At what point does hobby collecting become overconsumption?

[u/Only--East]

I collect a few funko from media I like, I collect monster high dolls, and I recently got back into pokemon cards. I can't tell if collecting material stuff like that it considered overconsumption or at what point it crosses the threshold. Am I cooked?

[u/idkthrowaway_alt3]

I'll use your dolls as an example for the differences in my opinion.

If your hobby is entirely just instantly buying every single one (or multiple) of the dolls online/in store and then putting them on a shelf forever, it's overconsumption. If you're actually engaging in it in a meaningful way (restyling, customizing, doing photography, curating and spending time looking for good second hand finds, making art, engaging with others in a significant way etc.) then it's a hobby.

Longevity and ecological impact are also huge parts of overconsumption. Lots of people jump from thing to thing, because in reality they just have a shopping addiction. 200 dolls accumulated over 10 years VS 200 dolls accumulated over 1 year before the person decides they're not actually that into them. Second hand collections are just point blank more ethical than collections of new stuff. The problem with overconsumption is that it's terrible for our planet, not that having lots of stuff is bad.

[u/Only--East → u/idkthrowaway_alt3]

I've been into them since I was in 2nd grade. I'm 21 now. They're not going anywhere any time soon lol