These Hydroflask carrying, friendship bracelet making, “and i- oop” chanters are slowly ruining the internet. “VSCO girls” are girls that take on a certain aesthetic: they wear long tee-shirts that cover their Nike shorts, puka shell necklaces, birkenstocks, and only drink out of Hydroflasks (usually with stickers on them) or use metal straws. Their main phrases are “and i-oop” and “skskskskksksksksss.”
They post pictures of themselves on the social media platform VSCO where people usually post artistic pictures and call their outfits “aesthetically pleasing.” Look around, can you spot one? Is it your friend, your sister or maybe even yourself? I’ve spoken to some self-proclaimed “VSCO girls,” and while some proudly slurp from their metal straws and say “sksksksksk” in every other sentence, some others would gladly trade in their Hydroflasks for a Camelbak. The question is, why is their image so harmful in media? Every so often, a group of girls takes centerstage in the media. In the 90’s it was the valley girls, in the 2000’s in was the basic girl, and today in the 2010’s it is the VSCO girl.
These stereotypes are hilarious, but they are creating a very strange environment in the media. All of these things are just fads that come and go, but they can make people feel like they need to fit in. The VSCO girl epidemic is taking over the internet, which can make it difficult for other creators to feel involved. There is little diversity of thought in social media platforms such as Youtube and Instagram, and our generation’s obsession with “VSCO girls” is making it difficult for others to succeed.Yes, I too think that the Tik Tocs that I accidentally come upon while strolling on my Instagram feed are hilarious. However, it makes me think, whatever happened to individuality?
Nowadays it seems like everyone is the same, making the same jokes, dressing the same, acting the same way. Why is it that instead of celebrating individuality, we give our attention to the people that fit into society’s mold of how a person should or shouldn’t act in this day and age.
Before “VSCO girls,” people stopped using plastic water bottles and straws because they were bad for the environment and for turtles.
Before basic girls, infinity scarves were just something people wore to keep their necks warm. And before valley girls, people’s intelligence was based off of what was in their heads and not their Calabasas accents. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with being a VSCO girl, valley girl, or being basic as long as you’re not doing it to follow a fad or to make yourself feel like you fit in. I think a great lesson is to be learned from this: everyone should be able to live their authentic self, no matter what the media says is popular.
