I’ve always found it kind of funny how people (including me, I’m not innocent here) end up buying or doing things they lowkey don’t even enjoy. Like when everyone suddenly started obsessing over minimal white sneakers because Pinterest and Instagram said so. I bought a pair too. Wore them twice. Hated how they looked on me. But still kept them because… trend.
So what really makes people follow trends they don’t even like?
I think a big part of it is FOMO. That fear of missing out hits harder than we admit. Social media doesn’t help either. When you scroll through Instagram or TikTok and see the same outfit, same skincare product, same business idea popping up again and again, your brain kind of assumes it must be important. Even if your heart is like, “meh.”
Psychologically, humans are wired to fit in. Back in ancient times, being part of the group literally meant survival. Now it just means getting likes and not feeling left out at brunch. But the wiring is still there. Our brain doesn’t really know the difference between being excluded from a tribe and being the only one not wearing oversized blazers.
And sometimes we don’t even realize we’re copying. It feels like our own decision. But it’s more like gentle peer pressure. The soft kind. The aesthetic kind.
The Money Side of Trend Chasing
Financially, following trends you don’t like is kind of like paying rent for a house you never live in. You’re spending money, but you’re not getting real joy out of it. And that’s wild when you think about it.
There’s actually a term called “conspicuous consumption.” It basically means buying stuff to show status rather than because you need it. It was introduced by an economist named Thorstein Veblen, and even though he talked about it way back in the 1800s, it feels more relevant now than ever. Just replace fancy hats with limited-edition sneakers and you get the idea.
A lesser-known stat I came across once said that a large percentage of Gen Z shoppers admit they’ve bought something mainly because they saw it trending online, not because they truly liked it. I don’t remember the exact number (see, I told you I’m not perfect), but it was surprisingly high. And honestly, if you look at how fast micro-trends move on TikTok, it makes sense.
Think about those “that girl” morning routines. Suddenly everyone is waking up at 5 AM, drinking green juice, journaling, doing Pilates. It looks productive and aspirational. But I’ve seen so many tweets and Reddit posts from people saying they hated it and went back to their normal routine after a week. Still, they tried it. Because it was trending.
Social Media Makes It Feel Urgent
There’s this weird urgency attached to trends now. Before social media, trends changed slowly. Now it’s like blink and you missed it.
I remember when low-rise jeans started coming back. My first reaction was pure panic. I survived that era once, I don’t want to do it again. But after seeing influencers style them so confidently, even I started questioning my own taste. That’s the power of repetition.
Algorithms are sneaky. They show you what’s popular, and the more you engage with it, even hate-watch it, the more it shows up. It creates this illusion that “everyone” is into it. But in reality, it’s just your curated feed.
Online sentiment plays a huge role too. If a trend gets massive hype, positive comments, and viral videos, it builds social proof. Humans trust the crowd. If thousands of people are praising something, we assume it must be good. Even if deep down, we don’t like the color, the style, or the vibe.
Sometimes it’s not even about liking the trend. It’s about liking the attention that comes with participating in it.
Identity Crisis in the Age of Aesthetics
I think another reason people follow trends they don’t like is because identity feels confusing now. There are so many “aesthetics” online. Clean girl. Cottagecore. Dark academia. Quiet luxury. It’s like you’re supposed to pick a lane.
But real humans are messy. We like a bit of everything. One day you want to dress sporty, next day you want to look like you live in a French movie. Trends promise clarity. They say, “Here. This is who you are.”
That’s comforting. Especially when you’re young or figuring things out. Copying a trend can feel like borrowing a ready-made personality. It’s easier than building your own from scratch.
I remember trying to fit into the whole productivity influencer vibe. Bought planners, highlighters, fancy notebooks. My desk looked like a Pinterest board. But I’m not naturally super structured. After a month, I stopped using most of it. It wasn’t me. But for a while, it felt like I was upgrading myself.
That’s another thing. Trends are often sold as self-improvement. If you follow this skincare routine, you’ll glow. If you invest in this side hustle, you’ll be financially free. If you wear this brand, you’ll look successful.
It’s kind of like buying a lottery ticket for a better version of yourself.
Peer Pressure Isn’t Just for Teenagers
We like to think peer pressure ends after high school. It doesn’t. It just gets more aesthetic.
At work, in friend groups, even in online communities, there’s subtle pressure to keep up. If everyone around you is investing in crypto, suddenly you feel like you’re missing a big opportunity. Even if you don’t understand it fully. Even if it makes you nervous.
I’ve seen people jump into trends like NFTs or meme stocks not because they believed in them, but because they didn’t want to be the only one not making “easy money.” And that’s where it can get financially risky.
Following trends blindly in finance is like boarding a bus without checking where it’s going. It might reach a great destination. Or it might crash. The problem is, by the time you realize you hate the ride, you’ve already paid for the ticket.
There’s also this thing called herd mentality. Investors talk about it a lot. When everyone starts buying something, others follow just because the crowd is doing it. It creates bubbles. And when those bubbles burst, suddenly everyone claims they “never really liked it anyway.”
Sounds familiar, right?
So Why Do We Keep Doing It?
Honestly, because being human is complicated.
We want to belong. We want validation. We want to feel updated, relevant, not left behind. And trends offer a shortcut to all of that. Even if it’s temporary.
Plus, sometimes we convince ourselves we like something just because we invested in it. There’s a psychological bias called the sunk cost fallacy. Once we’ve spent money or time, we don’t want to admit it wasn’t worth it. So we pretend we like the trend a little longer than we actually do.
I think the solution isn’t to ignore trends completely. That’s unrealistic. Trends can be fun. They can inspire creativity. But maybe the trick is pausing for a second and asking, “Do I actually like this? Or do I just like the idea of being seen liking this?”
That one question alone can save money, time, and a lot of regret purchases.
And trust me, your closet (and your bank account) will probably thank you.