Sofia Richie, a viral TikTok dance and the death of unique personalities.

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" That's the positively nihilistic Mary Oliver quote that runs through my mind like the end credits of a depressing movie every time I find myself doomscrolling on social media.

Every day of my one precious life on this planet that's hurtling through the cosmos, I spend approximately 2–3 hours scrolling on my phone. 

I could be reading, I could be watching TV, I could be making human connections (the horror). But instead, I love to scroll. I know. It's bad. It happens!

This past week on doomscroll.com, a video of Sofia Richie-Grainge went viral. 

She was looking chic, as always, wearing her signature slick-back hair with a camel-colour sweater and skirt combo that whispered 'I have rich girl knitwear money, and it's fabulous'. With some cute dangly earrings that jangled with each bop, she did a little two-step and shimmy alongside her pal, internet icon Jake Shane, as they sang 'Messy' by Lola Young.

Watch the viral dance. Story continues below.

The 14-second video has 20.6 million views. And the impact has been… perplexing.

'Have you SEEN the Sofia Richie dance?'

'She's just soooo smooth with it.'

'There's something so rich about Sofia Richie's lil dance.' 

Don't get me wrong, this video only further convinced me of one thing that I am certain to be true: Sofia Richie seems like a good time. But… I fear we've lost the plot. 

The virality of the video was not just down to fans enjoying the moment, but in TikTokers looking for their next trend. The 'Sofia Richie dance' quickly took over the app, with people 'recreating' it. And by that I mean they were awkwardly bopping around the room trying to look the exact same as Sofia, instead of just vibing in whatever way came naturally to them. 

First of all, this is Lionel Richie's daughter. Of course she's cool. 

Second of all, this is not a dance. She is dancing and she is cool and she has a certain je né sais quoi. But she is not doing 'a dance' — I don't recall seeing the Macarena? The Nutbush?

What this is, actually, is the perfect encapsulation of how we're all trying to steal a vibe online. 

Shout out to Jake Shane and Sofia Richie for causing internet chaos! Love you! Image: TikTok.

We previously saw this cooked behaviour on display when Kylie Jenner did a few random shoulder pops while standing like a mannequin earlier this year. It became an entire 'challenge' for people to recreate her tiny shimmy.

Elsewhere this week, Alix Earle said skinny jeans were back! I mean, she's been wearing them for ages, and in her new video, she actually said, "If you guys don't want to wear skinny jeans, don't wear skinny jeans". But the internet transformed this statement into a declaration: skinny jeans are BACK. 

"Thank god Alix Earle brought back skinny jeans," one millennial TikToker said. 

"I saw Alix Earle wear skinny jeans the other day so I think that means they're trending again," said another. 

And to top it all off, there's currently an influencer named Sydney Gifford who's attempting to trademark her 'vibe', after — as she claims — she was copied by fellow influencer, Alyssa Sheil. She's not the only influencer to make such claims — countless influencers have come forward in recent years with some pretty solid proof that they are being copied for profit.

"This isn't a coincidence," Gifford has said. "Something is definitely happening here."

While Gifford's lawsuit was the first of its kind, the idea of copying influencers is par for the course on social media.

The internet is always in search of its next inspiration to mimic. And I am begging you all to stop. 

Charm necklaces are in. Adidas Sambas are out. Everyone is wearing a vest and actually a vest is the only thing you can buy in any Australian fashion store right now. Vests are out, they're overdone. Red is in! Leopard print is cheugy. Micro boxer shorts are in. What shoes are we wearing this summer? What's the new going out top? Where did you buy that plain white t-shirt? Let me know in the comments.

Suede for autumn. Stripes for summer. What next? Florals for spring? 

It's not your fault; we're all guilty of this trend turnover and discourse that moves faster than the sun, but let's think about it for a hot second. This has far surpassed an attempt to copy an outfit.

What people actually love about Sofia Richie is her life. It's her personality. It's her own unique and effortless aura. And you won't get it by figuring out exactly what lipstick combination she's wearing or by shoulder shimmying your way onto TikTok.

Kylie Jenner and her shoulders started an internet movement. Image: TikTok.

The increasing speed of trend cycles directly correlates to the rise of the influencer. They promote it, we buy it, the brand invents something new for us all to covet, and the cycle continues. That's how capitalism works, baby! But we can all probably take a chill pill and stop expecting clothes or 'dances' to completely transform us into new people?

You can't copy and paste the identity of a celebrity onto your own life. You can own the same shoes, get the same haircut, do a shimmy to the same song, and at the end of it all you'll still be yourself. And maybe 'you' are not someone who suits a slick-back bun with a gold hoop, cream vest, and white linen slip skirt. Maybe 'you' are not someone who wears leopard print pants with bright red sneakers. Maybe you (and I) should all go outside!

There's nothing wrong with changing what you like, or hopping on a trend if it works for you (this puffy sleeve era is working for me in a BIG way). But we all need to calm down a little bit with the celebrity trends and mass freak-outs over the tiniest little moments.

Good style, actual personal style, happens as a byproduct of living your life. Likewise, a personality cannot be attained by stealing someone else's vibe.

There's a reason Jane Birkin's eponymous style, or Carolyn Bassett Kennedy's signature look, feels timeless. That their aura, their personality, shone through in a way that was enviable and inspiring. There's a reason Sofia Richie is glowing and effortless in a way that people covet. It's because in each case, it's authentic to who she is as a person.

I promise you, we'd all like ourselves a little more if we stopped constantly trying to reinvent our lives and wardrobes based on what someone else is doing, wearing, saying, and portraying.

We started this journey together with a rogue quote, and I'm going to end with another.

Miss Dolly Parton once said, 'Figure out who you are, and do it on purpose.' So like… let's do that instead of whatever the heck this was.

Feature Image: TikTok.