The trend reflects a broader shift in how people discuss spending on social media

Some deinfluencers have argued that in today's culture, people are convinced that owning a lot of stuff, or specific trendy items, is aspirational and cool.

"A lot of us watch videos like this from our favorite larger creators and we start to internalize this idea that in order to be successful or to have made it you have to have this level of stuff," one TikToker said, reacting to a beauty product restocking video in June.

"What we purchase is like a reflection of our coolness," said another TikToker, reflecting on capitalism and overconsumption in today's society.

The rising cost of living is becoming an increasingly prominent topic on TikTok too. Videos discussing high prices of everyday goods or talking about how hard it is to make ends meet on a decent salary feel at odds with TikTok's culture of overspending. It also reflects a marked change from the kind of aspirational content that people have historically associated with other social media platforms like Instagram.

The fight against overconsumption perhaps indicates that creators are trying to redefine the standard of what it means to be cool.

Instead of buying more and keeping up to date with the latest must-have products, the deinfluencing rebellion is now making the suggestion that it's even cooler to minimize and keep things simple.

The glorification of overconsumption that defined social media may be on its way out.