With attention being the new currency, it’s clear to see that every brand/person/app is jumping at the opportunity to entice us in. Without even finishing a 15 second TikTok video, search bars appear with the most relevant question, leaving you with no moment to ask yourself “What Do I Think?”. Every day someone new finds themselves as a jack of all trades, but more importantly, a master of none. What I mean by this is that this chronically online perspective has given people the chance, and the voice, to speak on topics they don’t really know much about. For me, a most grating one is Fashion.
Now, I’m not claiming that I know more than the next person but after studying and working in the industry for eight years I like to think I know a little bit.
Let me set the scene in case you haven’t had the luxury of encountering this knowledgable mindset as of yet. You have a minute to breathe, away from anyone, not needing an ounce of concentration and you jump onto TikTok – or Instagram Reels if that’s where you’re happy. As you happily doom scroll @user5873 (apologies if you do exist) appears to voice their grand opinion on a topic that they’ve known about for T-5 minutes, but TBH who can blame them. With information at our very fingertips and concentration spans of an active goldfish, it’s hard not to assume you haven’t learnt something from this unassuming person on your screen. Now that Fashion and Personal Style has become a huge subject of discussion (cue influencer brand partnerships, what I wore to work, how to find your personal style videos), people are really starting to develop opinions with no context – and context is key.
Social media has become echo chambers within an echo chamber of people reiterating the same information forgetting that any deeper meaning kickstarted the whole idea. We’re all victim to it, including myself. I’ve definitely/probably spoken up on a subject in the past when really all I was doing was echoing something I’d heard with no further research and have then been proven totally wrong. The problem is now is that it’s becoming harder to choose what we’re interested in and passionate about because the options are endless.
So, a tip from me, next time you find yourself interested in what someone is saying do your own research too, and if you can’t be bothered then you were never really interested in the first place.
Love,
Your Treasured Guide