A culture has sprung up around a social media trend
With the recent invasion of TikTok replacing and imitating the beloved Vine, another new trend has come to the youth that I can’t seem to wrap my head around. VSCO girls are a new demographic of teenagers that have taken the internet by storm and I don’t know why.
These girls emerged during this past summer clad in long t-shirts, scrunchies, friendship bracelets, with Hydro Flasks in tow and a need to be seen. This new trend is popular among Gen-Z because it values natural beauty, feeling comfortable and being environmentally conscious. This seems great on the surface, but the more I investigate it, the VSCO girl vibe is all about putting in money and effort to achieve an aesthetic that is supposed to look effortless. Not to mention how the people who subscribe to this fad promote saving the turtles while they buy from large corporations that contribute to the destruction of the planet.
On top of the in-your-face nature of the VSCO girls, they come with catchphrases. The oh-so irritating “And I Oop” and “Sksksk.” The saying “And I Oop” stemmed from a video posted by Jasmine Masters, a drag queen who was popularized on the show RuPaul’s Drag Race. I understand the comedy in that clip, it went viral for a reason. But fifteen-year-old girls repeating it after every minor encounter is maddening. Comedy is subjective, but the little ‘joke’ they have going has been overused to the point of exhaustion.
Teenagers have a cycle of trends that filter in and out as time goes on. Kids often feel pressure to look and act like everyone else in order to fit in. But at what cost? In your effort to blend in, you lose what makes you stand out, what makes you an individual. Those differing traits are crucial during high school because most people are still figuring out who they are in the first place. The point of this isn’t about bashing teenagers. I hate VSCO girls because they promote an image of uniformity instead of originality. I see slight variations of the same girls and wonder how they are okay with being another Hydroflask clone. Although I do have to give them some credit: I am a huge supporter of the long t-shirt trend. I would never wear pants again if I didn’t have to.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what I think. Whether you can’t stand VSCO girls or you are one yourself, there will inevitably be another new trend in year or two that will also be blown way out of proportion. To all the VSCO girls: try to enjoy this one while you still can. Sksksk.