College move-in has come and gone with the start of the new semester, and students across the country have settled into their new classes, dorms, and campus life. The transition of moving into college is a process shared by students, parents, and even those not attending college—all because so many students are posting every second of it online. As a result, my social media feed has been flooded with videos detailing how new students are decorating their rooms, shopping for back-to-college, and dressing up for sorority rush.
While these videos can be entertaining, it has become increasingly obvious that the college move-in process is becoming less about meeting your roommate, saying goodbye to family, or taking the first step into your college experience, and more about flaunting your wealth in pursuit of views. Time reports that as a result of this new trend, the college environment has shifted into one that ostracizes students who don’t give in to the pressure to conform or who cannot afford to, with many students feeling overwhelmed or discouraged as these videos “add pressure or an expectation that incoming students’ college experience should look a certain way.”
As a first-generation college student, I relied heavily on social media and the internet for advice on what to buy, how to pack, and how to move into my dorm efficiently, given that I had few college-educated family members to turn to for guidance. But what I saw three years ago on social media pales in comparison to the rampant overconsumption and excessive spending displayed by recent posts.
Take, for example, Ashley Jernigan, a mother from Evans, Georgia, who went viral on TikTok this summer from posting videos of hauls for her daughter’s dorm. Jernigan proudly showcased all the color-coordinated décor she bought for her freshman daughter, including monogrammed pillows, a sofa, and a coffee bar stocked with hot pink appliances. Or, consider Monicah Wells, a mother who spent $20,000 on her daughter’s perfectly curated room design, complete with custom artwork, a large headboard, and additional furniture.
These stories are only a glimpse into what many parents are transforming their children’s college dorms into. Some parents are even hiring professional college decorators to bring their child’s dream dorm to life, which, of course, happens to look nothing like standard dorms.
If that sounds extreme to you, it should. It’s far from normal—or at least, the old normal. Traditionally, students decorated their dorms with home-made decorations, hand-me-downs from home, and a few new items, according to Meagan Francis, a reporter for The Atlantic. In contrast, Francis writes that now more people are buying dorm decor than ever before, with the National Retail Federation estimating that Americans are spending nearly twice as much on college furnishings as they did six years ago—jumping from $6.7 billion in 2019 to $12.8 billion this year. Additionally, it wasn’t a performance; there was little to no documentation of the move-in process other than a photo for your scrapbook or your mom’s Facebook post. While posting these videos may seem harmless, they raise larger concerns regarding students’ self-expression and mental health.
As this trend becomes the new normal, many students will feel pressure to fit in. They’ll buy the headboard and the obnoxiously long bed skirt for their bed, and they’ll decorate their walls with gold-framed photos and neon signs, all while posting it all online, because the price of staying relevant costs a shiny penny. But beyond the overconsumption flaunted on TikTok and its implications, this will strip people of their personalities as they strive for dorms that are trendy rather than reflective of their own identity and interests. This, coupled with the increasing involvement of parents in the dorm makeover process, goes directly against a major goal of college: growing into your unique, independent self.
Furthermore, those who can’t buy their way into belonging are left feeling excluded, as if they’re doing something wrong. When I was a freshman, I relied on extended family for dorm essentials and décor, and even then, I forgot things like storage bins, a footstool, a mattress pad, extension cords, and some cleaning supplies, and had next to nothing hung on my walls. I can’t possibly imagine how much harder it would have been if these videos were the standard. Low-income and first-generation students often already feel one step behind when starting college, and these videos will only fuel imposter syndrome.
When I think back to my bare freshman dorm, I remember a girl who felt proud, but mostly anxious about being the first in her family to attend college. But eventually, it felt like a second home, not because of the things inside of it, but because of the memories she made there with her friends. That’s what college is meant to be: a time of self-discovery, friendship, and education—not a competition for who has the most attractive dorm.
