Trigger Warning: Mention of mental illness & Eating Disorders.
The year 2014 was the peak of the social media platform, Tumblr. This site had a strong influence on popular fashion trends and music. Back then, a perfect outfit consisted of a jean jacket, striped shirt, and a tennis skirt. If you were really feeling edgy you could finish off the look by adding ripped tights underneath.
I was only in 7th grade when Tumblr became the trendiest site. Unfortunately for me, we had to wear a uniform at my middle school so I was unable to wear band t-shirts everyday. That did not stop me from allowing Tumblr to shape my personality. On the bus ride to school, I would blast songs by The 1975 and would feel like the coolest girl on the bus.
Sure, I would love nothing more than to be able to listen to “Robbers” by The 1975 for the first time again, but would that outweigh the negative lasting impacts that Tumblr had?
The whole Tumblr ‘grunge’ aesthetic had a strong overlap with issues such as depression and eating disorders. Mental illness, especially depression, was completely glamorized by the Tumblr platform. They promoted the idea that it was “cool” to be depressed. This resulted in so many young kids feeling like in order to be different, they had be mentally ill. So many depressing quotes and posts were constantly reblogged onto your dashboard, it was impossible to escape.
The fashion trends on Tumblr inspired so many people, especially impressionable youth, to develop disordered eating. Just like the glamorization of depression, eating disorders were glamorized as well. Many popular users shared details of their eating disorders and claimed in order to fit the current trends you must be skinny at any cost. Since there were so many young and impressionable kids on Tumblr this resulted in a chain reaction of developing these disorders.
This site also offered the ability to ask anonymous questions on each person’s page. With anonymity came the lack of empathy or care for those on the receiving end of the screen. Since no one would know who asked the blog owner these questions, people did not hold back their negative thoughts. It was normal to have your inbox filled with anonymous hateful comments. These issues have shaped the way many people think. The once very popular site was left behind in 2014; and the only thing that carries on is the memory of the platform users had once spent hours on. I, for one, still often listen to my 2014 Tumblr playlist, but am very happy that the Tumblr days are over.