My Pet Peeve: Microtrends

Imagine this: A teen girl scrolling through TikTok. She is constantly being advertised a new trend. She becomes enamored, and goes to Shein to buy a new wardrobe for 50 bucks. On top of that, she changes her personality to revolve around this new life. After it all, she is finally what she sees on her feed and is just like the influencers that are just too good at their job. 

Whether it be Barbiecore or Coastal Cowboy you’ve probably seen a “microtrend” on Tik Tok, Instagram, or Snapchat. Microtrends and aesthetics have been extremely popular on the internet, especially since the dawn of social media. 

The Wingspan article “Social Media’s Obsession with Aesthetics.” states that the term “aesthetic” comes from the 1730’s when philosophers were trying to define what we saw as beautiful. As time went on, places like Britain became obsessed with beauty and what made something “beautiful.” Now we live in a time where we add -core to the end of a word or phrase that we identify with, and everything is “just so aesthetic.” 

My own little sister who, in my opinion, was given access to social media too early picks up phrases and traits from Tiktok and her friends (who got it from Insta) and suddenly, she’s preppy. Or is she a swiftie now? Wait no she's basic, my bad. This epidemic of beauty-obsessed races to the top of popularity is a detriment to our society; harming how we live, think, and act.

Another problem that comes with fast-paced aesthetics is the weakening of existing rich subcultures and styles into a more pleasing, modern look. When I came into the alternative scene I took a “which aesthetic are you” quiz and the results came back grunge. As I was 11, I reformed my life around a few youtube videos on what I was told was “grunge”. I would later find that what I was really being shown was more so the cleaner e-girl or basic alt than the baggy, dirtier style of grunge. Guess what? I liked the real grunge more anyways! 

Additionally, the ever-popular Y2K aesthetic is often brought into criticism due to its lack of the more “cringe” prints like plaid shorts, gaudy tops, and bad prints; instead focusing on the pastel, rhinestones, and pop culture references. This angers those who believe that if you’re truly going to recreate a trend, you have to do it right.

 The fast paced nature of these trends no doubt leads to a large overconsumption problem. For instance, Stanley cups. According to an article by the Guardian written by Alaina Demopoulos, Stanleys have boomed in popularity in recent years as they have switched from a more male-centered demographic to a female one; redesigning their cups with pastels and cute accessories. Many people own more than one with some having a cupboard-full collection. You may be asking yourself “doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the life-long quality of these cups?” and I'm here to tell you, dear reader, that it does! These people see something popular on social media and flock to target like it’s black friday to get into actual fights with people over the brand new stanley (that's an actual thing that happened, look it up). 

It isn’t just the cups either, “Overconsumption core” is exactly what it sounds like buying way more than you need to look cool. In retaliation, “underconsumption core” has also become popular where people pretend to be poor (while buying expensive, luxury items of course) where people who can’t afford these items are confused why jeans that look like they've been rolled in grass are being sold for 70 bucks. 

Using fast-fashion sites such as Shein causes large buildup of trashed clothes in landfills. Fast fashion is a generally new thing and it is BIG. The popularity of clothes that are in style and up-to-date with affordable pricing is understandable, but where does it go when the articles become out of date? Into a landfill. Dielle Lundburg and Julia Devoy write in “The Aftermath of Fast Fashion” that 66% of used clothes go to landfills around the world where they decompose, releasing toxic gasses and pollute soil and water. Which causes health concerns for the environment and people around said places. Additionally, these pieces are not usually well crafted, leading to shorter wear times. Alex Crumbie corroborates by saying that most pieces are only worn around 14 times to as little as once or twice before being discarded. We could also go into detail about the conditions of the workers in these factories but that's a conversation for another day.

Lovers of all things trendy argue that growing up is for figuring out who and what you are, including your style. While I will admit this is true; you need to figure out who you are on your own terms. But following fashion trends isn’t for everyone, and those who don’t fit in may be ridiculed for not doing what everyone else is doing. A mom took to tik tok when her 9 year old child was bullied for buying a knock-off or “dupe” stanley. Countless other reports have had similar stories of children who either don’t want to or simply cannot afford to be like everyone else. When I was in the 6th grade my friend made fun of a kid because his checkered vans were really white with the checkers drawn on in sharpie. I felt bad for him because the iconic checkered vans are expensive, and he probably couldn’t just go out and buy brand new Vans to fit the trend. This kind of exclusionist behavior is problematic to mental health and safety.

Children and teens could also be convinced that what they’re doing is what they should be doing because of the pressure of social media. Teens and young adults tend to believe that if everyone is doing something, then they should do it too. A study by the PEW research center in 2022 says that 67 percent of teens use Tik Tok while Instagram and Snapchat clock in at 62 and 59 percent respectively. These short-term content apps are where lots of these styles come from and whether or not they realize it, we are influenced by what we’re advertised on social media.

Now obviously society won’t collapse because the internet makes fashion trends move too quickly.You shouldn’t rush the streets because somebody has 10 Stanley Cups. Humans will adapt and things will regulate themselves eventually. Social media isn’t evil and does (occasionally) do some good.

Without social media I wouldn't have found the Scene subculture. It was started in the mid-2000’s as a branch of Emo. They have similar music styles whereas Scene is more focused on having fun and partying rather than focusing on the sadness of life. It faded out in popularity around the mid 2010’s and was replaced primarily by the hipsters. If you haven’t noticed, I would've been more worried about coloring in the lines at kindergarten than what I wore.

I came upon the style on a youtube compilation video a couple years ago and was entranced. The bright colors, funny t-shirts and big hair pulled me in. My best friend came over the next day and gave me a makeover. It wasn’t completely right but I was happy nonetheless. Now I've made friends and grown as a person and artist because I feel free to express myself. 

Without the internet (and alt video compilations on youtube) I would have never found something I really love to be a part of, but if it were just a small blip in the fashion world I would have never found it. I think things would be a lot better if we were given time to digest what we see online rather than having to inhale what we consume for fear of missing out. Try slowing down every once in a while, you could find something you really like.