Are we "slaves" to trends?
Let us relieve the chronicle called Artbox Singapore 2017 - Artbox itself is Bangkok's creation, a wildly trendy and prominent container night market that's known as one of the biggest flea markets in the world. A quirky pop-up market that's brimming with creatively designed stalls, merchandise and food, they focus a ton of affordable vintage fashion wear, odd and innovative products from local designers.
On the April 14th, Bangkok's famous fairy light-rdden enclove opened to the public, spanning a good chunk of 320 booths. With it's insane pre-event publicity, it's instagrammable-esque industrial designs - there was a LOT of hype leading up to said Artbox. Videos were posted, articles upon articles were written, it was blowing up on social media, from Facebook to Twitter, to Instagram: I've seen it all, you've seen it all.
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Collectively agreed by the public as a 'hit-or-miss' event, Artbox Singapore 2017 was definitely something I would term as a clusterfuck overhyped facet. Now, we've probably already braced ourselves for the crowd, what with the Super Japan Matsuri 2016 or the Singapore Coffee Festival - it's a frickin' festival in Singapore.
Of course there were going to be AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT of people at the Artbox Singapore.
Yet many had taken to social media to express their utmost disappointment. Once more, in videos, blogs, vlogs - anyone with a phone and a knack with social media, described their experiences as "too crowded", "Don't go", "Waste of time". I admit, I was one of them - I thought perhaps maybe it would be alright to just take a look around. Hell, it was so cramped, so crowded I could barely move.
With it's lack of crowd control, expensive instagrammable food and products that were WAYYYYY overpriced (we understand, getting the booths weren't cheap, but hella no one's gonna buy a iphone cover for $20) At the end of the day, most patrons went home disappointed, sweaty and empty handed.
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This phenomenon of trend-chasing isn't new either. It's just more pronounced these days as media has provided us with greater accessibility to these said trends and influences. Take the cafe-hopping trend as an example. Watch how Instagram has influenced the youth culture, especially with how they approach and see food and meals - taste has become a secondary to looks. As long as it's aesthetically pleasing, no one really cares about how it truly tastes. I've seen many buy it because 'it looks cute'.
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The visual elements have become a high priority. If the food looks visually appealing, it's probably the best seller because of the NEED to document this experience and to post it up on social media for the world to see. How many god damned egg benedicts can I count on my Instagram feed daily? It's regarded as something aesthetically appealing even though it's awfully expensive and the portions are barely enough to feed a small sized cat.
This cafe culture trend has reconfigured into a social experience and it now a significant part of the youth's daily rituals, having to share and impress amongst one another. In turn, we, the consumers are consumed. And the worst part is? We can't seem to stop.
Even with it's hefty price tag that comes alongside it, we still attempt to squeeze into crowded trendy cafes, in hopes to taste their beautiful looking meals - and to post it up on Instagram. We can't help it, we crave the need to share it.
I quote, "Style with no substance". The novelty of such cafes are going down-hill, so journalism sites focus on activities for the youth instead, inspiring a trend of festival goer who basically go to festivals for the same thing: Instagrammable things/products/food.
Take the Thailand Festival event for example. It was a pop-up event filled with authentic Thailand products, fashion lines and food. "Get the real deal!" It was plastered upon every title of every article, "No gimmicks here, unlike Artbox." I can assure you, I was there and the only section that was actually filled with youths was the food section with instagrammable drinks and food.
There was a section filtered off for authentic snacks, herbs, thailand tea and there were considerably less patrons compared to the ones with 'instagram-worthy' food. Needless to say, I was over the moon, even though we didn't get to try most of the food. Lol. At least we didn't have to face the ultimate slave queue lines.
And this begs the question:
Do youths really have the spending power to splurge on such indulgences? Or are they merely following trends like slaves? Besides blowing a hole in your pocket, popular trends and treats also cost you time, squeezing and waiting in queues. Is it truly worth it?
Because after a while, trends fade and die away.
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Take the Thailand Festival event for example. It was a pop-up event filled with authentic Thailand products, fashion lines and food. "Get the real deal!" It was plastered upon every title of every article, "No gimmicks here, unlike Artbox." I can assure you, I was there and the only section that was actually filled with youths was the food section with instagrammable drinks and food.
There was a section filtered off for authentic snacks, herbs, thailand tea and there were considerably less patrons compared to the ones with 'instagram-worthy' food. Needless to say, I was over the moon, even though we didn't get to try most of the food. Lol. At least we didn't have to face the ultimate slave queue lines.
And this begs the question:
Do youths really have the spending power to splurge on such indulgences? Or are they merely following trends like slaves? Besides blowing a hole in your pocket, popular trends and treats also cost you time, squeezing and waiting in queues. Is it truly worth it?
Because after a while, trends fade and die away.
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