Consumer Culture: Are We More Nihilistic Than Ever Before?

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Welcome back to Fire Starters—your sparks for turning the embers of culture into real business impact your CFO can get behind.

In this edition, we’re tackling a question we’ve been hearing often: “Why do consumers suddenly seem so nihilistic?”

You can see it show up overtly in behaviors like the loosening of attitudes toward smoking or the rise of “doom spending.” But it also runs deeper, surfacing in memes and cultural shorthand, like the once-viral phrase “Fuck it, we ball.”

For years, brands have written character statements to align themselves with energetic consumers who feel a strong sense of political and economic efficacy. But what does it mean to engage with subcultures that feel the opposite? And perhaps more importantly—when does engagement risk crossing into irresponsibility?

This year, our team worked with an anthropologist to put a name to the cultural movement of nihilism: NBD Nihilism.

NBD Nihilism is the consumer culture of unbothered defiance or despair shrouded in mockery. It’s a shrug at tradition, a laugh at conventional wisdom, and a wink at the idea that “nothing really matters.” Basically, for Gen Z and Alphas, chaos isn’t a disruption—it’s the default.

This mindset thrives in meme threads, TikTok trends, and everyday habits that reframe hopelessness with humor. At the surface, it looks playful. But dig deeper, and you’ll find something brands can’t afford to ignore.

Want to take a deep dive into all the anthropologist-reviewed insights on consumer nihilism? Get access to the complete deck for free →

Beneath the Humor: A Core of Hopelessness

What fuels NBD Nihilism?

• Crisis-as-normal: Climate disasters, political instability, and social violence have turned “once-in-a-lifetime” events into everyday headlines.

• Distrust in institutions: From governments to corporations, stability feels broken.

• Irony as armor: Online spaces reward layered jokes over sincerity. Earnestness feels risky, so humor becomes the default defense.

At its core, this isn’t just about not caring. It’s about coping with a world that feels unfixable. That hopelessness is the undercurrent brands need to recognize before they try to connect.

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Case Study: Smoking as a Nihilistic Symbol

First off, we’re not saying you should smoke, or even vape. What we are saying is this: Smoking, once stigmatized, is slowly creeping back into the cultural conversation.

Why? Because it perfectly encapsulates the NBD Nihilism mindset. A prosperous life can feel increasingly out of grasp, and in that context, certain traditionally unhealthy habits are treated less seriously. Smoking is taboo, indulgent, and just a little bit reckless—making it the perfect symbol. Online, Diet Coke has even been dubbed a “fridge cigarette”—a ritual of indulgence dressed up as an inside joke.

The takeaway: Consumers are rebranding even unhealthy or even “bad” behaviors as small acts of ironic rebellion.

See “Embracing Bad” as a cultural movement in our CultureSparks library →

Nihilistic Consumers: How Brands Can Engage

So what do you do when your audience laughs at the system and shrugs at tradition?

Playfully poke the system right back.

• Lean into irreverence and self-aware storytelling.

• Embrace satire, poke fun at your own category, or flip outdated norms on their head.

• Avoid heavy-handed moralizing. This audience wants brands that get the joke.

While not explicitly nihilistic, e.l.f.’s recent commercial with Jennifer Coolidge shows a brand that’s in on the joke and understands that its consumers have stopped pretending to have it all together.

👉 And this is just one strategy. Nichefire’s full Culture Deck on NBD Nihilism explores more ways anthropologists suggest engaging with these consumers—from embracing imperfection to designing for chaos. Get access here →

As culture tilts toward nihilism, brands have a choice: ignore the signs—or meet consumers in the irony, the indulgence, and yes, even the hopelessness.

One thing is clear: the brands willing to get the joke will be the ones that win.

Feature Spotlight: Firesearch

Gen Z humor can feel like a puzzle wrapped in layers of irony. What looks like nonsense at the surface often hides deep truths about what consumers value (or don’t).

That’s where Firesearch comes in. It’s our cultural search tool that helps you:

• Decode the layered meanings of memes, jokes, and ironic trends.

• Uncover the real drivers of consumer behavior with simple searches.

👉 Use Firesearch to cut through the chaos and uncover the culture shaping your audience. See how it works in the full white paper →

FireStarters Live: The Culture of "Treats With Macros"

NDB Nihilism is shaping consumer behavior, but so is this cultural movement.

Watch Nichefire CRO and Co-Founder Khalil El-Amin in the FireStarters Live as he breaks down the cultural shift around GLPs (Ozempic, Wegovy), high-protein snacks, plant-based indulgences, and the evolving relationship people have with food.

p.s. Have a signal or trend you think we should explore? Hit reply and share.