{"id":238501,"date":"2025-10-25T04:53:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T04:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/238501\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T04:53:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T04:53:09","slug":"new-normalcore-life-trend-fights-against-insidious-aussie-habit-real","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/238501\/","title":{"rendered":"New ‘normalcore’ life trend fights against insidious Aussie habit: ‘Real’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gen-Z<\/a> woman is revealing the peace in the “mundane” in an act of resistance against how social media has warped Australians’ perception of “normal”.<\/p>\n

A perfectly-organised pantry<\/a>, immaculate makeup<\/a> and matching activewear <\/a>\u2014 this is the type of life Ally Perdikaris told Yahoo Lifestyle that she is not buying into. Instead she’s embracing “normalcore”.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to come off social media and think having these things are a \u201cnormal\u201d way to live.<\/p>\n

Every other post is either someone living a gorgeously aesthetic life or spruiking the product you need to achieve it for yourself.<\/p>\n

Australians are spending roughly seven hours a day online, according to RedSearch research<\/a>, and it makes it tricky to separate this ideal from our actual, everyday existence.<\/p>\n

RELATED <\/p>\n

The 28-year-old from Sydney started noticing with more of her friends and colleagues buying into online trends and seeing them as an essential part of life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the little things infiltrating,” she said.<\/p>\n

“One day I went into work and heaps of people had a Labubu on their key chain and then there\u2019s the fashion micro trends like the mesh shoes that everyone had to have for like a week.”<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople were going after work to get something and laughing they\u2019d been \u2018influenced.\u2019<\/p>\n

“I didn\u2019t think it was normal to be spending money on this stuff but I was the one that stuck out.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is normal for Aussies?<\/p>\n

It made Ally wonder if there were other people that felt like her.<\/p>\n

So a year ago she started making her \u201cnormal core\u201d videos<\/a> talking about what her not particularly aesthetically-pleasing life looked like.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to break up people\u2019s feed a bit. Give people a reminder to get real,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ally wants other Australians to know “it’s okay to live a normal life \u2014 most of us do”.<\/p>\n

\u201cI pack my lunch for work in a plastic tub, not a bento box, I don\u2019t go for walks in cute sets of matching active wear, I buy coffee from the fish and chip shop because it\u2019s cheaper than the cafe,\u201d she told Yahoo Lifestyle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that social media allows you to curate how you present yourself to the world, but that also means we can get swept up in unrealistic versions of life.<\/p>\n

I”t’s okay to wear old clothes and go for the cheaper food and coffee options.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Normal<\/p>\n

Ally said it’s normal to wear old clothes and opt for cheaper options instead of following trends. Picture: Ally Perdikaris<\/p>\n

It all sounds very familiar for hundreds of her viewers and Ally said the majority of responses have been positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatching my videos I think people feel relieved,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m showing them someone else who doesn\u2019t do all this crazy stuff.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m an influencer that\u2019s not influencing them to do anything and I feel nice about that.”<\/p>\n

Normal saves you cash<\/p>\n

Ally has realised that being \u201cnormal\u201d saves you a lot of money because (surprise!) social media is actually one big marketing machine sneakily designed to get you to spend your cash.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of my popular videos are ones where I talk about how to under consume but really it\u2019s just being normal and not buying lots of crap you see online,\u201d the 29-year-old said.<\/p>\n

\"Ally<\/p>\n

Ally has revealed the more mundane parts of life to fight against overconsumption. Picture: Ally Perdikaris.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can re-use jars instead of buying all new ones from Kmart or rent a dress for a wedding instead of buying a new one.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s stuff that I think people have forgotten or maybe never knew. It\u2019s kind of common sense stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Normal is better for mental health<\/p>\n

Ally also talked about her exercise routine in an attempt to normalise that sometimes doing nothing all week is realistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are at the gym all the time online,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I just try to do some movement every day which might be walking to the station but I have a full time job and sometimes I don\u2019t have time.”<\/p>\n

Refreshingly she does not have full hair and makeup done in her videos, admitting she sometimes looks like a \u201cdag\u201d.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s okay. Also normal.<\/p>\n

\"Normal<\/p>\n

Ally’s pantry isn’t perfectly organised and she’s okay with that. Picture: Ally Perdikaris<\/p>\n

Who has time for contouring on a Tuesday when you\u2019re working from home?<\/p>\n

At a time when Aussie\u2019s mental health is at an all time low and psychologists are seeing our increased time on social media as a contributing factor, normal core is exactly the wake up call needed.<\/p>\n

A recent Headspace survey<\/a> found<\/p>\n

42 per cent of young people felt social media anxiety was largely causing their mental health decline.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not hard to see why.<\/p>\n

Constant exposure to trends \u2014 from beauty filters to productivity hacks \u2014 set unrealistic standards, leaving us feeling inadequate and overwhelmed.<\/p>\n

Everyone else online seems to be able to find time and money to do these things, why not me?<\/p>\n

And, if that\u2019s the feeling when you get off social media, it might be time to add a bit of the normal core trend to your feed.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople message me and say thank you, that they needed this,\u201d Ally said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes me feel happier. It wasn\u2019t the intention but it\u2019s a good outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

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