I commenced this journey with open arms and wanted to embrace all the challenges that came my way throughout. I am proud of myself for continuing this project, even when times get tough. The media niche that I took the time to truly immerse myself and to further expand my knowledge on was the “That Girl” TikTok trend. However, this media niche took me down all different forms of social media including YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram.
Jasmine Wallis wrote an article in response to her findings on the ‘That Girl’ trend for Fashion Journal.
“The premise of That Girl is, ostensibly, to inspire. The videos feature upbeat music or a motivating speech by the law of attraction guru. They’re documenting an aesthetic morning routine or they’re an amalgamation of Pinterest-worthy pictures. So what’s so damaging about these videos? It’s when you realise there’s generally only one type of person represented in them: a slim, conventionally attractive, usually wealthy, White woman. Trends such as these are reinforcing (to a predominantly young audience as well) that this one singular type of woman is the ideal. Almost all of the women under the That Girl hashtag give off an air of success and self-satisfaction, and each of them reinforces society’s long-held Eurocentric beauty standards.”
(J. Wallis, 2021. Fashion Journal.)
I used countless academic resources when researching my project. These can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FFQ8Hou_iXqM3dSqbKaMxTJWMrsWCPSGBMez5_uJ_5I/edit?usp=sharing
I believe as individuals we are always looking for the next best thing. Whether that is self-improvement, a new fancy toy, or a relationship. However in the past 18 months, when the world was stripped from us it was in these times where the ‘That Girl’ trend blossomed. I believe this was the case, to distract yourself and spend time focusing on improving ourselves when the outside world was so messy. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last time a trend like this circulates the internet. It was evident in the early 2000’s, fitspo pages were a trend on Tumblr. This trend led to many girls obsessing over calories and their weight, resulting in serious eating disorders. I believe this trend is even more damaging. This trend highlights and emphasises more than one aspect of your life, it entails your workouts, food, skincare, bedroom and with all these topics, comes compassion to others. The feeling of not being good enough, or not having enough time these pressures were real feelings I felt like a content creator in this media niche.
In my previous posts, I highlighted my epiphanies that I had whilst experiencing first hand being a content creator/audience member in this niche.
In this project, I became a content creator, as well as a member of the audience. Connecting and interacting with similar content creators allowed me to immerse myself in their audience. I was able to observe the outcomes of content that they were producing, this included the good, the bad, and the ugly. I was able to comment and interact with individuals that did not create content and were just being influenced. These were the people that I was observing to see if the outcome of them watching this trend was damaging to their mental health. It was when I did this, I was able to see the true reflection on the unrealistic and unattainable lifestyle that this was influencing on the target audience – being 15-24-year-old females. Being able to document my findings in my previous posts was crucial in my journey in this media niche, which reflects the autoethnographic route I was taking.
When choosing this niche, I knew I was interested in TikTok and the popularity that it has recently had. I previously already had an online presence displayed on TikTok with over 2400 followers. I believe this helped and benefited my ‘That Girl’ videos to gain views and comments. I filmed, edited, and uploaded 5 TikTok videos that made me a content creator in this media niche. I also created an online presence by commenting, liking, and interacting with my audience. I did this on different platforms as well, including Pinterest and Instagram. By sharing my TikToks I made an Instagram reel and linked my TikTok so my audience could interact with my content. I also posted and uploaded aesthetic photos on to Pinterest and pinned similar posts that I believed encapsulated the ‘That Girl’ trend on TikTok.
View these here:
I also created mood boards that I believe guided me in the right direction of the content that I wanted to post so I could ensure that it was aesthetically pleasing and would gain the views of my target audience.
I will not be continuing my journey in this media niche due to the results and outcomes that I found whilst content creating and being submerged in this niche. The findings that I discovered whilst on this journey were that the lifestyle that this media niche display is in fact the complete opposite to those that are creating.
Thank you for following me along this journey! Please check out my previous posts here.
Victoria Bobbermien
References
Arshad, S., 2021. Here’s Why “That Girl” Videos Are All Over Your #ForYou Page. Bustle. <https://www.bustle.com/life/what-does-that-girl-mean-tiktok-viral-trend> – viewed 18 August 2021
Authentically Del. 2021. TikTok “That Girl” Trend | How to Become “That Girl” – Authentically Del. <https://authenticallydel.com/how-to-become-tiktok-that-girl/> – viewed 24 October 2021
Belcher, S., 2021. Everyone on TikTok Wants to Be “That Girl” — Who Is She?. Distractify. <https://www.distractify.com/p/that-girl-tiktok-trend> – viewed 1 September 2021
Chua, J., 2021. Everyone on TikTok wants to be “that girl”: I tried that trend but life taught me other lessons. Honeycombers. <https://thehoneycombers.com/singapore/that-girl-tiktok-trend/> – viewed 9 October 2021
Dann, R., 2021. Cheekmedia.com.au. <https://www.cheekmedia.com.au/post/the-problem-with-tiktok-s-that-girl-trend> – viewed 16 October 2021
Gillman, E., 2021. ‘”That girl” is everywhere right now. Here’s why I find her toxic.’. Mamamia. <https://www.mamamia.com.au/that-girl-tiktok-trend/> – viewed 29 August 2021
Joshi, S., 2021. I Tried To Be TikTok’s ‘That Girl’ for a Week. Vice.com. <https://www.vice.com/en/article/5db8ek/tiktok-youtube-viral-trend-that-girl-internet-genz-challenge> – viewed 4 October 2021
Marie, E., 2021. let’s chat: Becoming “That Girl” TikTok Trend. Erika Marie. <https://imerikamarie.com/lets-chat-becoming-that-girl-tiktok-trend/> – viewed 4 September 2021
Medina, H., 2021. Becoming ‘That Girl’ from TikTok & Why Her Existence is Mythological. What’s Trending. <https://whatstrending.com/tiktok-that-girl/> – viewed 29 September 2021
Sharma, R., 2021. Who Is ‘That Girl’ & Why Is TikTok Obsessed With Her?. Refinery29.com. <https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2021/07/10551994/tiktok-obsession-with-that-girl> – viewed 8 August 2021
Singer, J., 2021. TikTok’s That Girl is meant to promote wellness, but some say it does the opposite | CBC News. CBC. <https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/that-girl-tiktok-trend-wellness-1.6139284> – viewed 13 September 2021
Venn, L., 2021. Ok, so what actually is the ‘that girl’ vibe everyone is trying do on TikTok?. UK.<https://thetab.com/uk/2021/04/21/ok-so-what-actually-is-the-that-girl-vibe-everyone-is-trying-do-on-tiktok-202917> – viewed 21 August 2021
Wake, H., 2021. Romanticizing? Or false advertising? What’s really behind TikTok’s ‘that girl’ trend.Upworthy. <https://www.upworthy.com/tiktok–that-girl-trends> – viewed 16 October 2021
Wallis, J., 2021. Why the ‘That Girl’ TikTok trend is more sinister than it seems – Fashion Journal. Fashion Journal. <https://fashionjournal.com.au/life/tiktok-trend-that-girl-sinister/> – viewed 23 September 2021
Weekman, K., 2021. WHO IS ‘THAT GIRL?’ THE TIKTOK AESTHETIC IS EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO BE. Intheknow.com. <https://www.intheknow.com/post/that-girl-tiktok/> – viewed 11 October 2021
Youtube Videos:
Adkins, H., 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbhmsnOMTOE. Youtube.com. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbhmsnOMTOE> – viewed 12 September 2021
Dvorska, M., 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvXLgHNt0tU. Youtube.com. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvXLgHNt0tU> – viewed 7 October 2021
Gomez, K., 2021. becoming “THAT GIRL” from a “FAT GIRL” *5am PRODUCTIVE morning routine*.Youtube.com. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8xZrLMR29s> – viewed 10 October 2021
Jay, R., 2021. what you NEED to know about being “that girl” | TikTok’s new GLOW UP trend & how to be “that girl”. Youtube.com.<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkodA4Emwqs> – viewed 17 September 2021
Jayne, J., 2021. Becoming “THAT girl” ~ TikTok’s New GLOW UP Trend ~ How to Become the Best Version of Yourself. Youtube.com. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL3zsixbLK0> – viewed 24 September 2021
Pliopa, L., 2021. HOW TO BE “THAT GIRL” | realistic productive + healthy lifestyle. Youtube.com. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCDlOL_g8i8> – viewed 24 August 2021
Ramirez, F., 2021. the ULTIMATE GUIDE to becoming THAT girl || tips to glow up your lifestyle! *this will motivate you*.Youtube.com.<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpJhDAZvCTM> – viewed 30 September 2021
Reese, B., 2021. my problem with becoming “that girl” + other tiktok trends. Youtube.com. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3LJmQxLaQk> – viewed 23 August 2021
Tiiu, V., 2021. The Ultimate Guide to Being “THAT Girl”. Youtube.com. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8Fq1rL2nm0> – viewed 3 September 2021Youtube.com. 2021. Becoming ‘That Girl’ TikTok Compilation. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htUMcU40FX4> – viewed 19 August 2021
Victoria Bobbermien 