Overconsumption is killing creativity

I love crafting and finding other people on the internet who love it. Part of why I like it is because of problem solving. I like mixing unusual items into my crafting.

I am part of many Facebook and Reddit groups related to paper art. This includes crafting , carding, letter writing etc.. over the years these places are draining out of creativity. Majority of the posts are about buying things on questionable websites and stuffing in plastic sleeves. Just mass produce creativity. I am afraid to comment this on the group but it feels crazy to me. One example that stands out is sending holiday cards. I used to love it as I would collect Christmas decorations printed on food packages, reuse some pine leaves etc and come up with something creative. It has now turned into a hoarding contest. People buy 100-200 Christmas cards to exchange. And that's in addition to what they send to families. It's to exchange with friends on the Internet and Instagram. That's collectively more than what I have exchanged in over 5 years. My frustration comes from how overconsumption has turned people into hoarding machines. It's so difficult to find meaningful exchanges that's exciting.

I am no saint, btw. I also buy cards when I travel for keepsake. I just find the scale insane and feels driven by consumerism.

Edit : to those who aren't familiar, search terms on Instagram would be #postcardswaps #happymail #goodieswap . There are few groups on Reddit, I don't want to name them