The New Year's resolution is out. Typing detailed lists into a note-taking app is in.
Instead of opting for traditional New Year's resolutions, people on platforms like TikTok and Instagram are making lists of what they want to embrace or leave behind in the coming year and call these “ins and outs” lists. The trending videos can take the form of written text on a video or a screenshot from a note-taking app. The range of what can be 'in' and what can be 'out' seems to know no bounds. Everything from new habits, such as “be on time”, to more abstract values, such as “taking care of my inner child”, could be in 2024.
What may or may not be 'in' or 'out' has seemingly no limitations; it's a huge trend with people adding whatever they want. That said, many of the videos embody a certain 'soft girl' or 'soft living' aesthetic or ethos. Videos are common on a soft piano and items on the “ins” lists appear to lean toward counterculture or anti-consumerist values embody an ethic of de-influence. Instead of listing specific product recommendations like skin care or trendy clothing, TikTokers are pushing back on consumption and mentioning “fast fashion' in the out section.
Trends like this leave a mixed taste in my mouth. On the one hand, the lists seem like a very “online” trend that turns something very personal, like your mindset as you approach the new year, into content. In that sense TikTok effectively turns it into a commodity a list of personal goals and turns it into another consumable item from which to harvest as much as possible one million views and 170,000 likes.
And while these lists don't focus on specific product recommendations, they are still trying to “sell” you a certain lifestyle. In this way of life, habits such as “overextending yourself' or 'being self-critical' are out. In theory I can support these qualities, but goals like these don't yield much due to the socio-economic or cultural context in which many people currently find themselves. You might say that 'working overtime' is out of the question, but working long hours makes sense because many of us are recovering of wage stagnation and inflationand lack of regulation in gig work. In that sense, these lists are still selling a certain kind of life that may not be attainable for many people.
On the other hand, this change seems to embody a generational shift among millennials and Generation Z in their approach to the ethics of New Year's resolutions. Instead of focusing on goals that maintain strict beauty standards, such as going to the gym or buying new clothes, many young women and girls seem to support changes such as “wearing the same outfit again” or “rejecting diet culture.” In this context, these trends appear as a direct response to current socio-economic conditions. People are more aware than ever of the fast fashion's devastating environmental impact and more people understand that a person's weight drops to a complex set of factors over which a person may have no control. These lists highlight changes that reject diet culture and fast fashion.
As someone who is unfortunately too online (and who may be resolving to spend a little less time on social media in the coming year), I think both points are true. This new way of making resolutions can both resist consumer culture and commoditize that idea. This may be just another way in which the endless stream of popular content turns countercultural ideas, such as buying less, into aspirations that are difficult to achieve.
In times like these, it's helpful to reflect on the way social media captures our attention. I'm browsing TikTok and the algorithm presents me with video after video, which is the exact same template of ins and outs. I appreciate people wanting to share their lists, but I also remind myself that this is just one way to approach the new year. Ultimately, sometimes it's just best to flag a video as something you're not “interested in,” kick another giant trend out of your social media feed, and get back to the niche nerd shit you found there has brought.