Microtrends are niches, products or interests that appeal to a small, specialized section of the population. Do not get it confused, microtrends and trends are very different!
To put it simply, microtrends are changes in social norms that last typically only a few months, whereas trends are the developments of certain patterns within society. Both microtrends and trends affect a large number of people, altering the way they dress, the music they listen to, even the slang they use in day to day life. Those who are influenced by microtrends may buy their everyday products based on current microtrends.
Positively, trends allow people to connect over similar interests and they can even build foundations for many businesses to sprout. However, trends can also have negative effects such as becoming bad for the environment. For example, the trends of reusable water bottles, the marketing tactics water bottles use, is selling buyers on the features and how they help the environment.
As microtrends tend to last only a few years, maybe even months, trendy water bottles go out of style and society indulges in a different brand. Over recent years, the time span of microtrends significantly shortened as a result of media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter).
Many companies such as Stanley and Hydro Flask have their own accounts on these platforms to utilize this opportunity to market their products. These media platforms allow for millions of people to view the same video, resulting in the video going viral. This results in influencers buying multiples of these trendy water bottles with hopes to go viral. This microtrend of purchasing multiple reusable water bottles challenges the idea of their sole purpose; to reduce plastic waste and help the environment. Once these products get a lot of media attention, many viewers will buy the products. This results in the altercation of how people perceive and prioritize certain values on money and individuality.
Companies such as Stanley, Owala and HydroFlask are some popular reusable water bottle companies. As a result of this microtrend, it became the new social norm to collect these reusable bottles, despite their purpose being to reuse the one bottle. Psychology Today stated that the reason people indulge in these microtends is due to the social comparison theory.
This theory suggests that individuals determine their own social and personal worth based on how much stuff they have compared to others. “F.O.M.O” is a term frequently used by the younger generation, and it stands for “fear of missing out.” Many individuals partake in these microtrends afraid to miss out. According to a post by USA TODAY, the microtrends of collecting reusable water bottles—Stanley cups in particular—is due to a familiar marketing practice such as media attention. USA TODAY questions whether collecting reusable water bottles defeats the whole purpose of sustainability and environmentally friendly aspects, as they believe the purchasing of these water bottles is to fit in with the new trends rather than actually wanting to protect the environment.
People all over the UPA community carry water bottles to keep hydrated, but what water bottles do UPA students and staff have? Do they follow the microtrends of new in style water bottles?
Science teacher Elisheva Bailey owns a Blue Stanley that can hold 64 ounces of water, given to her as a gift from her daughter. Although the Stanley was not necessarily her choice, Bailey loves her water bottle. Bailey does not collect multiple reusable bottles. Some of Bailey’s favorite features of her singular Stanley is the metal interior allowing her water to stay fresh and cold.
“My favorite feature [of the Stanley] is that my water will stay cold all throughout the day,” Bailey said. “Sometimes if I leave it overnight, it still has ice in the morning.”
One of Bailey’s least favorite aspects of the Stanley cup is the lid.
“The lid leaks sometimes and if I do not screw on the lid the right way the straw is on the wrong side, making it a little difficult to drink with the handle being on one side,” Bailey said.
Although Bailey did not purchase her Stanley due to microtrends Bailey believes microtrends [thoughts on how micro trends affect consumerism].
“[My daughter] knows I don’t drink enough water during the day and she thought this would encourage me to do so,” Bailey said.
Similarly to Bailey, sophomore Eyael Getachew has a light pink Stanley that holds 40 ounces of water. Getachew was somewhat influenced to purchase the Stanley, but not because she wanted to follow the social trends of having a Stanley but because she wanted to stand out. Getachew found herself purchasing her Stanley a little after the microtrend had died down.
“I didn’t get the Stanley because it was trendy, I just simply didn’t want to hop on the trend of buying a HydroFlask like my peers,” Getachew said. “It was also pink and I liked it.”
Getachew believes social media played a huge role in helping the uprising of not just Stanley but most reusable water bottle brands. Getachew feels through platforms like TikTok and Instagram, the popular cups were able to make an appearance in many influencers’ videos, resulting in the want for the cups. Getachew acknowledges the marketing tactics and believes the exclusive and unique colors available make the cup more desirable and a collectable item.
“I think many people started to collect Stanley’s for their unique features and variety of colors,” Getachew said.
Getachew’s theory is actually a tactic many companies use to market their products. Companies make the cups “limited edition” or “exclusive” and this increases the want of buyers as many people have the idea that we don’t like to have our options limited. An example of this tactic involves seasonal colors, special designs, and limited bottles. Part of what makes these bottles desirable is their aesthetic, making the bottles more desirable.
Getachew only has one Stanley cup; she reveals she does not follow the trend but wants a cool and stylish water bottle to stay hydrated. Her favorite feature about her Stanley is its color and ability to keep her water cool. However, Getachew’s least favorite feature of her Stanley is that it leaks and it is not very school friendly.
“I had to buy a separate leak stopper for the top and it doesn’t really fit in my backpack so I have to carry it around,” Getachew said.
With a different perspective, sophomore Aidan Tran carries around a Under Armour bottle that holds up to 64 ounces of liquid. Tran was not influenced by anyone or the media at all to purchase his water bottle, he simply saw it at the store and made his purchase.
“I don’t like filling my water bottle, it takes too long, so I opted for a bottle where I would only need to fill it up in one go,” Tran said.
Tran was at Coles when he saw his current bottle and instantly bought it. It was a plus the water bottle could hold so much water because he does not like the water at school. Tran is an avid water drinker, drinking a full 64 ounces of water at school and another four to five cups at home. Tran doesn’t really have much thoughts on how the uprising of water bottles has affected consumerism, but he does love his current water bottle. Tran does believe reusable water bottles help the environment to an extent. Tran does believe the purpose of a reusable water bottle should be to have one to two so that one can help reduce plastic waste, and avoid having to buy more plastic water bottles. Tran acknowledges that one could simply buy plastic water bottles and recycle them, but he finds having a personal reusable bottle allows him to refill and reuse the same bottle for longer periods of time.
“I think people should have a reusable bottle so they can have easy access to water and not have to pay or recycle those plastic bottles,” Tran said.
Tran believes many people misuse the purpose of these water bottles and make them a collectors item, as he thinks many people buy multiple bottles because they get bored of the same one.
“It’s kind of the same thing with shoes, you only need one pair but some people collect multiple,” Tran said.
Although Tran believes people should use reusable water bottles for their sole purpose he doesn’t mind or have a strong opinion on collecting reusable water bottles.
On the other hand Director of Student Services Lucas Kelleher is very passionate about his water bottle. Kelleher has a red Owala water bottle. Similar to Getachew, Kelleher wasn’t influenced to buy the water bottle through social media, he simply wanted his water bottle to stand out.
“If you look at the [school] lost and found, no wonder those bottles are lost, they all look the same, that’s why I wanted to buy an Owala,” Kelleher said.
Kelleher found his water bottle while browsing through Amazon, the unique color caught his eye, he knew his water bottle would stick out and invested in the purchase. Kelleher believes many younger individuals are influenced by the media in many aspects of life, not just in the purchasing of water bottles. Although Kelleher’s water bottle is one of the many trending ones, he purchased his Owala out of influence from reviews on Amazon and special education resource specialist, Lizzie Wirtz, also has an Owala. Although, Kelleher does believe microtrends and social media have a large influence on others to buy not only water bottles but all products.
“The way marketing is in this generation it is not a lot of ads anymore, it’s more of like influencers and sponsorships advertising products,” Kelleher said.
Kelleher was not influenced by the media to buy his bottle, but he has been influenced by the media before to buy other things like skincare. Kelleher is satisfied with his one reusable bottle- while occasionally using a smaller one for workouts- and he believes the concept of reusable bottles help the environment by reducing plastic waste but he also considers collecting these bottles to have their own negative impacts on the environment.
“I think it’s weird to collect reusable bottles although it is better for the environment than plastic bottles but the new microtrend on them has put a strain on production and the environment as the demand for them is much higher,” Kelleher said.
Although Kelleher does not collect water bottles, he does feel like consumerism is the main cause for these collector items uprising. Kelleher does not think collecting the bottles is such a bad thing as long as the individual uses it. Kelleher also acknowledges that there are worse things to collect, but he does not see the point of buying multiple when they are intended to be reused.
In conclusion, Kelleher does not personally collect reusable water bottles but does believe consumerism plays a role in influencing many individuals to collect items. He believes microtrends and the media aid consumerism and this influence has a tight grip on society and he is not sure if this influence will benefit society. Kelleher also does not think the investment in multiple is worth buying multiple.
“I don’t want to spend 40 dollars for multiple of the same water bottle in a different color, like will a blue water bottle make me any happier?”
