Anyone who has ever taken an interest in social media or pop culture has most likely been exposed to the concept of an āIt Girl“: an indescribable principle that turns a girl into an idyllic figurehead. While this concept has been exacerbated by social media, it is not new at all. In fact, the first case of an āIt Girlā was over 100 years ago, with movie star Clara Bow. Bow grew up in extreme poverty in Brooklyn, but was eventually able to reinvent herself with the rise of film. Part of her rise to success was her unwavering confidence and freedom. It was said that she was the āarchetypical modern woman,ā the face of a new generation. However, over the years, the idea of an ideal āIt Girlā has shifted away from a confident underdog to a carefully crafted social media influencer, and now to a regular person who happened to share their life online. Rather than film and music stars who have worked tirelessly, this title is now being handed to TikTokers and Instagram influencers whose lives their watchers have deemed as ideal. Devoting respect and admiration towards female stars is not an issue; in fact it is the basis of stardom. But placing regular people who decided to set up a camera and film their lives on a pedestal can be a harmful way to shape your principles.
This issue here is not the creator, but the consumer. We live in a tech-driven world where we are constantly exposed to curated, wealthy lives and are told that that is what we should aspire to be. However, the rise of casual influencers, or people who have risen to internet fame overnight, is now being put on a pedestal purely by chance. It is these people, the casual, relatable, just-like-you-and-me influencers that are now being looked up to. This can be dangerously influential for the consumer because the influencer’s life seems so attainable. It is no longer about the things they have, but their confidence and mindset that people seem to admire. And these are not just admirable, but they are easily replicated as well. According to an article by CNNstyle, āThereās more competition for āItā status than ever before. Itās not just socialites, heiresses, or the Hollywood-adjacent, but influencers who can ā and do ā earn the titleā. This coincidental, overnight fame has led to an epidemic: everyone wants to be the next āIt Girlā.
There is a difference between admiring an internet celebrity and losing yourself in trying to attain a certain lifestyle. It no longer feels like the internet is based around āIt Girlsā, but rather āIt Girl Mindsetsā. The idea that anyone can be what the internet deems as perfect, as long as they follow the right set of rules. What was originally based on unwavering self-confidence is now being shifted into a herd mindset. You canāt be āitā unless you dress a certain way, act a certain way, and make sure you are just cool enough -ā but never too cool. This mindset of having to live a perfectly curated life is not healthy for anyone. Being the ideal version of yourself is no longer about honesty and self-reflection, but about trying to perfectly craft your life to fit a desired mold; constantly being a version of yourself that is falsely constructed based on an external set of rules is not feasible. However, it is temporarily easy. Doing what others say is right or “cool” takes a lot less effort than looking inside yourself and discovering who you truly are and how you want to present yourself. But it is better to take this challenge early on. Living for others is not attainable, so donāt waste your time being someone else, especially when it is so much more exciting to discover who you are. You don’t have to be anyone else’s “It Girl.” You just have to be yourself.
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