TikTok’s “Get Ready with Me” Trend Can Be Harmful to Kids and Teens
What? “Get ready with me” or “GRWM” is a popular trend on social media. In a nutshell, in involves influencers filming their morning routines. It can involve hair and makeup tutorials, outfit picking, cooking breakfast or, most commonly, applying facial products.
So What? Unfortunately, the trend—which had more than 150 billion views on TikTok as of November 2023—can spell trouble for younger adopters. In a peer-reviewed study, scientists found that “girls ages 7 to 18 are using an average of six different products on their faces, with some girls using more than a dozen products,” thanks to GRWM content. When combined, the active ingredients in these products significantly increase the risk of irritation and allergic reactions. And only 26% of the regimens include sunscreen, which the study says is “arguably the most important skin care product for any age range, but particularly for kids.”
Now What? “Get ready with me” influencers tend to market these skincare routines (which cost an average of $168 a month!) as “self-care.” But experts warn that they can do more harm than good. “The pursuit of health has become a kind of virtue in our society,” said study author Dr. Molly Hales, “but the ideal of ‘health’ is also very wrapped up in ideals of beauty, thinness and whiteness.” So parents should be mindful—perhaps even having a conversation about beauty standards vs. legitimate health concerns—of how GRWM is affecting their kids.
A Dusting Death in Arizona
What? Renna O’Rourke, a 19-year-old from Tempe, Arizona, recently died after inhaling a fatal amount of computer dusting spray, a trend among teens that’s recently been popularized by social media challenges.
So What? While huffing various chemicals to get high has been an issue for decades, dusting represents a more recent iteration of the same basic idea. What makes it potentially deadly is that computer dusting spray is readily available, cheap, odorless and doesn’t show up in drug tests, either. Those factors likely make the trend seem less dangerous than it is, too. The chemicals in the dusting spray can produce momentary euphoria when inhaled. But excessive quantities can also lead to irreversible organ damage when those chemicals replace oxygen in the bloodstream.
Now What? Dusting represents a new potential issue that should be on parents’ radar. It wasn’t for the O’Rourke family. “She always said, ‘I’m gonna be famous, Dad. Just you watch. I’m gonna be famous.’ And unfortunately, this is not under the most optimal of circumstances,” said her father, Aaron O’Rourke. As with all potential threats to our kids’ wellbeing, dusting is the latest trend that you may want to consider proactively talking about with your kids.
Is the Bop House Making OnlyFans Seem Aspirational?
What? Successful social media influencers have often moved into large houses together to encourage each other in their online endeavors. One such residence, the Bop House in Miami, is home to eight young women. They post to mainstream social media platforms such as TikTok, but they also have a lucrative presence on the adult-oriented OnlyFans platform. Together, they boast 90 million followers across various social media outlets, and their combined income topped $250 million last year.
So What? USA Today recently profiled this group of young women, who range in age from 19 to 25. Writer Rachel Hale asks the question of whether their success on OnlyFans producing suggestive and explicit content (which Hale says stops short of full nudity) sends a problematic message to impressionable younger fans. Child psychologist and Yale professor Yann Poncin notes, “I do think it creates an unrealistic sense of reality. This just really presents as an exciting lifestyle. These girls seem to have it together. They have things, they have money, they have the shining objects.”
Now What? The Bop House story illustrates how fluid the line between being a social media influencer and a sex worker can be. Twenty-year-old cofounder Sophie Rain, who made $43 million last year, gushes about it: “I love what I do, and it’s so much fun. It gave me so much freedom.” But parents need to help impressionable kids understand the tremendous risks and costs involved—to heart, mind and body—as well as understanding that Sophie Rain’s Pretty Woman-like opulence isn’t likely going to be the norm … or without damaging emotional, spiritual and physical consequences.
