Propaganda I'm not falling for
Or am I? Exploring the recent tiktok trend that hit our fyps - trendy or reckless?
propaganda - information, ideas, opinions, often only giving one part of an argument, that are broadcast, pulished, or in some other way spread with the intention of influencing people’s opinions - The Cambrige Dictionary
The most recent Tiktok trend taking over our fyp’s is the largely satirical ‘propaganda I’m not falling for’ where creators list societal norms, trends, and marketing tactics they deem misleading, problematic or generally a waste of time. With some users leaning towards a more political message than others, is this trend truly opening the eyes of the digital community or are these just silly videos?
Due to the range within the trend itself between jovial remarks of collectable items and overpriced moisturizers, and others commenting about the female experience within patriachal structures, the fyp had been divided over the value of the trend and the risk of spreading divising rhetoric across a sucpetible community.
—> When I first came across the trend, I thought it was humourous and relatable, other women commenting about the facade that we are sold particuarly in the under-researched medical fields and high standards that society holds against beauty and body types - the trend encaptured these feelings of comical hopelessness. Particuarly, when observing so many women relaying similar experiences to myself with ‘the pill’. Initially, I agreed (I think I would say I still do), yet other women were commenting mass distress by the satirical rhetoric displayed while discussing important topics.
Comments suggested that it was in turn dangerous to associate the term ‘propaganda’ with important medical advancements such as the contraceptive pill, in fact it was a privilege for women (particuarly in the west) to have the access the reproductive health care and that the trend was incredibly distasteful. From this I learned two things: there was sense in both the creator and the commenter in which I have empathy for both. I believe that the commenter holds truth in the fact that the medical advancements that we have greater access to than other parts of the world is a huge privilege, something that we should show gratitude for, and acknowledge. However, I also found it harsh to propose that the creator in the video was promoting dangerous rhetoric and threatening the development of women’s health - I agree with the creator (yes, satirically speaking), the pill would be at the top of my list too, propaganda is the misleading promotion of a product of society. At 14 years old, I was told that the contraceptive pill was my only option to fix my acne - I was on the pill for 6 years, tried 4 different types that all gave me some sort of side effect whether that be an allergy, further acne or depressive episodes, until I found THE ONE, the one in which you can only be on for 2 years (max) as it may cause blodclots. I came off the pill almost 2 years ago, my body is only coming back to normal now. SO yes, I would say that insufficent warning and lack of information around the pill and women’s health at a young age is misleading. The key word in this trend isn’t propaganda, it’s I’M - what works for you may not work for others, it’s often about the subjectivity of a promotion and the miscommunication that causes people to feel wary and the need to warn others of their experience - it doesn’t make you wrong or right - it’s their life experience.
Understandably, people don’t like when others disagree with them, especially when such strong terminology is used. This trend isn’t going to be used by the government, it doesn’t mean you have to let your friend go because they’re not falling for a certain microtrend you love - it’s just a bit of fun. That said it is also a prime opportunity for brands to promote their own products and for users to highlight salient issues across the world. Likewise, creators have already started posting lists of ‘propaganda I AM falling for’ poking fun at themselves about the chronic overconsumption we all seem to fall into (atleast once in a while).
As always the main takeaway here is that another trend has come and will go, social media is performative and should always be in the forefront of our minds when consuming such media - enjoy the creativity and relatability.
Propaganda I’m not falling for…
The pill (I did)
Labubus (I’d love to say any collectible items but I would fall for sonny angels if I wasn’t a uni student… and I did fall for Jelly Cats)
Beige babies
Blazers in the club
Tiktok reposts (I could write a single post just about this alone).
“It’s not that deep” (and this)
The ACATOR series
Political performatism (If you repost it, read about it).
Calling people ‘boring’