Is the ‘That Girl’ Trend on TikTok Motivating or Toxic?
We all know “that girl” on TikTok. You know, the one who totally has her life together. Everything she does is very aesthetically pleasing. She wakes up early, works out, eats very healthy, keeps her place clean and organized — the list can go on. She has the perfect work, life and social balance.
Those are good things and healthy habits. But is it realistic and motivating? Or does it set up toxic unrealistic standards?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m definitely guilty of scrolling mindlessly through TikTok for hours at a time. And yes, I often find entertainment in watching morning routines and “what I do in a day” videos. These lifestyle content creators are living the aesthetic life I wish I could have.
Sometimes when I watch these videos, I get a burst of motivation to clean and organize my entire apartment. But other times, I get in my head. I start thinking, “Why can’t I look like that? Why can’t I be that girl?”
Here’s the thing. Becoming “that girl” isn’t actually that simple. First of all, getting caught up in the aesthetics of making “healthy” food can easily slip into toxic diet culture. Like of course, eating healthy is good and all. But when I scroll through TikToks of people doing “that girl” trend, I can’t escape all the videos of calorie counting and food restriction.
This trend also isn’t cheap. To be “that girl,” it seems like I need to have enough money to buy cute organizers, workout clothes and different products to make my life as aesthetically pleasing as possible.
It also costs time. “That girl” magically has all the time in the world to achieve the life of picture-perfect wellness. For people who are in school like me, it’s difficult to find time to schedule all these “that girl” activities.
And to be honest, it’s just not feasible or sustainable to try to reconfigure my entire life to match what I see on social media. Lately, I’m trying to be kinder to myself. And instead of trying to change everything at once, I’m implementing one new lifestyle habit at a time. Right now, I’m focused on fixing my sleep schedule. I try to go to bed no later than 12:30 a.m. on weeknights to get a full eight hours of sleep. Because I don’t want just a quick fix, I want a healthy lifestyle that is going to stick naturally.
I’m not completely bashing the “that girl” trend. I agree that it can be entertaining to watch lifestyle content — I literally do it all the time. But it’s always a good reminder to not compare your life to what you see on social media. Because that’s just not real life.