What Does It Mean to Live a Slow Life?

Thanks to social media apps, some forms of beauty, health and wellness trends have become mainstream. On TikTok, these trends have ranged from doing the 12-3-30 workout to “hot girl” walks and mindful journaling. It’s known that life can be overwhelming and competitive, but when these trends gain popularity, it’s difficult to avoid toxic productivity. As a college student, it’s normal to feel compelled to do as much work as possible and monetize your every moment. When you push yourself to extremes to feel productive in all areas of your life, this can quickly lead to burnout. Yet, #slowliving on TikTok has recently gone viral with almost 1.2 billion views. Like most trends, the idea of slow living isn’t new, but it is characterized by adding more fulfillment to your life. 

What is ‘slow living’?

According to Slow Living London, slow living is part of a wider movement that began in Italy during the 1980s as a way to uphold regional food traditions. From there, it spread to other parts of life such as interior design, gardening and fitness. Now, it's a means of “living intentionally” while creating more balance within our lives and adding time for self-reflection. On TikTok, creators show their “slow life” through sharing creative outlets, journaling or, in the case of @wai.iti.ridge, growing their own food and generating their own energy. 

Slow living helps people fall into a laid-back lifestyle and promotes some technology downtime. The videos on TikTok also follow a similar aesthetic, with green and earthy tones to curate inspiring images. Slow living is all about discovering your own personal values that define how you see the world and applying them through habits and hobbies. The goal of these hobbies is to unplug and pull yourself out of hectic lifestyle patterns. The next phase is to apply the slow living philosophy to other facets of your life. Some examples include creating a slow-living environment in your house, cooking from scratch, avoiding quick fashion and growing and consuming food according to the season. Slow living urges you to value your surroundings over the hustle and bustle of the corporate grind.

Is “slow living” sustainable? 

The idea of slow living went viral on TikTok, even though one of the principles of this lifestyle involves a detachment from social media. However, it doesn’t mean that it can’t be used to address the real issues of burnout and problems in the modern workforce. In addition to clearing your mind through a slow life, there are several environmental benefits to slow living. Although many #slowlife TikToks show living on a homestead with animals, this isn’t how this type of lifestyle looks for everyone. There are various ways to achieve sustainability goals while curating your own slow life. For example, cooking from scratch and using locally grown produce promotes sustainability while also nurturing your body by knowing exactly what’s on your plate. 

Although toxic productivity is at times unavoidable in a college campus setting, slow living can be a solution to modern issues of feeling overwhelmed and safeguarding our environment. Next time, try some creative outlets that are commonly part of a slow life such as meditating, journaling and gardening. Remember to take time and reflect on areas of your life that you wish to fulfill and live intentionally.