Damaris Gonzalez is an assistant opinion editor for the Daily Titan. All opinions expressed in this article are those of the article and do not reflect the opinions of the Daily Titan as a whole.
The return of the academic year instills a sense of urgency to secure products that seemingly dictate one’s readiness to learn. An unofficial holiday celebrated by millions of consumers each year: back-to-school.
Families have evolved into seasoned participants familiar with the need to start shopping sooner rather than later, taught to prepare to spend and blend non-negotiable requirements with identity.
Consumerism notoriously fuels the engine of a population’s ego, feeding the incessant need to “fit in” or “be ready” through ownership. Decentering mass purchasing as a primary event of the back-to-school season returns students’ attention to the year’s resurgence of novelty and growth.
With the increased urgency to stock up for the new school year, the season has become an excuse to overconsume, resulting in a record high $43 billion dollars in back-to-school spending as of 2026. A survey from the National Retail Federation found that a single family’s back-to-school spending is projected at $863 per child, with only 15% spent on school supplies.
Steven Chen, professor of marketing and economics at Cal State Fullerton, emphasizes that social media’s influence has overtaken that of past dominant sources of engagement.
“In today’s world, where people don’t watch linear television anymore or listen to traditional forms of media like the radio, we rely more and more on word of mouth for product information,” Chen said. “The main channel that we get word-of-mouth information from is social media.”
Social media has created a space where the back-to-school list is in a state of perpetual growth, with 58% of parents saying that social media has influenced their child’s back-to-school needs.
Additionally, 62% of parents reported spending more than anticipated on requested trending items. The distinction between items required for a student’s educational success and those needed for the curated version of themselves, deemed by rigid aesthetics, may be lost.
“I always found that was maybe one way that people individualize otherwise mass- merchandised goods,” Chen said about the role of trendy charms on students’ bags at educational institutions as identifiers to peers, replacing traditional social markers.
Despite this effort, identity is not derived solely from tangible acquisition, yet acquiring more is often a major part of the process.
The desire to fit into an aesthetic has converted the back-to-school season into a time when rebranding oneself is prioritized and, at times, encouraged over academic focus. This replaces anticipation, which belonged to the excitement of seeing old friends and learning.
Apart from purchasing functional items, consumerism during the back-to-school season emerged as a means for social survival, belonging and status.
Maria Malagon, professor and vice chair of sociology at CSUF, highlights the significance of the clothes students wear, conveying the weight they carry in their perception of belonging.
“It’s a signifier of how people perceive us, and so we are sending messages to folks about how we want to be perceived, whether that perception means, I don’t care or I care or I am neat or I am scruffy,” Malagon said.
For immigrant families, back-to-school shopping involves pressure to obtain new brandname clothes and items with the goal of assimilation and as a social survival tactic, facilitating “ensured” success for their students.
“For my mom, it was about making sure people saw us beyond just class and race that we were clean kids, not the stereotype that a lot of people have about Latinos, Mexicans especially at that time,” Malagon said.
The strive to fit in remains consistent throughout generations, diverse backgrounds and historical turbulence. The solution, at times, is sought through tangible items that tie their hopes for upward mobility.
Naturally, a yearly replacement of necessities, such as supplies or a pair of new pants, is undoubtedly important, and people should be able to indulge. Yet spending with intention can be nurtured by refraining from items marketed with the sole purpose of creating the illusion of an enhanced school year.
Educational institutions foster confidence through a student’s learned ability to embrace themselves in the face of others. With students turning to new and material items as their primary source of expression and connection, the opportunity for intangible growth falls short before the school year has even begun.
Going back to school holds emotional significance for many. What is supposed to signify growth through an individual milestone has transformed into an obligation by consumerism, translating the desire for the idealized person tied to the item. A new school year paves the way for students to flourish and back-to-school preparations should involve anticipation for friendship and learning.