Using social media has become a regular hobby practiced in our free time for hours a day. I began social media at 9, I have seen trends firsthand: ins and outs, yes’s and no’s regarding anything from fashion, music and celebrities to extreme ideas about plastic surgery, body types and diet trends.

With the rise of TikTok, there has also been an increase in harmful trends like buccal fat removal — the newest in plastic surgery that reduces cheek fat to give you slimmed-down cheekbones.

But how can we ignore the Ozempic trend to lose weight? Ozempic is supposed to be an injectable prescription medicine used by people with diabetes to lower their blood sugar. The prescription is used for weight loss benefits and is causing a worldwide Ozempic shortage. Mindy Kaling, Kim and Khloe Kardashian and Elon Musk are believed to have used Ozempic for weight loss.

What do these celebrities have in common and why should we care? They are influential within pop culture and vulnerable people who idolize them can fall to harmful new trends.

According to Wallroom media, “the percentage of U.S.-based TikTok users by age: 10-19 – 32.5%, 20-29 – 29.5%, 30-39 – 16.4%, 40-49 – 13.9%, 50+ – 7.1%,” suggests that younger people are easier targets for harmful trends. But there’s a growing number of older people who will be exposed to them as well. This is concerning because as trends become more extreme, it’s  harder to achieve results, impacting mental and physical health.

When it comes to filters, you don’t know what is real. There are also face-altering plastic surgery filters that change your face based on what surgery you “need.” 

It all rests on body dysmorphia and tricks you into believing you’re only beautiful if you have surgeries. But that’s not all. With popular hashtags like #WeightLosscheck, #WhatIEatInaDay, and #WeightLossJourney drawing more than 1 billion views, it’s hard to escape these ideas when you see them constantly on your explore page.

On the contrary, hashtags like #BodyPositivity, #RealBodies, and #SocialMediavsRealLife all show and celebrate “real bodies.” Bodies with hair, acne, scars, lines, tummies and more are all appreciated rather than shamed into changing.

In the end, we all decide what we do. Do you want to eat like TikTok influencers? Do you want the same face as your favorite TikTok filter? Do you want to live your life based on what is trending now only for it to change next week?

Our lives are not hashtags or post on someone’s explore page, we are not trends.