‘Maxxing ’ is an internet slang term that means to go all in, maximise, or, in some cases, go over the top to achieve an unattainable level of perfection. Social media has deemed this pursuit of optimistic change limitless. As such, the concept of ‘maxxing’ offers solutions to specific aspects of life that were never problems to begin with.
I remember the days when shiny stickers and rhinestones would be used to bedazzle my passion projects in school and create over-the-top visuals that would hopefully blow my teacher away. Years later, in the big 2026, the same rhinestone stickers have taken over the social media algorithm. This time, however, moving away from the simple aesthetics, influencers have gone out of their way to showcase their new bedazzled cars, phones, lip glosses, cakes, and even face masks. As I scroll through my Instagram reels, it’s suddenly become impossible to avoid the rhinestones and ‘whimsy-maxxing’ trends taking over as the new ‘it’ aesthetic. It has become one of the many ‘checklist trends’, if you will, of influencers attempting to go with the flow and stay relevant within the realm of social media. At face value, the trend may seem bright and cheerful, but underneath, I also felt a creeping sense of urgency.
2026, The year of whimsy and dare i say, overconsumption
I hate to be the one to say it again, but here I am, because in the day and age of social media, everything is commodified. Be it your personality, university life, or, in the case of ‘whimsy-maxxing’, your inner child. Sure, being whimsical sounds fun. But since when did it become a trend that is a generalised term to describe individuals? Isn’t the entire purpose of whimsy to be unique and to have your own sense of whimsicality? Since when did everyone collectively become whimsical, all in the name of plastering a couple dozen single-use rhinestones onto your face mask, which in itself is unreusable?
The art of whimsy, an individualised feeling that should give way to playfulness and joy, has transformed into an aesthetic trend to check off. Something that can be internally sought after and personalised has instead forced people to go out of their way to purchase strips of sticky rhinestones just so they can participate. ‘Whimsymaxxing’ should not be about following the crowd and giving in to whatever you see on the internet. Just because you saw Kylie Jenner’s bedazzled birthday cake doesn’t mean you have to do it too.
Overconsumption or overcompensating
It all leads back to that chiseled jawline, that perfect muscle definition and, not to forget, glowing skin. ‘Looksmaxxing’ moves away from the idea of being playful and fun to a more serious and toxic outlook on life. Specifically targeting the younger generation of boys, this trend yet again reshapes how individuals see themselves while enforcing rules to follow and values to change. Not only is looksmaxxing infiltrating the space of social media, but it is also shaping real lives. Influencing young individuals to change their appearance and reshapes how they see themselves. It’s the maximisation of one’s physical appearance, achieved by whatever means necessary, regardless of extremity.
The concept of looksmaxxing places a larger emphasis on the value of one’s appearance while simultaneously indirectly encouraging a misogynistic and patriarchal mindset due to the constant dehumanising language spread by ‘looksmaxxing’ influencers. Gaining insight into the manosphere, looksmaxxing gives way to a more extreme interaction with social media influencers, often detrimental to both physical and mental health. It thus pushes you to a point where you can’t leave room to make mistakes, and perfectionism takes over.
and once you’re done with the above, it’s time to sleepmaxx
Just sleeping? Never heard of that, because apparently you have to be productive while you sleep as well. Oh, and all you need to achieve that are some supplements, mouth tape, magnesium, white noise machines, and finally your sleep score. Or at least, this is what we’ve been fed through constant sleepmaxxing reels. But now, you’re more worried about the idea of wanting to get a good night’s rest, leading to a cycle of overthinking and performing task after task just to wake up groggy in the morning.
One cannot typecast sleep as a productive chore; rather, in this case, similar to whimsymaxxing, it needs to be individualised and specialised to the needs of your body. The constant pressure of following someone else’s nighttime and sleepmaxxing routine will not benefit you in the long run until you get to know your own limits.
so, with that, i say: stop maxxing
It might look easy on the surface to ignore the countless videos erupting about whimsymaxxing and trendmaxxing. It might be easy to scroll past and claim that you aren’t being affected, but somewhere or another, those ideas are being internalised because if you keep hearing the same message from different mediums, you start believing it to be real. So, it is important to remain true to yourself, be whimsical (but in your own way), and remember there is no such thing as perfection, no matter how hard you chase it.