You spend the majority of your time not buying things.
If you really wanted to protest and do harm to enormous companies, instead of not buying something for a day (you spend the overwhelming majority of your time not buying things), you'd log off social media or delete your account.
I don't think people understand just how much ad revenue social media companies make from promoting outrage. This is why Facebook serves you "suggested" posts featuring opinions you do not agree with. It's bait.
I posted about this earlier this week, saying:
That said, we've become reliant on social media as a means for communication/community and even if you switch to another platform, the community you cultivate will not be the same as it is now. That's a big reason I rarely post on Threads or Bluesky and don't like using them.
Buying expensive things with the deliberate intention to later return them would have a much greater impact on businesses while (once returned) not affecting your bank account. Especially if they're the type of thing that is difficult to repackage/resell. That would actually cost the company time and money.
But I am willing to admit I'm not smart enough to know what the answer is here. I'm very interested in your thoughts.
While I see your point -- and even agree with you about social media -- you are neglecting to consider the cumulative effect of millions of people taking action at the same time. If one person didn't make a single purchase today, would it make a lick of difference? No. But if enough people do, it can disrupt entire industries. Case in point -- many resturants closed either during the pandemic or shortly thereafter as the result of changing customer behavior. Also, Tesla stock is taking a hit as sales plummet due in part to folks boycotting the company because they disagree with the actions of its CEO.
Is an economic boycott alone going to save democracy? No. But we also aren't going to save it if we don't utilize every single tool in our toolbox. Every one. Because its the cumulative effect of everything together that will turn the tide in our favor.
It’s frustrating that folks on social media seemed to really rally behind that “Storm Area 51” a few years back and when there’s actual things at stake, like democracy, the best we can do is “let’s pick a day and not buy things”. I fear that by the time people are outraged enough to do something beyond the equivalent of ‘thoughts and prayers’, it will be too late.