The rise of social media and targeted ads has turned the holiday season into an exercise in consumerism, with every influencer, media outlet, and individual churning out a new gift guide each year. This flood of recommendations is leaving many feeling overwhelmed and fatigued.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Amanda Seyfried, and even celebrities like Kourtney Kardashian have their own curated guides, while magazines like New York, GQ, and Vogue publish multiple issues annually. The boutique down the street also releases its own guide, as do lifestyle writers on Substack – including those who claimed they didn’t want to.
Drew Magary, a writer who publishes an annual “Hater’s Guide” that ridicules over-the-top gifts, notes that the proliferation of gift guides began with media companies seeking affiliate marketing dollars. Today, individual writers and influencers like Emilia Petrarca are creating their own guides as indie counterpoints to more commercial offerings.
Petrarca argues that people initially sought genuine recommendations but were instead bombarded by expensive ads and Amazon links. The growth of Substack has led to a surge in personal gift guides, with users creating thousands of roundups each year – from general lists to deep niches.
Daisy Alioto, founder of the media company Dirt, sees this as part of an “unbundling” moment, where writers are breaking away from larger organizations to find new revenue streams. While some guides still offer genuine recommendations, others prioritize making money over thoughtful curation.
Writer Kaitlin Phillips takes a more lo-fi approach, publishing her guides in Google Docs and sharing them on social media. However, even she admits that gift guides should have an element of surprise and mystery – not simply be a shopping destination.
Some argue that gift guides are just one part of a larger consumer culture that’s been turbocharged by targeted ads and social media platforms. Elizabeth Goodspeed, a designer, notes that people are exhausted from being asked to consume constantly.
On the other hand, some small business owners see gift guides as an opportunity to reach new customers and showcase their products. Janie Kruse Garnett, who has a luxury goods line, believes that gift guides do valuable work by placing her brand amidst more familiar options for consumers.
Ultimately, those struggling to find what to gift may need a simpler solution – like avoiding the guides altogether, as Daisy Alioto suggested.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/07/style/holiday-gift-guide-fatigue.html