Influencer Culture Redefines Ordinary as Viral Trends, Sparking Debate on Originality
From celebrity-endorsed pasta dishes to trademarked daily walks, social media's fascination with influencers has led to everyday activities being rebranded as groundbreaking trends.
The pervasive influence of social media personalities has led to a phenomenon where ordinary actions and styles are repackaged and presented as novel trends, often with celebrity endorsement. This cycle, fueled by constant online consumption, prompts questions about originality and the definition of innovation in contemporary culture.
The "Gigi Hadid Pasta," a seemingly simple dish of ziti with vodka sauce, gained viral status after the supermodel prepared it during a COVID-19 lockdown. Despite its basic nature, the recipe was treated as a culinary revelation by social media, highlighting how a famous name can elevate mundane activities.
This trend extends beyond cuisine. Kylie Jenner's "partless slickback" ponytail, worn to a basketball game, was widely shared and tutorialized on platforms like TikTok, despite resembling hairstyles common for decades. Similarly, Sofia Richie's "sleek lazy girl bun" garnered millions of views and became a popular bridal look, illustrating how established styles are rebranded as influencer-driven innovations.
Even mundane activities are not immune. Hailey Bieber's casual act of eating sushi while wearing a face mask sparked a trend, with followers attempting to replicate the action and discussions about whether it was a deliberate beauty hack or simply multitasking. Fans even suggested a "sushi-friendly" face mask line, demonstrating the intense focus on celebrity behavior.
The concept of "romanticizing your life," which gained traction in 2020, further popularized the idea of imbuing everyday routines with special significance. This evolved into viral phenomena like the "hot girl walk," coined by TikTok creator Mia Lind to describe a simple daily walk. Lind later trademarked the term, turning a healthy habit into a branded commodity and raising concerns about the commodification of simple activities.
The trend has reached a point where even basic consumption, like making toast, has been framed as a stylish statement, with videos captioned "toast is kinda chic" accumulating hundreds of thousands of likes. This rebranding of the ordinary into something fashionable is often driven by audiences who voluntarily adopt and promote these trends, sometimes without direct marketing from the influencers themselves.
More complex viral trends, such as "dessert bowls"—combinations of sweet and salty snacks in a single bowl—have also emerged, with influencers securing brand deals for concepts as simple as mixing snacks. This has led to criticism that creativity is being overshadowed by a focus on the mundane, amplified by the mechanics of social media.
This phenomenon has led to a perceived suppression of originality, with young people questioning whether viral trends are genuinely new or simply repackaged versions of established practices. The constant exposure to influencer content, critics argue, buries genuine creativity under a barrage of basic concepts presented as revolutionary. The article suggests that everyday actions like tying one's hair back or enjoying a meal should not require an influencer's validation or be confined to a hashtag, advocating for a return to simply existing without the pressure of online categorization. The phrase "touching grass" has emerged as a counter-trend, representing a desire to disconnect from the constant online activity.