As a person who is relatively active on social media, I am at the mercy of what feels like billions of trends changing every week. From Stanley tumblers to Ugg slippers to new albums to home decor, there is always a word caught in the mix of popularity and tossed around with a negative connotation: basic.
According to Oxford Languages, the definition of the term basic is “forming an essential foundation or starting point; fundamental.” In all seriousness, it’s difficult to see how this term could be negatively skewed into an insult in today’s day and age. However, we now see this term being used to criticize the popularity of nearly anything, most notably, fashion and music taste.
We’ve come to a strange place in social media where everything has to be placed in a category or an aesthetic. While it’s seemingly trendy and fun, it also feels exhausting and completely unnecessary. The category of labeling things as “basic” seems to be ever-growing in size, and personally, I’ve had enough of it.
Social media has curated an age of rapidly growing trends, and everyone is quick to latch onto them. At the same time, people are also quick to throw trendy things into the “basic” category simply because they have become popular. For the love of God, please let me wear my Ugg slippers and flare leggings without feeling like I’m just like everyone else. I enjoy them just as much as the rest of the world seems to, and I should not feel borderline ashamed of them because of their popularity. There is a reason for their popularity — clearly, people enjoy them.
On a different side of this argument, I do not think people should simply hop onto a trend just because of its “trendiness.” Buy a Stanley tumbler because you really love it or need a new water bottle. If your Hydroflask from the “VSCO” age is still sitting in your cabinet and you still enjoy it, use it. It’s functional, they’re super nice to use and it probably cost around $60.
Another contributor to this negative trend is the plague that has become consumer culture. You might love the new Stanley tumbler you just bought, but loving it does not mean you need one of every color to match your outfit of the day. It’s impractical and incredibly expensive.
Another area in which we see the term basic thrown around is in music taste. Liking a song on the radio or at the top of the charts quickly leads to criticism for not having music taste that is “underground” or “different.” Enjoying music is something that can bring a lot of people together, but gatekeeping artists and making our Spotify Wrapped charts look better is another reason we keep ourselves from enjoying things because we do not want to fall into the “basic” scene. There’s a reason Taylor Swift is taking up the top 10 spots on the pop charts and not the underground indie band you found on Spotify that only has 3,000 listeners and songs that are essentially slam poetry featuring bongos. Sue me.
Because the use of the term “basic” has become easy to throw around, it keeps people from wanting to enjoy something they might really love out of fear that they might fall into the negative connotation for popularity. At the end of the day, no one is an exact copy of another person, but we are all allowed to enjoy the same shoes, music or container for our water without feeling any guilt or shame.
Abby Jenkins is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. What are your thoughts? Let Abby know by tweeting her @abbyjenks18 or emailing her at aj205621@ohio.edu.
