The term “glow up” has taken the social media world by storm, especially on TikTok and Instagram. From physical transformations to lifestyle changes, this movement has become a cultural phenomenon among the younger generation. But behind its enabling surface is a complication to be explored. Understanding the meaning of “glow-up” is important for both youth and parents to understand the values and pressures of the digital world.
This article examines what “glow up” means, how it emerged, its complex dimensions, and its effects on the mental health and well-being of youth.
What does ‘glow up’ mean in slang?
A glow up is the description of a great positive transformation, typically in appearance and inner world. Unlike “grow up,” the word “glow” connotes becoming radiant and transformed rather than merely mature.
While it may involve a trip to the beauty salon or a wardrobe update, the essence of the idea is to become a better version of yourself: more confident, successful, and fulfilled. The true meaning of glow up refers to better relationships, financial stability, mental strength, healthy habits, and self-confidence.
‘Glow-up’ origins and evolution
“Glow up” first appears in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and was popularized in 2013 by the song “Gotta Glo Up One Day,” performed by the American hip-hop artist Chief Keef. The phrase rocketed in the mid-2010s with the rise of Instagram and TikTok, where before-and-after transformation sharing became possible.
Early use was limited to appearance changes. The modern uses include mental health, career, relationship development, and lifestyle improvements. The change is an evolution from the narrow criteria of beauty to the holistic development of people.
Related slang words
| Terms | |
| Makeover | A cosmetic change of appearance or style, not as profound a change as the one of the ” glow up” definition. |
| Level up | Improvement in any of the areas of life, from career to skills. Lacks the visual transformation element of glow up aesthetics. |
| Glow-down | The opposite of glow up, means a negative transformation of someone’s appearance, lifestyle, or success. Commonly used either in jest or in criticism. |
‘Glow up’ meaning in multifaceted dimensions
The meaning of glow-up involves various domains of life. Authentic change encompasses physical, emotional, social, economic, and digital well-being.
Physical glow up
- Skin care and Grooming: The basic requirements are hydration and cleansing. Expensive products are not mandatory. Frequent grooming practices lead to self-care and intentionality.
- Nutrition: It focuses on whole foods rather than extreme diets. More fruits, vegetables, and less processed food build your body in the long term. Quality nutrition nourishes the body sustainably.
- Fitness and sleep: Physical foundation. Our psychological resilience is developed through daily movement, walking, yoga, and strength. Quality sleep of 7-9 hours nightly is beneficial to overall health and well-being.
Mental and emotional glow up
Genuine transformation tends to mental and emotional well-being.
- Mindfulness and stress management: Meditation, breathing exercises, and journaling help to reduce anxiety and create clarity. This work creates a genuine “glow” of peace and confidence that is beyond what the appearance would have one believe.
- Positive self-talk and self-compassion: A mental glow up is the self-acceptance and the act of treating yourself with kindness.
- Emotional intelligence: involves embracing and managing emotions as well as building empathy. This skill set strengthens relationships, improves communication, and builds resilience.
Social glow up: Enriching healthy relationships
Purposeful development of nourishing relationships. These involve establishing boundaries with unhealthy individuals, investing in real friendships, learning to communicate, and investing in community through shared values.
Financial glow up
A financial glow-up begins with confronting financial reality through honest expense tracking. It follows budgeting and saving. Creating realistic budgets is a way to line up expenditures with values and goals. Also, treating savings as mandatory and not optional creates security. Even small amounts saved regularly add up to meaningful totals.
Financial literacy does include knowledge of the basics of credit, debt and investments. Individuals undergoing a financial glow-up educate themselves and make informed decisions, rather than passively managing money.
Digital glow up
Focus on how well technology serves well-being. Quality content and meaningful use are the opposite of comparing and scrolling on social media.
- Screen time management: Limit device usage and create a device-free area and period.
- Positive online content: inspires us to grow authentically and to unfollow comparison content. A positive digital environment has a direct effect on mental health and how a person perceives themselves.
- Digital safety and privacy: This includes understanding privacy settings, recognising manipulative design, the consequences of sharing personal information, and how to protect personal information.
When and how is ‘glow up’ used?
Friends embrace changes and say stuff like: “You have really glowed up since the summer before!” This recognition of visible change is a warm one. Further examples include:
In the context of self-improvement
People make references to “my glow up journey” when talking about their individual goals and progress. This frames change as purposeful and posits that meaningful change is achieved over time and through patience. Wellness spaces suggest that it is normal to pursue growth while prioritizing self-interest.
On social media: Hashtags and viral trends
The #glowup hashtag gets millions of posts on all platforms. Users post progress videos and motivational content, celebrating various forms of transformation. There are “glow up challenges” on TikTok that feature beauty and fashion transformations.
Is “glow up” trend positive or negative?
The phenomenon offers up a true paradox. At the same time, it inspires meaningful growth while also perpetuating harmful comparisons.
Positive aspects
- Motivation for authentic improvement: Glow up discourse inspires the change of health, education, and skills and makes investments for well-being. Witnessing other people’s journeys of transformation can lead to personal positive changes.
- Community and support: Shared feelings of the journey and mutual support are generated in online spaces. Individuals do not feel so alone in their struggles and aspirations.
- Celebration of personal agency: Glow-up language emphasizes that people can change outcomes through deliberate action. This message of personal power is highly empowering for young people.
- Broader definition of success: The modern meaning of “glow up” extends beyond appearance. This multidimensional approach acknowledges whole-person transformation.
Negative aspects
- Toxic comparison and beauty standards: Toxic Glow up culture is essentially negative comparison and narrow ideals. Not everyone fits one beauty image, but some glow-up posts and videos are characterized as the same destination for different people.
- Unattainable expectations and edited reality: Many online posts are highly filtered or embellished. The distance between the real change and the curated presentation causes impossible, misleading expectations and standards.
- Unhealthy behaviors: Pursuing dramatic transformation may include extreme diets, excessive exercise and other damaging behaviors. Research documents links between social media comparison and eating disorders
- Mental health consequences: Negative self-evaluation harms identity formation among the younger generation. A study indicates that teens’ frequent exposure to idealized social media content increases their body dissatisfaction and diminished self-esteem, anxiety and depression, closely linked to the “glow up” culture that emphasizes physical appearance enhancement.
Guide child’s glow up journey: practical tips for transformation
Relevant academic research has systematically examined how social networkings influence adolescents’ body dissatisfaction through psychological mechanisms such as appearance comparison, self-objectification, and body surveillance. This is an important aspect that modern parents need to understand but often overlook. Promoting healthy content and cultivating digital literacy are crucial for children to develop a positive self-improvement journey.
Embrace real work as opposed to fake appeal
Focus on non-appearance achievements: ability acquisition, generosity, struggle, interpersonal growth, and resilience-building. Follow motivating stories and authentic sharing. Balance looks complementary with character acknowledgement. This communication of worth extends beyond physical presentation.
Getting Healthy Digital Boundaries.
Cooperate to manage technology usage
Educate youth about the existence of algorithmic prioritization, awareness of filtered visuals, the establishment of screen-time constraints, and the introduction of screen-free mealtimes. Parental control tools can also be highly effective in this dimension. Tools such as FlashGet Kids provide comprehensive monitoring and restrictive features for parents to better manage their children’s digital lives.
Support gradual, sustainable change
Establish a small practice before implementing rapid changes. These can be morning walks, improving sleep, skincare, etc. This develops real confidence from commitments made. Build protective environments around the body image issues and comparison anxiety for your child. Encourage children to speak out about their struggles and ask for help.
Model healthy self-talk
Young people often absorb and internalize the self-talk they observe modeled online. Teach them to be self-compassionate, be frank about difficulties, reject self-criticism on appearance, and be confident. Demonstrate sustainable confidence-building habits.
Emphasize internal metrics
Help identify personal values and measure progress against these standards. Encourage questions like: “Does it match up to what you want to be? Will it really increase well-being? Is it because you are seeking self-validation or validation of others?“ These questions set transformation in authentic motivation.
Why understanding modern slang matters
Understanding the “glow up” meaning enables parents entering the world of adolescents with an actual understanding. When young people hear parents consciously talk about glow up culture (accepting inspiration and critically analyzing the pitfalls), they get a new perspective to think critically rather than blindly following trends.
Familiarity with ‘cool’ language helps to strengthen parent/child communication. Asking informed questions about glow-up goals shows that these goals are taken seriously while subtly encouraging reflection on what truly motivates them.
Conclusion
The meaning of “Glow up” goes well beyond before-and-after aesthetics. It is about taking control of one’s progress. Simply put, meaningful transformation encompasses physical well-being, mental health, emotional maturity, social activity, financial literacy, and online well-being. Most sustainable transformations prioritize internal growth and authentic confidence over external validation.
While glow-up culture offers a real source of inspiration and community, its commercialization and amplification by social media have generated concerning pressures surrounding impossible beauty standards and rapid transformation. Thus, parents should guide their teens on how to manage such pressures.
