Unhinged consumerism or aspirational organisation? A critical discourse analysis of restock videos

Abstract

This article adopts a critical discourse analytical perspective to investigate the emerging social media trend of restock videos, a genre featuring visually satisfying and sonically soothing clips that showcase products being organised and stored in domestic environments. This study employs the framework of Social Media Critical Discourse Studies (SM-CDS) to examine a sample of Instagram posts using the hashtag #restocking. The analysis indicates that editorial and narrative features of restock videos allow influencers to provide an almost immersive digital experience that appears genuine despite aesthetic enhancements. Their curated authenticity and apparent relatability seem to favour a strong emotional engagement and a rather passive consumption of these posts, which typically receive few – albeit extremely polarising – comments. The documentary-like quality of restock videos may obscure problematic issues, such as overconsumption, wastefulness and traditional gender roles associated with this social media genre.