With TikTok’s popularity, the trends that are created spread across the world fast bringing toxic expectations with them. 

Recently, the U.S. government has tried to put a stop to Tiktok. Lawmakers in the united states are pushing to ban Tiktok due to safety and privacy safety concerns. In response to the concerns of overuse in young adults, Tiktok is attempting to put a 60-minute limit on the app for anyone younger than 18. 

The app has over a billion users, including young girls. Short clips that are posted daily can set impossible-to-reach expectations as they tell younger generations how they should look.

The filters accompanying these trends alter an individual’s face to slim their jawline, shrink their nose, and make their lips look bigger. This leads to women asking themselves why they do not look like others on social media. Imperfections that are pointed out by these trends can cause girls to develop a negative self-image and hate the parts of their bodies that they can not change.

Though filters cause harm to the youth, it is not the only hard hitter when it comes to this kind of comparison. The different aesthetics that float around TikTok create a belief that everyone must choose a certain “vibe” for themselves. Labeling everything an individual does is unnecessary, for aesthetics like the vanilla girl, preppy, or coquette aesthetics. Everything in these trends needs to be aesthetically pleasing, even if it means that what is shown in the video is not one hundred percent real. 

It is unrealistic to put every part of one’s life into categories and label them. Romanticizing a specific individual’s lifestyle is not necessarily the worst way to find motivation, but it is not the best either.

 The clean girl aesthetic can be motivating as they show a spotless environment and a productive lifestyle. The negative to this is how unattainable this can be. The aesthetic shows that slicked-back hair and a perfectly clean space are what is needed. 

Specific identities that Tiktok claims people need to stick to put individuals into a box or category. The blueprint of how a person is supposed to act according to social media is based on what aesthetic they choose. The main goal for young girls should be to grow their own personality based on what they like and do not like, and not what a trend tells them to like. 

It can be tiring to try to constantly fit into a set group and stick to its rules, especially when a new trend pops up. When there are so many different vibes or aesthetics to keep up with, it’s hard for anyone to be themselves because of the pressure to stay on track. 

It may be challenging to know exactly what the right thing for an individual is, but listening to their own mind and going off of what they want to do will be more beneficial and fulfilling than any trend telling them what to do or how to be.