How to De-influence Your Life?如何“反種草”？

毛思玉/譯

Right now， I have three different insulated water bottles sitting on my desk. My makeup station is so cluttered it would take me a good three minutes just to find my mascara. My closet is full of clothes I don’t think are cute anymore， and underneath my bed I have bags， purses and who knows what else that I’ve forgotten about.

此刻，我的桌子上擺著三個不同款的保溫杯。梳妝臺凌亂不堪，光是找睫毛膏就得花上整整三分鐘。衣柜塞得滿滿當當，都是我不再喜歡的衣服。床底下堆著手提包、錢包，誰知道還有什么我已經忘記的東西。

It’s not a unique position. Like many other people， I have fallen victim to influencing.

這般堆放，并非個例。和許多人一樣，我也成了“種草”的受害者。

In today’s world of fast fashion， light-speed trend changing and ever-growing social media， it has become almost impossible to not be influenced by advertisements， TikTok tutorials or recommendations from your favorite content creator.

如今的世界，快時尚遍地開花，潮流瞬息萬變，社交媒體肆意生長。我們幾乎不可能不受到影響，無論這影響是來自廣告、TikTok教程，還是自己最喜歡的內容創作者的推薦。

That is， until now.

但是時候作出改變了。

One of the newest， and perhaps also one of the healthiest， social media trends is now “de-influencing.” Essentially， de-influencing is when creators tell you why you don’t need to buy popular products in an effort to promote financial stability， sustainable shopping and mental health.

“反種草”是目前社交媒體上最新的潮流之一，或許也是最有益的潮流之一。從本質上說，“反種草”就是創作者告訴你為何無須跟風購買熱門產品，其目的在于提高財務穩定性，促進可持續消費，改善心理健康。

So， how do we take the premise of de-influencing and apply it to our own lives？ How do we escape the cycle of buying things when we don’t know what we truly want？

那么，我們怎樣做才能抓住“反種草”潮流，并在生活中踐行這種理念呢？怎樣做才能跳出不知真正所需卻仍買個不停的惡性循環？

There definitely isn’t a one-size-fits-all toolkit. If you’re looking to de-influence your life， these tips can help.

萬能的解決方案固然不存，但以下建議有助于你在生活中“反種草”。

Never buy on a whim1

不要沖動消費

If you see something you like or are tempted by a social media recommendation， put a pin in it2. Take a day （or a week if it’s a big purchase） and see if you still want it after the initial “high” has passed.

看見自己喜歡的產品或受社交媒體上的推薦誘惑時，先將其擱置一旁。用一天（若是大額消費，就用七天）的時間思考，看看最初的沖動消退后，自己是否仍然需要這個產品。

Keep note of multiples

切記不要重復購買物品

If you already have three water bottles， do you really need another one？ Whenever you’re about to buy something， consider what you’ve already got. It’s likely you have a perfectly workable alternative， whether it’s a lipstick in a similar shade or yet another fast fashion dress.

如果你已經擁有三個水杯，真的還需要再買一個嗎？每次購物前先回想一下自己已有的東西。你很可能已經擁有完全可行的替代品，無論是色號相似的口紅，還是另一條快時尚裙子。

Repurpose or fix broken products

維修舊物或更換用途繼續用

Before you replace an item， look at how you could repair or repurpose it to avoid waste. Homeware can be customised with fabric or paint， while a tailor can make light work of rips and tears in clothes.

換新之前，先嘗試維修舊物或更換其用途，以避免浪費。家居用品可以用布料或涂料改造，裁縫則可以輕而易舉地縫補衣物的裂縫和破洞。

Work out your own “ride or die3” products

找出你真正需要的產品

Influencer recommendations can be useful when looking for that holy grail4 item， but it’s your verdict5 that matters most. If you do buy something based on a social media endorsement， don’t beat yourself up about it. Instead， go through the pros and cons for your needs （including things like skin type and whether you’ll use it day-to-day） and have an audit of what you own. Get rid of anything that doesn’t work or has been left at the back of a drawer， keep what works， and hopefully your capsule collection6 will make you less susceptible to influencing.

如果你在尋找夢寐以求的產品，網紅的推薦或許很有參考價值，但你自己的判斷才是最重要的。如果你確實因為社交媒體的宣傳而購買了某產品，也不必自責。你應該根據自己的需求（比如是否適合自身膚質、是否每日使用）審視該產品的利弊，并審核自己已有的產品。扔掉失效或閑置已久的，保留有用的，但愿你的“膠囊系列”能讓你少受“種草”影響。

Shop secondhand

淘二手貨

Charity shops and sites like eBay and Vinted are great for when you want that hit of retail therapy7 but don’t want the guilt that comes with fast fashion. They have the added benefit of saving you money on buying new—plus you’ll never get caught in the same outfit as someone else.

如果你想收獲購物療法的快感，但又不想因為購買快時尚服飾而內疚，慈善商店和eBay、Vinted等網站就是非常好的選擇。淘二手貨還有一個好處，那就是能幫你省下購買新衣服的錢，而且你永遠不用擔心和別人撞衫。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者；單位：北京理工大學）

1 whim心血來潮；一時的興致；突發的奇想。? 2 put a pin in sth暫時擱置。

3 ride or die全心全意支持的。? 4 holy grail圣杯，此處指努力追求的目標，夢寐以求之物。? 5 verdict（經過檢驗或認真考慮后的）意見，決定，結論。? 6 capsule collection膠囊系列，通常包括便于搭配和穿著的基本款和經典款。此說法可追溯至20世紀70年代，倫敦精品時裝店“衣櫥”（Wardrobe）的老板蘇茜·福克斯（Susie Faux）首推“膠囊衣櫥”（capsule wardrobe）系列，主打實用好穿且不受潮流影響的經典款。此處的“膠囊”有“濃縮的精華”之義。? 7 retail therapy 購物療法，通過購買服裝等讓人高興起來的方法。