With the fast-paced, ever-growing advancements of technology, social media, and culture in general, people are gravitating towards becoming a spendthrift, a really old term coined in the 1600s to describe people typically identified as those that do not value their money the way they should and often buy unnecessary products. The root of this issue does not necessarily derive from society, but rather from companies producing superfluous objects that through a great deal of marketing and advertising entices people.
Do people really need a banana slicer, a shoe umbrella, or perhaps a necktie flask? It’s easy to fall into trends and purchase products simply to conform to society. Many minimalists would argue that single-use products are not the way to go simply because there are multitool options that carry out the same task just as efficiently.
The Rhode phone case, a silicone iPhone case that has space on the back to store specifically Rhodes lip products, has around 1,235 reviews on the Rhode website. Rhode’s 1.3 million Instagram followers and Beiber’s 51 million Instagram followers serve as the brand’s top supporters. Overall the product has a 4.1 star rating.
This was popularized primarily due to the creator, a model, influencer, businesswoman, and popstar Justin Bieber’s wife, Hailey Bieber. Her brand Rhode is popular for promoting clean and exclusive products. She aims for her brand to have a playful twist on simplicity while achieving a limited product range.
Rhode has built a demographic that aims for teenagers in high school all the way to middle-aged women. Her Rhode Phone case is marketed as a “lip case” which is sold directly to consumers on her website. Her genius idea of selling a case like this allows her brand to flourish in the sense of being the first phone case with lip product storage. The case even offers free advertising for the case itself and the lip product for those who wouldn’t otherwise know about it.
The phone case itself is $35, which seems relatively high for the empty phone case itself. Consumers of this product often spend an additional $18 for a peptide lip treatment to fill the case, bringing the cost closer to $60 after shipping.
Initially, people might have assumed this wouldn’t be as popular as it ended up being due to its high price, size, and design, but once again this is not the case (pun intended). Although most people purchase the product for its unique structural aesthetic, the case is silky smooth and extremely sturdy. With that, it provides superb protection for one’s iPhone.
In our very own Clark Magnet community, this phone case has been going viral. “I honestly mainly purchased this phone case to follow the trend and overall I think it is really cute and aesthetic” junior Mane Araratyan said. Different perspectives exist among the same demographic though. “For me, this phone case doesn’t feel like a great purchase not just because of the cost, but the chunky shape, which I’d argue is inconvenient,” junior Melanie Babakhanian said.
The Rhode phone case is a perfect example of society becoming more and more easily influenced over time. However, as pop culture evolves, people’s perspectives on trends follow accordingly.
