Does it sometimes seem as if social media has turned American popular culture into a perfectionist parody of itself? Last week, I followed a social-media-spawned debate over whether a home decor trend called “fridgescaping” was worthy of media attention. I guess it must be, because what it called “romanticizing your refrigerator.” “For some participants of this trend, it’s about organizing the fridge with decorative containers,” Kristen Moonjian, of the trend forecasting company Fashion Snoops, told the magazine.
“For others, it goes beyond that with the incorporation of flowers, vases, twinkle lights, LED candles, framed artwork and more.” Seems to me that worrying how your milk cartons are arranged is a bit obsessive, but I am not here to judge. Oh, hell, yes, I am.
If you find yourself hankering to hang a framed photo or light a candle inside your fridge, it may be time to get help. The longer social media exerts its magnetic hold on us, the more we’re going to see such pop culture trends going off the rails. Do you remember the pre-pandemic trend ? The term was coined to describe incredibly good-looking couples who claimed to be having a fabulous time roaming around the country in their vans, their beautiful golden retrievers in tow, posting endless chatty updates about whatever products they happened to be paid to push that week.
In a world beset by climate change, partisan division and $20 Erewhon smoothies, some seem to yearn for a kind of Woodstock.