how mortality, moms, and temu are connected
literally going to hug my mom so tight and she hasn't even heard of the app.
By now, we’ve seen or heard about the 35496854 Temu commercials that aired during the Super Bowl. And the memes that are questioning how they could afford that many! The answer? MOMS. Moms looking for ways to escape the mundane routine of their lives, moms craving more out of the 24-hour cycle we’re stuck repeating in our mortal coils… Not to sound drab, but it’s true. (Well, I don’t have the monetary data, but we have the TikToks.) Let’s talk a little about how these manifest.
On TikTok, two parallel pathed trends illustrate the above sentiment about moms and their Temu affinity. The first “POV my mom is addicted to Temu.” Here, young women tour their moms’ homes and see how every nook, cabinet, and surface is filled to the brim with Temu treasures (in the mom’s eyes, junk to the daughters’ eyes).
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It’s a voyeuristic view of their mother’s lives, showing how it oozes random utilitarian items that you would have never thought of getting: plastic frog shaped devices that squeeze your toothpaste tube to the very last drop, sponge holders for your sink, neck fans that hang over your neck, random cleaning devices that hang like ornaments easily in the most random places, travel-sized sets of everything imaginable like tweezers to makeup brushes. Malleable plastic drawers for organization end up living on every home surface, becoming the dwelling to more Temu plastic items. Many items shown are still in their unopened plastic bags, waiting for their day to shine. But of course, more hauls are on the way. Each item bought on the app fills the scenarios yet to be, prepared in advance because of Temu.
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The other trope that manifests with mothers is the “Temu victim.” This classification occurs when moms have fallen victim to the unnecessary excess of matching Temu sets, primarily shown in bathroom sets of shower curtains, bath mats, toilet seat covers, and wall art. It's splashed with a random and off kilter prints akin to a Blingee graphic.
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It’s cohesive in its chaos, so alas, it has entered the home, and its dominance is unavoidable. This unchecked Temu indulgence happens when you’ve gotten all of the bizarre knick-nacks that promise to make your life easier, as highlighted in the POV trend. It also can spread into other corners of the home, even uninvited into the bedrooms of adult children who live with their parents, as shown in the TikTok below, where a mom furnished her daughter’s bedding and curtains with a matching set that has an endearing graphic of eyes closed with sparkly eyeshadow, long lashes and a script font reading "gorgeous." Kitsch slay or nightmare?
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All of these are a surreal sight and manifested output of the brand. It’s a collision of consumerism and chaos that amuses and confuses us at the same time, hence why their documentation exists in these super specific trends.
But let’s take a second to think about why boomer moms are so hooked on Temu.
The appeal of cheap shopping on Temu can be like gambling. It’s a rush when you find a bargain. Researchers at Stanford found that when you see photos of things you want to buy, an area of your brain where dopamine receptors are is activated.
Knowing that Temu’s brand platform is “Shop Like A Billionaire,” it's like being a kid in a candy store for these Boomer moms. They worked hard to provide lives for their children, putting everyone else’s needs before their own. And then Temu comes along. They can swipe and easily imagine enhancing their lives with these frivolous items. They can be empowered to give into self care, opulence, and the opportunity to finally pamper themselves at an accessible price point. They can channel their own desires for once, even if it means selling out to materialism.
But something murmurs in the TikTok comments of these funny and viral videos that is so emotional. Many women have commented how they received their mother’s Temu packages posthumously... Their final hauls became a farewell. A momento of a fleeting pleasure their mom was chasing. It’s symbolic of the impermanence of our lives. It is the timeless tale of a mom’s love and sacrifice and the tiny moments she can finally take for herself, even in death.
So, next time your mom or someone on the internet’s mom is flexing their Temu haul, we should embrace the absurdity of it and celebrate the joy these moms are having with it. Who are we to deny someone giving into some blissful indulgence? Life is too short to be anything but happy, and if that comes from clicking check out on Temu, so be it.
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xoxo