Social media is constantly evolving, and some videos, memes, and challenges go viral instantly. Some trends stick around for the long run and become users’ go-tos, while others blow up and vanish in a couple of months. Trends move so quickly that it’s nearly impossible to predict, but while they’re in the spotlight, we can examine how they got there and why we love them. Let’s take a look behind our next trend, girl math.
Last month, we explored the girl dinner trend, which is essentially women sharing the small snack-style meals they prepare for themselves for dinner in a comedic way, but this isn’t the only “girl” trend living on the internet. Over the past few months, “girl” trends have been sweeping TikTok, including rat girl summer, hot girl walks, and now girl math. So, what is girl math?
Girl math is a trend where young women across social media are creating comedic ways to justify their purchases and spending or sharing the unorthodox way they think of their finances.
Let’s Talk Girl Math Growth
The girl math trend is believed to have been started in July by FVHZM a New Zealand podcast on iHeartRadio with hosts Hayley, Fletch, and Vaughn. FVHZM posted their girl math conversation to TikTok, where the host justifies her own and guests’ large purchases such as handbags, Doc Martens, or even Taylor Swift concert tickets using absurd calculations to reach the conclusion: “It’s basically free.” Soon after, girl math caught the attention of many users, and the hosts turned it into a regular segment on their show. In the following weeks, the use of girl math was spreading rapidly across TikTok For You pages.
@fvhzm Big fans of girl math 🫶💁♀️ #girlmath ♬ original sound – FVHZM
Many of the most popular girl math videos consist of creators writing out a list of how they justify their spending in amusing and illogical ways, and explaining their mental math to their audience. Some common girl math rationalizations include:
- If you return an item, you’re making money.
- If an item is under $5, it’s basically free.
- If you don’t shop during a sale at a store you frequent, you are losing money.
- The money you have received in your Venmo account doesn’t count.
- Cash is not real money.
The list goes on and on.
On TikTok, #girlmath currently has 212.7 million views and is growing daily. Popular girl math videos have earned a flood of positive sentiment with comments stating, “Girl math is such a universal experience,” “Girl math is not a trend, it’s a lifestyle,” and hundreds more explaining their personal girl math.
@healthbydaniela Girl math makes me feel seen 🥹#greenscreen #girlmath #girlmaths ♬ original sound – dani 🤍
‘More Than a Trend, It’s a Lifestyle’
We believe girl math is earning a barrage of love in TikTok communities and other social media platforms due to its absurdity and its relatability. Like many of the other “girl” trends sweeping social media, girl math is representative of a shared experience that builds a connection between creators and audiences and leaves viewers wanting to share their own personal experiences.
Girl math provides an outlet for users to express their own financial habits in a safe space where they will not be judged and can laugh about it with others. Within the girl math trend, there are women sharing their own personal dilemmas, their rationalizations with their dads and partners, and their unique mental pathways on how they reach the conclusion that something is “basically free.”
However, similar to its counterpart, girl dinner, girl math is also gaining some mixed reviews from audiences. Some audiences, reporters, and trend watchers speculate that these illogical rationalizations for spending are excuses for frivolous habits. Others even believe that the trend promotes a negative stereotype that women are not good with money, which dates back decades.
However, most approach the trend with a light-hearted lens, and a majority of participants recognize its joking and comical tone. Dan Egan, vice president of a digital investment advisory firm, told The Washington Post that there is no need to panic over the trend, explaining how girl math has nothing to do with gender, and it is a representation of mental accounting that is common among many people.
“Mental accounting is a facet of human psychology. It is not necessarily good or bad. It’s that we keep money in separate little mental accounts that exist only inside of our head. And those mental accounts lead us to act very differently when thinking about spending or saving,” said Egan.
He explained further to The Washington Post that it’s fine to not worry about small purchases that won’t have significant consequences on building wealth in the long term.
Whichever way you decide to view girl math, social media trends give people the power to make it their own. Whether you wish to share your own girl math moments or advocate for savvier financial decisions, you can partake in the girl math trend.
Brands and Girl Math
Tapping into trends allows brands to show up on social media in native ways that are consumer-preferred and perform well within the algorithms, and girl math poses an excellent opportunity for brands to jump in.
Girl math is particularly suited for brands due to it being built around shopping and spending. Through partnering with creators, brands have the ability to integrate their products into a girl math equation:
- If you use an item you purchase every day? You spend $1 per day to use it and get your money’s worth.
- If it is a wellness-related purchase? It’s an investment.
- If the shipping is free? You’re saving money.
- If coffee is filled to the brim with minimal ice? It’s basically free.
@mixedupmoney #girlmath ♬ original sound – Alyssa Davies
While the opportunities are endless, girl math straddles the line between exhibiting good spending habits and justifying poor ones, so it is important to tap into creator marketing and get creative to align a specific girl math philosophy with your brand’s marketing strategy.
Open Influence is a global creator marketing agency that always has a vast knowledge of current social media trends and how to seamlessly weave them into your brand campaigns. Reach out to Open Influence today for a creator marketing agency’s perspective on how to discover and take advantage of the latest social media trends.
