Minimalism has birthed a paradox: people purchasing more things in order to ostensibly minimize. As I scrolled past my Youtube’s recommended section I saw it everywhere – sleek, clutter-free homes adorned with just the right amount of thoughtfully placed minimalist stuff.
One of those videos was about a person who bought a digital camera to avoid using their smartphone’s, then they purchased a dumbphone (so they aren’t distracted by notifications), followed by a Kindle for “focus” in reading, and a gameboy for “unplugged” gaming. In a few words, they acquired a full arsenal of gadgets so they could replace a single device… What even happened here?
Sure, minimalism was never about not having anything, but about having less. Yet, it seems to have transformed itself into a performance, where this mystical act of purge is put aside by buying more – and newer – things. Is it really minimalist to buy four items to replace one? Or is it just consumerism in disguise, but targeted at a market that prizes the aesthetics of simplicity?
Minimalism is propaganda from big small to sell less.
It could just be that minimalism has morphed into a lifestyle commodity, where people spend more money to own fewer but supposedly better items – and I must make it clear that I follow this to a certain degree – in a ironic fashion that encourages buying a series of specialized gadgets to replace what could be a singular, multifunctional device. It’s as if there is an inherent belief that the very act of purchasing these “essentials” stains it of consumerism.
Of course – owning that one perfect, minimal leather wallet signals something: it’s not just a wallet, it’s a lifestyle (self-critique). Minimalists who show off their selective possessions seem to have forgotten that minimalism is supposed to be about liberation from materialism, not a meticulously curated consumer experience.
In the end, it all risks becoming nothing more than a chic brand of consumerism, where the emphasis is placed on the aesthetics of simplicity rather than its philosophy. By really wanting to minimize perhaps one should go after not making this “lifestyle” their “lifestyle”.
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