Ie, a junk economy. None of this produces value, if anything it's parasitic.
Luckily, our economy is mostly based on luxury items, by world standards.
That's why free markets drive innovation, and the usual motivation for innovation. Innovation is expensive, so it's tricky to do without return.
There's nothing intrinsically wrong with producing entertainment, internet communities, or branded merch. But I don't think it's that controversial to say "micro-influencer selling/sponsoring merch" is not the optimal career path for most of the people that pursue it.
At least in my circles, the Instagram gadgets are one part junk, one part failed execution and half genuinely-clever niche objects and services. A silly kitchen tool I low-key love is a domestially-made all-steel tofu press. A friend found it on Instagram.
I am not in the habit of judging other people's values. If it makes someone happy, why not?
Of course: capitalism. So slippery slope and all that.
parasitic would be a one-way setup where only the cigarette provider benefits
I buy straight from brands I trust whenever possible, not even trusting Amazon as an intermediary between us. Those brands aren't selling alibaba-dropshipper stuff.
I'd say my trust in stores that sell more than their own brand is at an all-time low. You have enshittifying mid-range department stores where you can't trust a thing, fake "outlet" stores, et c. I sort-of trust REI. I sort-of trust Costco. End of list, maybe?
Like if there's value being delivered in the "trusted source" sphere for a general retailer, I'm not seeing much of it. Quite the opposite, that's all gotten worse steadily this century.
For example, when I'm buying a synthesizer I watch lots of Youtube reviews.
I know the influencers are paid or given goods but if you watch a person over while you get to understand their biases.
There are certainly things wrong with today's economy, starting with housing being treated as a financial asset, which encourages laws that create an artificial scarcity of it. I'm not saying there is nothing to complain about.
But the fact that not everyone is working purely to create necessities, that some of our economic output consists of luxuries? I don't really see that as a problem to be solved. If anything, I think it's a good sign. Let's not fall into the trap of just randomly complaining about everything.