Is TikTok Shop the Next Stage?

I was recently buying some stuff for my 17-year-old cousin when she said something that completely threw me off:

“I think it’s only available on TikTok Shop.”

Record scratch. HUH?

I’ve never downloaded TikTok. As a YouTube pioneer (Where are my Zoella girls at?), I knew that it would be a time suck. YouTube takes up a comfortable amount of my screen time already. 

I was the first generation of teens to be influenced by social media, so personal experience has granted me insight into the joys and pitfalls of being influenced. I will never forgive Zoella for influencing me to wear bright orange lipstick in 2015 (it was not a match for ghostly white skin and black hair).

On the other hand, I wouldn’t have gone to places like Brighton or Mykonos without her showing them off in vlogs. So, I want to state for the record that I don’t think influencer marketing is some big, evil thing.

Now, I obviously know about the phenomenon that is TikTok Shop. I’ve seen influencers talk about it. I’ve seen the “random purchase I didn’t expect to love” trend. But I didn’t realize there were entire brands and product lines that were only available on TikTok Shop. Like, not on Amazon. Not on some brand’s official site. Exclusively on TikTok.

Naturally, I refused to believe this. So, I took my old lady glasses out of my Limited Too glasses case and decided to look up their website. Surely I could buy her these viral fake eyelashes somewhere else.

But alas, she was right. Those coveted lashes only existed in the digital corridors of TikTok Shop. And that moment led me down an entire rabbit hole—a spiral of internet anthropology, consumer psychology, and spiritual questioning—that I now present to you.

TikTok Shop is Not the Next Stage, it’s the Next Boss

Most of my clients are nonprofits, dioceses, and parishes. Not exactly avid sellers on TikTok Shop.

However, the landscape of TikTok Shop is very representative of all of social media (and all humans, honestly). 

My original assumption was that TikTok Shop was like if Temu, Etsy, and Amazon Prime had a baby. Chaotic. Fast. Addictive. Probably low-quality. The digital equivalent of the candy bar and gum shelves right before you check out at the store. The more I looked into TikTok Shop, the more I learned that it’s way more than just affiliate links or CTAs.

It’s the next level of impulse consumerism, powered by one of the most addictive algorithms we’ve ever seen.

For our generation, it’s the “Final Boss” of Consumerism—the big bad guy you fight at the end of the game who is an amalgamation of every bad thing you’ve been able to overcome so far. This disastrous blend of addictive self-comparison, distraction, and immediate gratification will quickly put tons of useless stuff in our hands.

That’s not “leveling up”, which is a big deal for you non-gamers, this is the greatest challenge yet served up by consumerism evolved. It’ll take everything we’ve got to beat the boss and get out unscathed.

This led me to wonder why it’s so popular and how we ended up here.

Why Is TikTok Shop Popular? 

My conclusion is twofold. Exclusivity and Newton’s First Law of Motion.

Exclusivity. You stumble across something being sold on TikTok Shop, maybe being sold by an influencer you love or just someone random who is showing it off well. You don’t know if you’ll see that video again, so you feel a sense of urgency and buy it in the moment. TikTok Shop creates and solves your problems in two minutes flat. 

Newton’s First Law of Motion. Objects in motion stay in motion. The TikTok scroll feels passive, but your brain is fully engaged. You’re riding a wave of dopamine, thought shifts, mood changes, and micro-decisions. It’s the same mental state that makes you crush your to-do list at work and then grab a random sugary snack without even thinking.

We’re not just scrolling. We’re absorbing, reacting, deciding. So it makes sense that shopping habits follow suit. You’re not even aware you’re a victim of marketing until the package shows up at your door.

The Perils of Unchecked Consumerism

It’s so easy to trust influencers. It’s just someone in their living room wearing sweats! They’re likely telling the truth, but we have to remember what may be happening off camera. Affiliate links bringing in commission. Entire hauls returned after filming. Behind-the-scenes sponsorship deals. The mental health toll of curating your personality daily. The closets and drawers of junk they never use after they promote it. 

This isn’t a blog bashing TikTok Shop or affiliate marketing. Both are smart strategies, and people do discover genuinely helpful things that way. But in this economy, where every dollar counts, we have to pause and ask better questions before buying into everything we see.

Strategies for us Consumers

If you have found yourself or a loved one a victim of the viral two-piece lounge set (that will never fit the way it fits the girlies on TikTok), or NEEDING the newest color or print of the Owala Free Sip, I’ve got good news.

Breaking the cycle isn’t as hard as you might think. The trick is to make online shopping a LITTLE inconvenient. Start off easy.

• Delete the purchasing apps off your phone. If you want to buy something on Amazon, you have to pull out the laptop and boot ’er up. If you want to DoorDash dinner, go find your laptop and charger. Is it really that much harder than heating up some pasta or leftovers? 
• Don’t save credit card info in your phone or laptop. If you have to track down your wallet every time you have an impulse to buy something, the hassle of tracking down and inputting your credit card may make you realize you don’t need what you are impulse buying. 
• Implement a 24-hour waiting period. Ok, let’s say you saw a product, tracked down your wallet AND laptop AND charger, and it’s in your cart, and you want to click “order.” I challenge you to give yourself a 24-hour waiting period. Ideally longer. It’s called discernment. If you still want the product, then you can decide whether it’s really worth your money. 
• Run it by a friend. Try to gut check purchases with a friend or partner. Send them the item you want to buy and ask whether they’ve tried it or think it’s worth the price. 
• Picture where it will go in your house. If you want to buy something, have in mind where in your house or apartment you will keep it. If it doesn’t have a home, you probably don’t need it.

Why Aren’t Dioceses and Parishes Talking about Consumerism? 

Pope Francis said, “Consumerism is a virus that tarnishes faith at its root”.

This issue goes deeper than spending too much money or having too much stuff we don’t need. We have to check ourselves and see where this lull in prudence and self-control is impacting us in other areas.

For one, mindless scrolling is making us lazy. We don’t take a moment to prudently pause and critically think. The worst part is that many parishes and dioceses are mostly silent on this issue.

When many priests, bishops, or Catholic leaders do talk about social media, it’s usually to dismiss it as “bad” or “dangerous.” That’s not helpful. That doesn’t speak to why people spend hours scrolling through hauls, tutorials, life-hack videos, or influencers going on about how this $9 serum changed their self-confidence.

What’s really going on behind consumerism?

• A desire to feel rewarded after hard work.
• A longing for something easy in a world that feels hard.
• Insecurity about appearance or status.
• The need to escape or feel pleasure.
• The belief that a purchase might make you “better.”
• A craving for fun and stimulation.

Ultimately, it’s about being happy.

These are not bad desires. But if we don’t understand what’s beneath them, we will never talk about the dangers of consumerism in a way that actually helps people.

Learn more about the Church’s social teaching on consumerism here.

What can Parishes and Dioceses Do on Digital Media About Consumerism?

So what do we do about it? How can the Church offer something better than just shame or silence? 

Here’s where we start:

1. Make content that makes people pause.

• A carousel of warning signs that consumerism is shaping your soul more than Christ
• A carousel with a bold word like “PAUSE” or “STOP” on the first page, and page two encouraging them to take a moment before scrolling
• A graphic or carousel with questions to ask yourself when scrolling 

2. Talk about underconsumption.

• Underconsumption core videos showing off items that are “old” but still useful
• Videos from influencers exposing their posts 
• Carousel looking at viral products and showing alternatives or just saying, “You don’t actually need this” 

3. Address the real needs.

• An Instagram Story with messaging about deserving time to actually decompress, not taking on everyone else’s anxiety and celebrations (addressing the audience’s desire to feel rewarded after hard work)
• A b-roll video or carousel reminding people of simple but good things in the world that you don’t need to buy (addressing the audience’s longing for something easy in a world that feels hard)
• A carousel directly addressing how social media plays into insecurities without even noticing (addressing the audience’s insecurity about appearance or status)
• A graphic with ideas for relaxing but fun things to do offline that don’t cost money or a drain on your confidence or hopefulness (addressing the audience’s need to escape or feel pleasure)
• A video talking about people buying this with the unconscious intention to become “better” from it, and what truly makes you better (addressing the audience’s belief that a purchase might make you “better”)
• A video challenging people to try offline activities, and give suggestions that refute every argument why people would say they can’t (addressing the audience’s craving for fun and stimulation)

Where That Leaves Catholic Communications Professionals

The algorithm isn’t the enemy, but it’s not our friend either. 

As Catholic marketers, we need to be paying attention to people’s behaviors on social media. TikTok Shop is a case study for how social media doesn’t just sell products, but sells to emotional needs… and all in seconds. 

We need to pay attention, not so we can replicate, but so we can understand what drives people and how to offer something better.

Consumerism thrives on impulse. The Church should respond with intention. No more lazy messaging allowed!

Instead of shaming others for their screen time, we need content that helps people to pause, to think, and to ask better questions. This means we need to frame faith in a way that speaks to the same desires TikTok targets— belonging, joy, escape, identity, peace, love, all in a grounded and practical way.

Let’s make posts that make people stop in their tracks and think twice about how they’re using social media and what they’re buying. 

TikTok Shop doesn’t tell me what to buy and when to buy it. Only my teenage cousin can do that.

(And don’t worry. She got her lashes.)

Do you have comments about shopping in moderation or prudent online behaviors? Do you have ideas for how the Church can address these habits? Join the conversation! Shoot us an email at info@yellowlinedigital.com and follow us on LinkedIn.