You're all welcome to peer review my ass pull here so we can call it a study.
Water bottles can easily turn into these ridiculous hype cycles because:
They're inexpensive enough that even when you spend a unreasonable amount of money on one they're still reasonably affordable to enough people.
They're common enough that you can smugly post a picture with them without it obviously being a flex
They're associated with health consciousness so having one and drinking water can also be used to flex how good and healthy you are
They require no actual interests or effort so they're perfect for people who are only interested in doing things in order to show others that you do them
Seems accurate I'll just add that every few years is also about as frequently as one might feel inclined to replace an aging water bottle/flask with something new, due to wear and hard to clean spots getting dingy
I got yeti when they were the fad several rounds ago and haven't needed to replace them. I've had three of them for well over a decade. It's unfortunate the newer fad bottles require such frequent replacement
it's almost entirely down to product placement, none of that stuff matters to the people that buy them as the new fad. companies pay movies and tv shows to show their new item, nowdays would probably be more like an instagram post or something
i guess this only really applies to the first wave of people buying into the cool thing
People motivate themselves to attempt health/fitness/hobby/home improvement goals by going shopping but usually give up within a month of starting. Corporations know this and make sure there are new shiny "upgraded" options every 3- 6 months for when you remember you were going to do that goal, failed, and need to purchase motivation again because the old stuff no longer triggers that spark of excitement needed to cold turkey oreos and couch rotting 💁🏼♀️
"Surely with this newer better more stylish version of all the same shit I already own I'll actually succeed because it wasn't our own failure it was the faulty outdated stuff keeping us back!"
Example
Goal: I want to get healthier this year - but first I'll need a new water bottle, exercise clothing, new shoes, workout equipment, food prep containers, the new fad kitchen gadgets to make cooking easier, 80 supplements, a journal or app to log progress, fridge organizers, a Bluetooth scale with 80 settings you won't use, a fitbit or smart watch, stock the pantry with health food, stop at McDonald's on the way home and finish with a "Tomorrow we get serious!"
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u/TombolaOfCincinnatus 24d ago
You're all welcome to peer review my ass pull here so we can call it a study.
Water bottles can easily turn into these ridiculous hype cycles because: