Unhealthy Habits Associated with the "That Girl" Aesthetic
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She wakes up before 8 a.m. every morning, makes fresh green smoothies and journals before she starts her day. She meditates and is perfectly at peace. She works out in the cutest sets and lives in a minimalistic apartment in a city. She has a near-perfect life. Or, at least that is what we are seeing on social media.
That Girl, the latest trend on TikTok, is said to promote health and wellness. Here at The Edge, we believe this trend is doing the opposite.
We don’t see how her mental health is. We don’t see her bank account from all the expensive clothes, beauty and food products she uses or wears daily. We don’t see her true happiness, or even her face really. We see a list of tasks she completes in order to reach peak beauty.
Yes, there are many healthy aspects of the trend which are great. Meditation and journaling are great. Exercise and juices are great. But, they need to be done in moderation and whenever you want. The trend is motivating and exudes confidence. It can also be triggering, extreme, and unrealistic. Some people love the morning routine of getting up at 5 a.m. whereas others love to sleep in. They are both correct. This trend has forced us to want to transform into That Girl where we want to reach that certain level of perfection.
The That Girl trend is too picture-perfect, too aesthetically pleasing. Let’s be honest - most of our lives don’t look like that. Your life doesn’t have to look like a Pinterest board. It’s okay to have dishes in your sink and clothes on your floor. It’s normal to not make your bed one morning and feel lazy. Wear those sweatpants with the stain, or the sweatshirt with a purposeful hole in the sleeve. You can work out however many days a week you want, or don’t. You can go out with friends and stay up all night, or go to bed early.
As a society, our phones need to be put down. We don’t need to fit our lives into what we see on a 60-second video. Life happens, and that’s okay. It’s okay to be sad or angry sometimes. We may think the girls we see on social media are picture-perfect, and they appear so. But, they don’t show the ugly parts of their day. We don’t see when they cry, eat fast food, or go out partying. It’s all about balance.
Girls or guys don’t need to change themselves just because of what they see on social media. We don’t need to fit into this unhealthy lifestyle. It becomes mentally draining to scroll and see those videos. It can become a strict obsession that can affect mental health. Social media needs to normalize imperfection. You can romanticize your life without following a list of rules that fit into the That Girl trend.
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Forget the label. Instead of being That Girl, just be you.