From the trend of having 6 billion views on TikTok: The consequences of letting social networks invade everyday life

Dynasti deGouville is exhausted but Samantha Blau has never felt better. Both do the same thing. Two women strive for a better life following advice they learned from trending Tiktok videos #ThatGirl and #CleanGirl.

Those videos require people to wake up at 5am, exercise daily, journal, meditate and eat some green foods….

The trend called #ThatGirl has had about 6 billion views on Tiktok. It is the clearest example of online content that aims to inspire people to change their real lives. Beautiful pictures and descriptions of happy life create great motivation for viewers.

However, sometimes those videos also make many people feel overwhelmed and embarrassed. Sometimes those are standards of beauty and wealth that so many viewers can’t reach. Even the #ThatGirl trend has been criticized for its lack of diversity in terms of body type, race and income. Many posts feature thin, white and rich-looking women.

In terms of improving lives, #ThatGirl delivers two opposing results. The story with Ms. deGouville and Ms. Blau can provide the most intuitive insight into the impact of trends on social media on each person as well as warn of bad things that can happen if inappropriate.

Exhausted

Earlier this year, deGouville, 22, saw a lot of videos containing the hashtag #ThatGirl from people she followed on Tiktok. They talk about how to improve life. After graduating from Emory University in May, the young woman began comparing her life to the people she saw on video, and that’s when deGouville decided to change her life according to the videos she watched. .

After experimenting with the lifestyles suggested by videos with the hashtag #ThatGirl, deGouville felt exhausted and overwhelmed. Other platforms also have videos like this, but the authenticity and simplicity that deGouville perceives from the videos on TikTok makes her think they are more believable.

Meanwhile, TikTok’s algorithm knows what users want and proactively suggests them similar videos. This leads people like deGouville to just see everyone online and question why they don’t.

TikTok itself does not deny this. Last December, it said it was working to diversify its recommendations, preventing users from seeing too much of the same content. In addition, the company also actively minimizes content recommendations related to health topics such as diet and exercise and is continuing to optimize it.

Back to #ThatGirl, this trend encourages people to wake up 1.5 hours earlier than work to journal, drink smoothies, and do a 7-step skincare routine. After closing the laptop at the end of the workday, everyone needs to go for a high-intensity exercise. After resting, practitioners will have a healthy meal, read a book and meditate before going to bed.

“There are days when I get it all done. But to be honest, it’s exhausting,” deGouville said. “The pressure to follow the lifestyle that #ThatGirl recommends makes me feel uncomfortable and extremely stressed.”

After turning her back on #ThatGirl, deGouville’s life returned to normal and she felt everything was going well.

Inspiration

Like deGouville, 19-year-old Blau also follows this lifestyle and posts them on his own Tiktok page. Instead of instructing people to do it, the student at Western New England University in Massachusetts sees it as an inspiration for small daily changes.

Blau’s approach is based on her living conditions. She chooses what’s right for her to do. It is this that makes the young student feel her life has improved. This tendency helps her integrate into society more and spend more time on external needs.

Blau doesn’t like to get up early so the girl doesn’t do it. She chooses to go to the gym in the evening. As for meditation, Blau found it inappropriate and ineffective, so she quit.

“I watch those videos to see how to recreate good habits while staying true to what I do every day,” Blau says.

What to do to not become a victim of TikTok?

Jacqueline Sperling, a clinical psychologist and lecturer at Harvard Medical School, advises: “Ask yourself how you feel before and after watching the video. If you find yourself in an uncomfortable mood, stop watching and follow them”.

Besides, each person should also set a time limit on using TikTok and other social networking applications to avoid falling into phone addiction. If you can’t do that, switch to black and white to make the smartphone less appealing.

Consult an expert on the trends you plan to follow on TikTok. Remember, a healthy lifestyle for one person does not mean it will be healthy for another. Expert opinion will be the most helpful way.

Finally, don’t forget that the most beautiful often appear on social networks. Imagine what happens behind the scenes. Pictures sometimes do not correspond to reality.

Refer to Bloomberg