Not a wasteland as in empty. A wasteland as in full of waste. And not waste as in low-effort content. I mean waste as in full of plastic.
I am a slime enthusiast. I'm a big slime enthusiast. I don't play with it often, but I have been watching slime videos for around nine years now, and have grown dependent on these sorts of sensory videos. I know it's shameful. I know it's antithetical to the little rant I'm about to go on about Instagram Crafts and Craft Products. I only say this to introduce how I got onto this side of Instagram.
Crafts and products that have been pissing me off lately:
- Makeup products with gimmicky branding
- Slime shops (I saw a slime shop video with the caption somewhere along the lines of "I made this, not AI." That's good. But you are also making a living off of something bad for the environment. Kind of sick of seeing this kind of posturing everywhere.)
- Taba squishy shops
- Ok this is really specific but paint shops that just mix together a random amount of pigment with a random amount of oil/gum arabic to make the Thickest, Grainiest paint ever. And the paint is often in a metallic color, which is fun to LOOK at - but who is actually using THAT much of a metallic color in their paintings?
- Resin jewelry shops and the sequins they throw in that goop
- Anything involving epoxy - especially those furniture makers who fill in gaps in wood with epoxy
- Literally anything with glitter
I know these opinions seem a little extreme. Why can't a gal have some slime? Or some blush? Or some cheap jewelry? But I don't know, I've been feeling a little sensitive about the environment and about capitalism lately. There are just so many bright and gaudy things being pushed at me on Instagram, none of which I actually need. I also hate how these things are marketed, half the time. Besides the low-quality or manipulative strategies used by these videos, I truly believe that just because something is fun to make and to watch being made, doesn't mean it should be made.
Sorry for the long break between posts. Not been feeling my best this week, and my screentime has not helped this slump.