Category Archives: BCM206

A mental health TikTok summary

Sometimes life can just suck….

And I mean that in the most non-grim way, sometimes life can be a lot, especially with someone who deals with mental health issues, someone like me. So, for this project, I decided to continue the project I started in my first year of uni and will continue my mental health tik tok page.

Link to my TikTok page:

@mia.watton

My TikTok page is to show my life as a 21-year-old uni student, working a crappy retail job with mental health issues. I wanted to target people going through the same thing specifically young women. My project’s aim was to help destigmatise mental health issues, especially with young women trying to live their best lives, but these issues can sometimes get in the way of that, but I wanted to show that it’s okay.

Over the 12-week semester I created a handful of videos on the social media platform TikTok, I prototyped a lot of videos, and I will be analysing more of my videos later in this report. Over the semester my videos were very much in the experimental phase and just made videos off trial and error to see what my audience and followers liked. My goal was to have easy, honest, and vulnerable content for my audience, I wanted it to feel like it was like a facetime chat with my girlfriends.  

Some of my inspirations for this project are @mary_skinner, @darcyomalley and @alidaballestro.

These accounts are not the specific the same things as what i do but they definitely give my some inspiration.

Analysis of important project moments

The growth and fall of tik tok trends

The growth of mental health tik tok has somewhat declined since lockdowns have been a thing of the past, now a lot of videos are now making mental health videos to be like ‘help me get out of a rut’, ‘getting back on track’, ‘turning into an it girl’ which is trying to make mental health a ‘trend’. The It girl phase/trend has been very popular among young girls and girls in their 20s. So let me explain the It girl trend, basically, it is this unrealistic routine that girls have made into this trend, and this was thought to help a lot of people with their mental health as it involves healthy activities, like exercising and eating healthy but the problem with this trend was that it made individuals feel bad if they didn’t meet their expectations of the day, so it made people have unrealistic expectations that ultimately made people mental health worse.

@fernandaraamirez

happy morning 🤩💗🙆🏼‍♀️ #morningroutine #minivlog

♬ original sound – EX7STENCE™

These trends became popular because they were very aesthetic and looked like the ‘perfect’ life which looked achievable and could be for some people but with my own personal experience with this trend when I didn’t achieve something, or I just lied in bed all day and was super lazy it made me feel worse about myself and my mental health got worse. Now since the ‘it girl’ phase was a few months ago people have now realised how toxic those trends are so now people are now focusing on self-care routines that consider their mental health first.

@paigee.michellee

Here’s your sign to not forget to take care of YOU #fyp #selflove #selfcare

♬ Some you loved lose you to love me mashup –
@faithsfresh

it is okay not to have a perfect IT girl morning routine 😌

♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey

So, when deciding to make my videos and trying to come up with ideas I wanted to not make them unrealistic and ‘fake’, I have found my audience reacted well to my video being more down to earth, open, honest, and vulnerable about my struggles. I find that has built open conversations in my comments with strangers and we can just discuss how we deal with our own struggles.

Mental health got the better of me

The second moment that I wanted to discuss is my mental health throughout the semester, which I know is the whole point of this project, but I will admit it was hard sometimes. In my project pitch, I said that I wanted to create 2-4 videos a week, obviously, that did not happen as sometimes life just gets in the way. I hate crying in front of people, and I hate people feeling sorry for me or giving me pity so when I was having low moments throughout the semester the last thing I wanted to do was be in front of a camera and talk about it, wich i need to work on. I was also very very busy the last 2 months due to some work circumstances that made me travel and be working a lot more than I usually do within the semester so again after getting home from an all-day shift, I just felt like I needed to just be present and actually focus more on my mental health than being stressed out about producing content.

Strangers are actually really nice

When ideating, prototyping and posting my videos I was very nervous about how strangers would react to my videos as mental health is a very touchy subject, I didn’t want to offend anyone so I added trigger warnings to my videos when discussing mental health, but to my surprise, everybody was super supportive and commented their own experiences which were really surprising and made me feel happy with the content I was creating as it made me feel not alone and felt like a community of some sort.

Analysis – cottagecore

It was actually very hard for me to connect the speculated and future networks topics to my DA on TikTok but I have decided to connect it to cottagecore. If you want to look more in-depth into cottagecore you can go check out my previous blog on cottagecore.

Cottagecore is a massive trend on TikTok and on other social media platforms as well, It fosters a minimal, simple rural lifestyle in the countryside, ‘local food, artisans, animals, forests, gardens, flowers, and no technology.’

Cottage core helped a lot of individuals with their mental health as this was their escape into a perfect world especially when the pandemic came along and most of the world was in lockdown. People turned to creating and imagining these fictional lives online due to the fact we were all at home suffering in the lockdowns and developing anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. Imagining beautiful forests, gardens, and flowers and being in the countryside, helped a lot of individuals get through a time like Covid- 19, as they were imagining a perfect world.

Even though my page isn’t about cottagecore, it’s still about helping people just in a different way, I want people to understand that mental health is ok to have, and sometimes all you need is that realise from the real world to help you in the long run, my page was to provide entertainment, comfort and vulnerability same as cottage core does

Conclusion

Researching more in-depth into my DA’s niche this as given me more time to fully understand my niche and understand what makes a good project.

Even though there were some failures and setbacks throughout the semester it has not stopped me. After the semester I do intend to keep going with my TikTok page as to is something I enjoy doing, in the future I can look at collaborating more with family and friends to make it more personal.

References:

Butterworth, P, Schurer, S, Trinh, T.A, Vera-Toscano, E, & Wooden, M., 2022, Effect of lockdown on mental health in Australia: evidence from a natural experiment analysing a longitudinal probability sample survey. The Lancet Public Health, Available at: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(22)00082-2/fulltext#:~:text=The%20imposition%20of%20lockdowns%20was,existing%20inequalities%20in%20mental%20health.

Hatrick, P 2020, How The Pandemic Took Us To ‘Cottagecore’, CNMN Mag, Available at: https://cnmnmag.com/essay-how-the-pandemic-took-us-to-cottagecore/ .

Saxon, A 2021, ‘Cottagecore EXPLAINED – What It Is, How It Started, Why Is So POPULAR’, The Vou, Available at: https://thevou.com/fashion/cottagecore/#cottagecore-popular.

Wallis, J 2022, ‘Why the ‘that girl’ TikTok trend is more sinister than it seems’, The Fashion Journal, Available at: https://fashionjournal.com.au/life/that-girl-tiktok-trend/.

Will CottageCore and Solarpunk save the world?

Looking at the Emergent future networks module in the subject BCM206, I became very interested in the cottagecore and solarpunk topics in the module.

All photos from Pinterest

When I was researching cottagecore and solarpunk, I personally found that they are roughly the same thing as they are depicting the sense of nature, green and sustainable vibes. So I will be discussing them as they coexist in the world and could both of them save the world?

Most people would think that cottagecore and solarpunk would be just aesthetics and trends but could these aesthetics make people actually care about the environment and the future. But let’s dive into what they are separately.

‘Cottagecore is an aesthetic that celebrates simple living, particularly in the countryside. It encourages a lifestyle rooted in traditional skills—like baking bread, gardening, and sewing your own clothes.’ (Higgins 2022). Cottagecore became very popular at the start of the early pandemic on social media more specifically Instagram, pinterest and TikTok as everyone was in lockdown people dreamt and imagined the beautiful aesthetic of the outdoors and people needed that escape from the inside especially the people that lived in bigger cities. ‘With ample time on our hands when the pandemic hit and quarantine became commonplace across the globe, we turned to finding fulfillment and purpose outside of our monetary potential—and cottagecore was the perfect vehicle..’ Reggev 2020.

Now onto Solarpunk, ‘The solarpunk aesthetic depicts nature and technology in harmony. Lush green communities with rooftop gardens, floating villages, transport fuelled by clean energy and hope-filled sci-fi tales. Imagine a world in which existing technologies are deployed for the greater good of both people and the planet.’ (Smith 2021). Compared to Cyberpunk which is about a destroyed, decaying and dystopian future, solarpunk is more about sustainable futures than a bright, green and environmentally friendly life.

An example of solarpunk is the recent announcement of Saudi Arabia’s new city called the Line, This city is the definition of Solarpunk as in this city as it will have ‘No roads, cars or emissions, it will run on 100% renewable energy and 95% of land will be preserved for nature.’. These are some of the points of the line city that people are getting excited about as ‘the line will eventually accommodate 9 million people and will be built on a footprint of just 34 square kilometres. This will mean a reduced infrastructure footprint, creating never-before-seen efficiencies in city functions. The ideal climate all-year-round will ensure that residents can enjoy the surrounding nature and more… ‘ (Neom 2021). Unfortunately, this city won’t be a thing for years to come.

Obviously, solarpunk is more of an actual problem solver for the environmental crisis that we are dealing with compared to the cottagecore aesthetic. However, the cottagecore aesthetic might make younger generations and people on social media care a little bit more about the environment as they are romanticizing the simple natural life.

A cottagecore creator @fleuranoor sits down with Paper magazine to discuss cottagecore and her feelings towards it. She describes ‘I just like the idea of romanticizing the little things in life, kind of simplifying everything. Finding the sweet moments like baking, cooking, just the traditional way of living that a lot of us kind of miss out on as we grow up in modern times.’ (Gillespie 2020).

Not only are social media creators romanticizing cottage core but I also described in one of my tweets that when I hear cottagecore I think of live-action Disney movies such as maleficent and cinderella. In my tweets, I included stills from the movies that show cottagecore with the princesses there.

With all these influencing factors of the solarpunk aesthetic and cottagecore aesthetic, I personally feel like could potentially help with our environmental problems in the future.

References:

Higgins, C.J 2022, ‘A Beginner’s Guide To Cottagecore’, The Good Trade, (Accessed 10 September 2022),[https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/what-is-cottagecore#:~:text=in%20the%20countryside.%E2%80%9D-,Cottagecore%20is%20an%20aesthetic%20that%20celebrates%20simple%20living%2C%20particularly%20in,and%20sewing%20your%20own%20clothes.].

Reggev, K 2020, ‘What Exactly Is Cottagecore and How Did It Get So Popular?’, Clever, (Accessed 10 September 2022), [https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/what-exactly-is-cottagecore].

Smith, N.K 2021, ‘What is solarpunk and can it help save the planet?’, BBC, (Accessed 10 September 2022), [https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57761297].

Neom, 2021, ‘The Line’, Neom, (Accessed 10 September 2022), [https://www.neom.com/en-us/regions/theline].

 Gillespie, K 2020, ‘TikTok’s Cottagecore Influencers Explain the Trend’, The Paper, (Accessed 10 September 2022), [https://www.papermag.com/cottagecore-explained-tiktok-trend-2645826366.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1].

Is Cyberpunk really a fashion aesthetic?

Let’s start off with what is CyberPunk?.
CyberPunk is a science-fiction sub-genre dealing with the integration of society and technology in dystopian settings (Abreu 2022). But now it has become a part of the fashion world in 2022.

It depends on how would define cyberpunk but some people would say that they first saw the cyberpunk aesthetic in the 1980s and 1990s grungey fashion due to the movies such as the matrix, the terminator and mad max that were made in the late 80s and 90s. As all of these movies have a dystopian futuristic vibe and genre they have set the path for the CyberPunk fashion movement.

Now the rise of Cyberpunk is due to multiple factors that include, anime, video games like CyberPunk 2077, and social media more specifically TikTok. TikTok is probably the most influential social media platform to this day as there are approximately one billion monthly users of the app. With the rise of TikTok, there are trends that come and go every single day and this influences the audience, one of those trends was the cyberpunk aesthetic and fashion. This trend became apparent with big-time tiktokers and influencers adopting this trend in the early pandemic time. Videos such as get dressed with me or styling videos are very popular on the social media platform.

TikTok @bluecifer_

These types of trends then carry on to other platforms such as Instagram. Instagram is probably the biggest social media platform for fashion. Influencers and celebrities show off their amazing fashion and styles. An example of this is Kim Kardashian and her recent partnership with Balenciaga. Balenciaga has taken the runways and fashion world by storm with their recent collections becoming more futuristic and cyberpunk.

Designers such as Dior, Versace, Balenciaga and more have designed futuristic and Cyberpunk aesthetic collections since the 1980s.

The Balenciaga 2007 spring/summer collection was designed by Nicolas Ghesquière and his inspiration was from science fiction movies such as Tron and The Terminator as the fashion has materials and textures that are associated with cyberpunk aesthetics such as chromes, metallics and dark colours.

The Louis Vuitton 2019 spring/summer collection was designed by Nicolas Ghesquière. Ghesquière used space-like colours, angles and futuristic silhouettes to make it more futuristic than cyberpunk.

Balenciaga’s Fall 2022 collection would be the ultimate definition of cyberpunk fashion in my opinion. This article on Vogue describes the runway in great detail as it started with ‘ To the sound of a love poem voiced by AI, a breed of haute couture humanoids encased in black neoprene, their faces uniformly erased in high-tech reflective face shields…’ (Mower 2022), ‘It looked like an invasion by a sinister breed marching on their spiked, chiseled ‘space boots,’ ready to take over the earth once humanity has wiped itself out. Welcome again to the dystopian thrills of the Demna fashion multiverse.’ (Mower 2022).

Before this collection, we saw celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Kanye west at the 2021 Met Gala, with Kim Kardashian wearing a fully black outfit covering her face, which a lot of people found very controversial or on the other hand, fashionistas found it to be very daring and out of the box and cyberpunk.

But from the runway and celebrities to streetwear, The Cyberpunk aesthetic is becoming a part of everyday individuals’ wardrobes. As influencers and celebrities can affect everyday individuals’ lives, fashion is one of the main things they can change. Influencers and celebrities such as @sophadophaa, @jacquiealexander_, and @bellahadid pave the way for new trends. Some Examples are using futuristic accessories to make the outfit more cyberpunk or the use of buckles, pockets, textures and dark colours can be considered cyberpunk.

But is cyberpunk just a trend that will go out of style or is it here to stay?

References :

Abrue, R 2022, ‘What is Cyberpunk — Genre Definition, Origins & Examples’, Studio Binder, (Accessed 27 August 2022), [https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-cyberpunk-definition/].

Campus Magazine, 2020, The Cyberpunk Aesthetic, (Accessed 27 August 2022), [https://www.campus.sg/the-cyberpunk-aesthetic-campus-sg/].

Davis, J 2021, ‘Kim Kardashian responds to criticism of her Met Gala look’, Harpers Bazaar, (Accessed 27 August 2022), [https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/fashion-news/a37604911/kim-kardashian-met-gala-response/].

Jana, R 2019, ’14 designers whose fashion is out of this world, literally’, Vogue,(Accessed 27 August 2020),[https://www.vogue.in/fashion/content/14-designers-whose-fashion-is-out-of-this-world-literally].

Mower, S 2022, ‘Balenciaga Fall 2022 couture’, Vogue Runway, (Accessed 27 August 2022), [https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2022-couture/balenciaga].

SMPerth, 2022, TikTok Statistics for 2022 // Facts & Figures. (Accessed 27 August 2022),[https://www.smperth.com/resources/tiktok/tiktok-statistics/#:~:text=TikTok%20boasts%20approximately%20one%20billion,10%20and%2029%20years%20old.].

Zoller, L 2021, ‘The evolution of Cyberpunk fashion’, _Shift, (Accessed 27 August 2022), [https://www.shiftlondon.org/fashion/the-evolution-of-cyberpunk-fashion/].

BCM206 PITCH

So, as explained in my pitch video, I will be continuing my project from last year’s DA, which is a TikTok discussing and living with mental health.

I definitely saw room for improvement on this platform as it has nearly been over a year since I posted on this page. I think TikTok is an amazing platform to shed light on something that is important such as mental health.

I will be trying to learn from the mistakes that I did last year such as not really posting consistently, time management and also the variety of ideas that I wanted to produce and I just didn’t do the last time around. Some people will be happy to know that I have already started to produce content ideas.

So my goal for this project is just to produce raw and vulnerable content for my audience and to learn from my mistakes and just be happy with what I’m producing and for it not to be a burden to post. I also want to help people and see that they are not alone, I also want to educate people to show that mental health is different for everyone and to discuss it in a medium that has such an influential presence.

I have chosen to continue on TikTok as it is still the most influential and used app to this day with 1 billion monthly users. I will be trying to post 3-4 times a week which I will be aiming for but a minimum of 2 times a week could potentially happen. I want this project to be fun and exciting to make and produce content.

As I have discussed in my video my target audience will be the typical uni student struggling with mental health and wanting to feel like they are not alone and that is my plan to build a community within TikTok. As explained I wanted to be relatable as possible so someone like me will give me the engagement on my content that i want.

My videos will just be doing things for yourself and for your mentality because if you don’t have that you don’t have anything so as you can see in my moodboard is very self care and just simple things that can make the world of difference.

Please see the attached link to my TikTok, if you want to follow along the journey – https://www.tiktok.com/@mia.watton?_t=8UlhcIs6h1d&_r=1