Be your best/worst self everyday. Estetiche ed etiche dell’esercizio sui social media

Since the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic, on social media we have seen a significant increase of content about everyday habits, from cooking at home to physical exercise. In a moment in which our routines were radically changing, different ways of reappropriating our domestic spaces and practices emerged. Two appeared particularly prevalent, especially on TikTok since late 2021: on the one hand, that girl, an aesthetic of being put-together and always in control; on the other, goblin mode, a practice of systematically rejecting social norms and conventions. This contribution aims to reflect on the connection between these two social media phenomena, specifically through the lens of spiritual exercise as a way of taking care of oneself.