The Overload
Image by Kimberly Chen
A day at the mailing can tell us a lot about NMH, consumerism, and that thing you forgot you ordered.
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Ellie Kim ’25 & Grace Bird ’25
You walk into the mailroom during X-Block. Country music’s playing on Spotify. Cecile yells “Hello” over the music, grinning ear to ear. You walk over to your mailbox and find a package slip inside. You open the box, grab the slip, and stand in line behind three other students. You try to recall what you ordered just two days ago, but you decide to leave it as a surprise. After a few minutes, you give your package slip to Cecile and tell him your mailbox number. He gives you your package as he says, “Have a good day.” As you walk out the door, you examine the package as you look for a logo print, still trying to remember what you got.
In the bustling heart of our campus, the mailroom stands as a mirror of students’ consumption habits. “It’s one of the main visited buildings on campus,” Cecile explains, gesturing to the rows of shelves lined with packages. “Faculty, students, everyone - they all come through here.” However, it’s not just the foot traffic that’s increasing; it’s the sheer volume of deliveries that’s raising people’s eyebrows. As packages pile up, it becomes increasingly clear that the issue of overconsumption is not just a matter of individual choices but a campus-wide phenomenon.
This surge in deliveries is a reflection of changing consumer habits among students. With the rise of various online shops and social media, students are ordering more items than ever before. “The rush after D block, when kids are picking up their packages, can be intense,” Cecile says. “Sometimes we stay late just to make sure everyone receives their packages.” This daily deluge of packages raises questions about the necessity of all these purchases.
While the increase in delivery shows a growing appetite for online shopping, the contrast in student reactions to their packages suggests social media may be distorting their consumption priorities. We camped in the mailroom during the X block and asked them about their purchases. While a lot of them with AirPods or engulfed their phone either didn’t hear us or flat-out ignored us, However, one of the more socially engaged students who came into the mailroom was a student named Jewel. Jewel peeps through her mailbox and notices an envelope, immediately shining a wide grin on her face. She hastily opens the box and holds the envelope above her head, shouting “Yay!” to her friend. “I got a letter from my boyfriend, who’s in the army,” still looking down at her envelope. While in the mailroom, we asked a handful of students about their purchases. We stayed consistent by asking the same questions to each student: “What is inside your package?,” and “How do you feel about your purchase?” Nearly a third of the students didn’t remember what they ordered in the first place. When asked how they felt about the package that they didn’t remember ordering, every single one of them responded by saying merely “good” or “excited.” A prime example of this is a student in the mailroom leaning against the wall, listening to my questions while waiting for Cecile to grab their package. They look at us and respond to the question about their purchase, “I don’t even remember, but I’m excited, I guess,” as she receives a pink package that reads, “Edikted.” She flashes a smile that soon disappears.
Many of the packages were from Edikted, a very popular and trending fast fashion online clothing store. When asked how they felt, students who received packages from fast fashion brands or other mainstream brands said, “excited” or “good.” but they didn’t show genuine enthusiasm. This behavioral division about their packages in the mailroom raises questions about the ways social media may be shaping the students’ priorities and perceptions. Does the constant exposure to trending brands online dampen their appreciation for the joy of receiving something truly special? Has the lure of fast fashion and the pressure to keep up with digital consumption trends overshadowed the pleasures of personal connection? The mailroom provides a window into this evolving relationship between students and their consumption habits in the age of social media.
In a room in Upper South Crossley, Mary Styspeck ‘25 is sitting on her chair, looking at her new purchase, a pair of second-hand leggings from LuluLemon. There is also a newly bought ice machine under her bed, rumbling as it makes ice for the next morning. “I only buy things when I need them. I order maybe every week or every other week, usually jewelry and toiletries.” When asked what kinds of packages she was most excited about, she said, “Probably something that, like, someone sends me as a surprise. I would only be excited about a letter if it were a cute, unexpected letter from a friend.”
Mary says her favorite package she ordered this year was her soft, stuffed bunny with light brown fur and pink ears. Because of all the attention she had put in, we were expecting that she would say her Lulu leggings were her favorite. “I sleep with the bunny every day, and it brings me joy,” she says, showing the emotional connection she has already built with it. “I’m very meticulous about my spending because I make my [own] money, so I care a lot about how much I’m spending and how much money I have. I don’t blatantly buy things just because I saw and liked it. I’ll usually think about things for over a month, and if I’m thinking about it for long periods and still feel the same way as I did when I initially saw it, then I’ll buy it.”
Meanwhile, Liam Diez Barroso, ‘25, who lives in Lower North Crossley, admits that he sometimes buys stuff he knows he doesn’t need. “I have also been guilty of buying something that I’m not even sure of liking, he says. “When I’m unsure of liking a jacket, I buy it, thinking that I can return it once I make up my mind that I really don’t like it. But then, I get too lazy to return it, and it ends up lying around in my closet.” At this point, he says, no packages get him excited, except for gifts he receives from time to time. His comments reveal an aspect of consumer behavior that a lot of people are subject to: “retail therapy” or the temporary gratification that comes from shopping, even when the item lacks genuine value to the consumer. This isn’t the case for his protein powder, however. Liam says he purchases more protein powder than other students in his dorm. “I finish a monthly portion in two weeks,” he says. “I hate the taste of protein, but I take it because I need to. If I don’t take it, I will become small and die.”
It’s worth noting that the rural, campus-based nature of NMH may influence the students’ consumption. With limited access to stores and shops, students likely rely more heavily on online shopping and package deliveries to meet their needs. This reliance on e-commerce and remote purchasing may be driving more impulsive buying behaviors, as shown by the detached manner of the students collecting their packages in the mailroom. While many students wearing AirPods or glued to their phones appeared oblivious to their environment, those without such distractions tended to respond more enthusiastically when approached about their packages. This behavior can hint at the correlation between social disengagement and consumption habits. The emotional detachment observed in their interactions seems to mirror their attitudes toward overconsumption, as students rushed through the mailroom fixated solely on their deliveries.
Has the excitement of receiving a delivery been overshadowed by the sheer amount of packages received? Does the social disengagement we experience on a daily basis relate to our indifference to consumption? Isolated in this rural campus, the NMH mailroom reflects broader societal trends—the convenience of online shopping luring our community to more consumption. Each package delivered represents not just an individual purchase but a small part of a larger pattern of overconsumption that extends far beyond the boundaries of NMH.
As Cecile locks up the mailroom for the night, the shelves are still heavy with packages, and one can’t help but wonder: What would it take to shift this culture of overconsumption towards one of the more mindful practices? The answer may not be found in the mailroom, but the question certainly begins there.
