What will you be today? Messy, self-centered, and overly confident or humble, calm, and collected? Will you be one today and the other tomorrow?
I don’t think I’m a brat or very demure. I do think however the internet can easily convince me I am both within a single day and that is probably one of the scariest things to realize.
This summer, the phenomenon of a “Brat Summer” came to light on TikTok after pop star Charli XCX released her new album. The concept of a “Brat summer” meant to embrace all the imperfections and chaos within your life and embrace your flaws as well. It is inherently meant to be unapologetically yourself, even all the ugly parts.
The phenomenon soared off on social media and the next thing you knew, everyone was embracing their inner “Brat.” Posting to the dance dedicated to the song, exposing their “Brat” behavior, and empowering others to be their authentic, nasty selves. People were openly embracing the concept of a “Brat summer.”
The trend went as far to influence the political campaigns going on currently. After Charli XCX posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “kamala IS brat,” the presidential candidate and her campaign fully embraced their connection to the trend. Harris’s campaign decided to use the trend and other occurring memes to promote and connect with the youth, showing the true strength in internet trends and their influence.
However, even with such a strong embrace of the trend, this generation can switch up the societal mindset that is collectively shared in a heartbeat. Within just a week, TikTok’s vibe switched from being a brat to pretty much being the opposite. The word and description of “Demure” took off after a TikTok creator, @joolieannie, posted a video with the descriptions of being demure, mindful and cutesy.
The vibe of being demure relates to a much more calm and collected outlook on life. It emphasizes the importance of poised behavior and how coming off as classy and calm headed is much more trendy and respectable. Notably, this is a huge switch up from the raunchiness and shameless nature of being a brat.
While the internet has not necessarily put one down over the other in terms of acceptability, the embracement of both trends back to back shows a pattern in the behavior of Gen Z. It illustrates the way this generation is easily influenced by social media and the tendency to follow the crowd. Do I genuinely believe that every person who followed both of these trends is truly described by either? Probably not.
The truth is, whether you feel more connected to being a brat or having a demure mindset, our personal identities and behaviors are so much more complex than a simplified trend. While these types of trends can bring to light certain feelings and identities in a person, it will never be a definitive title to a person. As they say, to each their own.
