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Love in the time of haunting trends

Graphic by Audrey Garcia

In a shocking turn of events, TikTok has once again commodified our relationships – this time, with a spooky twist.

Boo baskets are all the rage as the Halloween season descends upon us. Not so different from the Easter baskets of childhood past, a boo basket contains spine-chilling trinkets, candies and whatever else your, likely romantic, partner could desire.

That is, if your partner dreams of impersonal plastic crap from the nearest Target.

Material possessions have started to become the standard for showing love. Sure, gift-giving is sweet, but that’s not affordable for everyone. Discretionary income is a privilege that many don’t experience. Some paychecks are taken up by necessities and don’t leave room for this kind of spending. 

Nonetheless, it seems as though the entire point of boo baskets isn’t to fill them with what the recipient would want, but rather with what looks “aesthetic” for TikTok. 

Recording the process of putting together a basket feels disingenuous. Maybe it’s old-fashioned, but if these actions were done out of love, they would be done offline.

Instead, the consumer brain rot is creating these videos not to spread the positive vibes of being in love, but to serve as a simple hit of dopamine. 

People have created videos of themselves making baskets and leaving them around the store, implying that it’s for someone to run in, grab and give to their partner. Surprise – that defeats the entire purpose of making it for a special someone.

Halloween is another holiday that has been swept away by the endless current of internet microtrends, and one can only hope this capitalistic society will slow down again.

If you want to show your partner you love them, spend that boo basket money on their textbooks or Adobe Suite subscription, not the millionth gimmicky, landfill-bound mug or plushie.

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