By Arden Eiland
Collage Made by Arden Eiland. Photos taken from TikTok's associated with #SMUDIML.
When Charlotte Fargis, a senior at Southern Methodist University, sees a Day In My Life, or #DIML, video pop up on her TikTok For You page, she says she can’t look away.
“I love watching #DIML videos,” Fargis says “I never get sick of them, even when it's someone who doesn't have many followers, or you can tell they haven't been doing it that long, I still am so interested.”
Fargis, a journalism major, is also no stranger to creating her own #DIML videos on TikTok. With almost 62,000 followers and 3.1 million likes, she says she’s used the knowledge learned in her video and audio production classes to make her posts stand out.
#DIML videos aren’t really a new phenomenon — their earliest reiteration can be found in the form of YouTube vlogs — but they’ve become more popular thanks to TikTok. A quick search on the app for #DIML reveals at least 496,000 posts. The videos give content creators a way to document and share their lives, offering a backstage pass to explore other occupations, cultures and livelihoods. Viewers also get the opportunity to engage in a video that is short and aesthetically pleasing, providing a glimpse into the lives of people as a form of escape.
Aside from Fargis, there are hundreds of SMU students posting glimpses of their own day-to-day lives on TikTok using #SMUDIML. Some have voice overs walking the viewer through their daily activities on campus, while others are just random scenes clipped together with fun, upbeat music playing in the background. Some videos feature no talking at all, just the ambient sounds (or ASMR) of the day with no other interruptions. Whatever the format, some SMU students, like Ella Potter Mills, are able to spin their #DIML videos into free swag and lucrative collaborations with other companies in exchange for posts.
Posting #DIML videos “romanticizes parts of life that we wouldn't necessarily romanticize anyway,” says Mills. “I think they're actually one of the most positive aspects of things that are posted on social media because they're so innocent.”
Mills, who is studying finance at SMU’s Cox School of Business, says she’s been able to grow her TikTok platform to nearly 263,000 followers and over 15 million likes. Not only have her posts earned free press trips (she attended Copenhagen Fashion Week in Denmark this past August), but also collaborations with big name fashion brands such as J.Crew, Longchamp and Urban Outfitters.
The #DIML posting phenomenon isn’t just popular among SMU students: it's also a movement across the Dallas metroplex. Just ask SMU alumna Fernanda Gonzalez Palma, a Dallas resident who works as a special consultant of public relations for AT&T by day and an influencer by night. An avid poster, Palma, @fernsfabfeed, who graduated in May 2023, says she began creating her own #DIML videos almost a year ago as a creative escape to her corporate job.
“At first I was really nervous about putting myself out there,” she says. “So, I was kind of like, screw it. I'm just going to do it. The worst that can happen is that it flops and then it goes nowhere which is fine. The best that could happen is what's happening to me now, which is that I'm getting to meet so many girls in Dallas that are doing the same thing.”
The appeal of watching the daily lives of strangers is really all about reflecting, connecting and learning, according to a Google marketing strategies article by Kim Gardner and Gina Shalavi. The article states that at least 51 percent of people say they feel the need to connect with and better understand others through video content. Palma states that while #DIML videos may have initially started off with influencers showing their “very interesting, but also sometimes unrealistic” days of going to Pilates and nail appointments, there’s been a switch of wanting to view the days of average people instead.
“Honestly, what really attracted me was the ‘regular people day in the life,’ showing how you balance being in an office for 8 hours but also having a really chic, fun and fabulous life,” she says. “I think #DIML videos are a really great way for an audience to get to know you. What that means for me is: how can I offer my audience value, entertainment, and joy?”
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