Is the THAT Girl Trend Problematic?

The idea of the THAT girl trend is to romanticize your life by taking joy in the little things every day. That girl is the one who has everything together- organized and motivated. That girl is the one that somehow makes their life look perfect. Influencers take part in the trend by shooting a video montage of their day, making sure to document every aspect that shows a healthy and aesthetic lifestyle. Instead of showing themselves waking up with knotted, messy hair, rushing to get ready, and only stopping to grab a granola bar for breakfast (we’ve all been there), the montage would look more like a calm morning routine: a small workout, a nice skin care and/or makeup routine, a homemade healthy breakfast, and looking put together at the end. You know, all the things that we wish we could do until reality hits and you’re hitting the snooze button over and over again. That’s when you jump out of bed and start scrambling to get ready while simultaneously regretting that you didn’t get up at the first alarm.

So is it really problematic?

In the grand scheme of things, this trend is quite harmless and can even be positive since it is intended to motivate everyone and bring people to enjoy the little things about their own lives. Social media influencers are supposed to act as role models, so they bring out the best part of them for others to see. But at the same time, they need to be someone that their viewers can look up to, so these influencers aren’t going to be showing the negative and unmotivated side of them. This is where the problem comes from! Slashing away imperfections and broadcasting only the aesthetic and perfect side of them on social media creates an unrealistic lifestyle that virtually no one can relate to. Everyone goes through their ups and downs, so hiding these problems through a screen makes it seem like they don’t exist altogether. This unrealistic lifestyle then prompts viewers to set unrealistic expectations for themselves and within their own lives. The point of the trend is to romanticize your life, but the mindset it gives most people is to change their own life to match those of influencers. The motivation that should come from this trend is for people to want to strive for a better version of themselves and enjoy their life, but in reality, people start to think that if they do the same things that their influencers are doing, their lives will magically become aesthetic and perfect. This ultimately does not better them, nor does it bring positivity and motivation. The trend actually does the opposite; it brings unnecessary negativity, insecurities, and self-invalidation.

What’s the conclusion? 

The intentions of this trend really aren’t meant to be harmful, but the mindset it brings viewers is to pursue a lifestyle that doesn’t genuinely stem from themselves. The goal is to improve from inside out, rather than outside in. This, is what makes the THAT girl trend problematic.