When thinking about the United States as a whole, simplicity is not something that comes to mind. Americans are always seeking bigger and better, brighter and shinier. However in recent years a new trend has emerged, and that trend is small…tiny, even.
The trend in question is the “tiny house” movement that took HGTV by storm a few years ago. Over the years this movement has changed presentation, but tiny house content is still sweeping across various social media platforms and communities.
The current trendy incarnation of this movement is #vanlife. On the popular social media platform Tiktok, #vanlife has over five billion views and that isn’t even including the associated hashtags such as vanlifetravel, vanlifer, and vanlifeconversion.
At their core, trends such as tiny house living and van life are not just about the physical act of living in a vehicle or a smaller than average house; there is a certain mindset that appears to be common amongst these groups: minimalism, freedom, and independence. In a lot of ways, tiny house enthusiasts reflect values that are expressed in Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden.”
Walden is one of Thoreau’s most popular and enduring works. In “Walden” Thoreau details his experience building his own (tiny) home and small farm in the woods near Walden Pond. He lived a life of minimalism in regards to his material possessions, at one point stating, “I had three pieces of limestone on my desk, but I was terrified to find that they required to be dusted daily, when the furniture of my mind was all undusted still, and threw them out the window in disgust.” He emphasized the joy, financial independence, and connection with nature that this simple life afforded him.
While “Walden” exemplifies many of the values of people who wish to live self-sufficient, minimalist lifestyles, I believe that many of those who participate in the modern day incarnations of the tiny house movement are only interested in surface level presentations of these ideals.
Back in the heyday of the tiny house movement on platforms such as HGTV, clients would tour pre-built, luxury tiny houses featuring flatscreen tv’s, marble countertops, and extensive solar systems. These days on social media, a quick search of vanlife reveals countless Mercedes Sprinter vans complete with thousands of dollars of internal customization to transform them into ideal tiny homes on wheels.
Many people are drawn into these lifestyles through promises of freedom to travel, financial benefits, and sustainable living. They are attracted to the images of pristine van conversions, tiny homes that look like doll houses, and oversaturated nature photography. Entering in with such high expectations is why many people give up on these dreams soon after actually building their tiny house as legal, financial, and storage issues become problematic. Even Thoreau, according to the Thoreau Society, moved back in with friends and family after two years living at Walden Pond. There isn’t any problem with people trying out something new and deciding that, while it was an interesting experience, it is not for them. However, presenting the tiny house movement through such an over-glamorized lens may cause it to appear unattainable for the individuals who are truly interested in living a more minimal and sustainable life and prevents those who choose to move into a tiny house from being prepared for the challenges that they may face.
But, despite the glaring issues within social media’s presentation of the tiny house movement, I believe that it is still a step in the right direction that more people are becoming interested in living simpler and freer lives.
