HOT OFF THE FOR-YOU-PAGE: Sabrina Bahsoon has taken the world by storm! From the London Tube to the Valentino fashion show, the 22-year-old influencer has made a leading name for herself by coining the latest viral trend. And while we’re all obsessed (myself included), it does raise major questions about the trajectory of social media in society.
Her short-form videos are a medley of quick camera movements, confident dancing and expressive lip-syncing to “hot girl” anthems (Greedy by Tate Mcrae being one that sparked a surge in popularity for the TikToker). But this isn’t necessarily what sets her apart. Sabrina’s influence is most notably drawn from the fact that she is doing all of this while entirely unbothered—on public transit. Yes, you read that correctly. After all, she isn’t famously referred to as “tube girl” for nothing.
I think it’s safe to say we’re all officially under her spell, as #tubegirl is trending at 1.1 billion views on TikTok. The videos are so irresistible that stars like Omar Apollo, Bella Poarch, Patrick Ta and Troye Sivan have had to get in on the fun.
Her catapulted fame even earned her last-minute invitations to both Paris Fashion Week and London Fashion Week. During these events, she made an impromptu runway debut in MAC Cosmetics’s Face Show, walked in the Christian Cowan SS24 Runway Show, attended Alessandra Rich’s SS24 show, “From Venus with Love,” and more. However, dystopian debates took center stage when a candid video of the budding fashion it-girl at the Valentino show strutted its way across the internet. In this viral clip, Bahsoon can be seen filming one of her famous TikToks, dancing right past You actor, Penn Badgley, without batting an eye.
This seems to have caused some disillusionment among fans, as it leads to a realization of the inherent disconnect involved in this trend. In fact, in an interview with Stay Tuned NBC, Bahsoon explains, “I honestly didn’t know he was walking by me. I was just so concentrated. Like, when I do these videos, I genuinely am in my own world.” The incident sparked online discussion over what participation in the making of these TikToks really means.
Conceptually, it’s about prioritizing online presence over real life presence. However small, the trend is a step toward a society in which social media has reign over day-to-day physical reality. It prompts users to enter a sort of “tunnel vision” while making these videos, trading in-person likability for social media mobility. Anyone who jumps on this bandwagon has to be prepared to accept some funny looks, disrupt their environment and generally be unliked by strangers sharing the small public transit space (maybe even have a tomato or two thrown at them). Needless to say, it goes against the basic human survival instinct to garner acceptance in our 3D communities. This, in turn, demonstrates that we’re evolving past the need to fit into physical social settings because virtual social settings can yield much higher benefits. I mean, look at how Sabrina Bahsoon’s life has done a full 180. The praise she’s received has thrown her into whirlwind stardom in a matter of weeks!
And this is no hate at all to our unofficial “First Lady of Juicy Couture.” I’m all for overcoming social anxiety and promoting confidence one hair flip at a time! But of course, culture mirrors society at large, and this internet fad is both promoting and reflecting a world based more on illusion than reality.
Fitting in isn’t everything, but at a fundamental level, it is a part of what makes our communities human. This trend simply replaces the usual habit of seeking approval from the few people around us with seeking approval from millions behind a screen. So I suppose on another note, we’re valuing quantity over quality in our human connections.
Hence I ask, is the “tube girl” trend really about overcoming public embarrassment, or disregarding public presence?