Is your daughter currently obsessed with wearing a velvet scrunchy in the top of her hair with a messy bun? Are you aware of where this latest trend has come from? After scanning the school at assembly two weeks ago the staff questions why so many girls were wearing velvet scrunchies and quickly realised it was because they were responding to the latest round of influencers on social media apps including Tik Tok and Instagram; VSCO girls.

A VSCO girl is all about branding and a certain look which will likely include the following items: A T-shirt so big that it covers the bottom of her shorts, which are maybe from Nike. If she’s not wearing a scrunchie in her hair, she’ll almost certainly keep one (or three) on her wrist, alongside a bracelet by the Costa Rica-founded brand Pura Vida. She’ll carry a backpack by the Sweden-based Fjallraven and a sticker-covered Hydro Flask. The rest of her outfit will be composed of Birkenstock sandals, Burt’s Bees or Carmex lip balm topped with Glossier gloss, and a shell necklace. 

Our National Online Safety guide this week addresses the nature of influencers on children and the unrealistic lifestyles they portrait. Whilst many of our students are innocently wearing scrunchies to be like their friends, we need to ask ourselves if there is a greater issue to address in educating our kids about who influencers are and their disconnect with the real world.

To see the full list of guides head to https://nationalonlinesafety.com/resources/wake-up-wednesday/