Valued at more than US$250 billion, the influencer industry is the centre of the digital economy.

Popular haul videos, where influencers display and discuss a recent collection of purchases, and unboxings — videos where content makers open, showcase and review new products — have long been promoting endless streams of consumer goods that can be purchased with an easy click.

But what happens to influencer culture and popular consumption practices when many are worried about their financial futures?

Social media feeds become full of content-makers encouraging us to save our money — influencers telling us not to buy trendy, perhaps unnecessary, goods, like tons of Halloween decor or luxury skincare products.

This comes as American tariffs wreak havoc on the global economy and youth unemployment soars, and points to growing economic uncertainty. Consumption, the social practice that becomes publicly and hotly debated during times of economic uncertainty, is back on our radars.

For the past year, social media users have declared almost everything and anything as “recession indicators.” Influencer Kate O'Brien’s viral TikTok, for example, showing users how to squeeze out the remaining beauty product from its packaging to not waste anything, is one of many examples.

As talk of a recession continues to build, social media trends like

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