In the realm of high school, each day is an arduous battle. Lately, the air itself has become one of the most intimidating adversaries. Referred to as “school air” on social media, it encompasses that universal feeling of not looking your best at school. It wreaks havoc on your makeup, leads to awful hair days, and leaves you looking “dull” and “bad.” However, there might be a solution if you choose the right videos to watch. YouTube and TikTok are filled with dozens, if not hundreds, of videos with intriguing titles like “school air?? what is that?” or “school air just makes me look prettier.” Some of these videos have millions of views. Through sound, these short clips attempt to send subliminal messages to the brain, magically making high schoolers look better. The videos detail the “benefits” that will materialize after watching, such as flawless makeup, flawless skin, enhanced attractiveness, and leaving people wondering how “school air” doesn’t affect you. While this isn’t based on science, it’s the power of magic.
These videos are not just jokes; they are intended to work. “Subliminals” have been present on secluded corners of YouTube for years, but they recently found a new audience on TikTok, primarily consisting of teenagers and young women. This genre has a distinct aesthetic, resembling a Pinterest mood board, with accompanying audio often featuring popular songs or soothing sounds like rain or campfire crackling overlaid by soft-spoken “affirmations.” Some of these videos make humorous yet harmless promises, like receiving an immediate text or call from your crush. Others venture into the fantastical realm, claiming to perfect teeth with “virtual braces.” Unfortunately, there is a smaller, more concerning subset of subliminals promising to make listeners “underweight” or “scarily thin,” or even attempting to change people’s race. These videos have been taken down from YouTube due to their problematic nature.
If you can think of a personal change, there’s probably a subliminal for it. Some even focus on developing a permanent vanilla scent, like the video titled “Smells like Vanilla in 1 Hour ✧ subliminal (listen once).” This 11-minute and 11-second video features a cat sitting in a dryer while gentle music plays and a soft voice whispers “smells like vanilla,” “wrist smells like vanilla,” and “neck smells like vanilla.” The video provides instructions to set the volume between 20 and 60 percent and listen to it once a day, accompanied by drinking two cups of water before and after. Interestingly, one commonality across all subliminal enthusiasts is the emphasis on staying hydrated. YouTube descriptions often remind viewers to drink water to combat the headaches caused by the sounds meant to induce significant change. Similarly, for subliminals targeting nose-shrinking, viewers are advised to take Tylenol, as it may cause discomfort. Subliminal creators and users gather on Reddit, where they exchange tips on creating and utilizing subliminals effectively. Many of them have dedicated years to experimenting, creating playlists, discussing methods to remove mental “blocks,” and determining the optimal number of times to listen for the audio to truly penetrate the subconscious and precipitate change.
Michelle Cohen, a 20-year-old subliminal creator from Sweden, personally believes in the potential of tapping into the subconscious mind to achieve incredible things. She shared that one of the first videos she tried aimed to improve her skin, and surprisingly, it worked. Without altering her skincare routine, her complexion cleared within a week. While she acknowledges this defies scientific reasoning, she hopes to gain more insight into this phenomenon once she attends medical school.
The rise of subliminals going mainstream can be attributed to TikTok’s powerful recommendation algorithm, which aligns with the platform’s supernatural culture. Influencers discuss manifestation as if it’s second nature, and angel numbers guide girls through their daily lives. Subliminals have become so significant that some video creators are earning substantial income from them. For example, @lolabunni, a 21-year-old subliminal creator from Tbilisi, Georgia, generates approximately $1,000 per month in YouTube ad revenue from her subliminals, making it her primary source of income. However, not all subliminal creators appreciate her cross-posting her videos to TikTok due to the large audience exposure. As the interest in subliminals grows, the Reddit community has started discussing the need for gatekeeping, even considering creating a “gatekeeping” subliminal. Unfortunately, I was banned from the Reddit forum after reaching out to some members for interviews in the course of writing this article.
Despite harboring doubts, subliminal believers counter with testimonials about their positive experiences. In a November Reddit thread, one person claimed to have experienced numerous changes, including enlarged eyes, a flatter stomach, improved temper, decreased body odor, nicer parents, and increased pain tolerance. Sophie Lewis, an 18-year-old subliminal creator from the United Kingdom, adopts a realistic approach to what subliminals can accomplish. According to her, “You can see what you want to see.” For instance, someone attempting to change their eye color might intensely focus and perceive a tiny speck of a lighter shade, believing it’s a result of the subliminal. However, she believes subliminals truly excel when used for intangible things like confidence and money. Despite this, she used to accept paid requests to create videos for various purposes, ranging from giving viewers “anime eyes” to an “ultimate big butt.”
Of course, these girls didn’t invent subliminal messaging. The concept has a longer history, fueled by the Cold War’s heightened fear of mind control and advertising executives’ desire to manipulate people through subconscious cues. By the 1980s, it had become a significant industry, with subliminal audiotapes claiming to use whispered affirmations to overcome fears, addictions, past lives, and even motivate housework. Psychological studies demonstrated that audio subliminal messages couldn’t directly enhance athletic performance or aid in weight loss. However, they seemed to work indirectly through the power of placebo effects. Individuals who believed they had listened to tapes designed to improve memory or self-esteem observed some results, regardless of the actual content on the tape.
While the subliminals prevalent on YouTube and TikTok today may not deliver the physical transformations they promise, they captivate young people and lure them into captive thoughts. Occasionally, well-known subliminal makers face accusations of embedding secret language in their videos, causing hallucinations or even soul loss, though these incidents are less alarming than the persistence of weight-loss subliminals that haven’t been entirely removed from YouTube. Titles like “smaller appetite (forced),” “0% leg fat,” “exercise addiction,” and “toothpick” can still be found. Creators of race-changing subliminals try to evade detection by altering video titles (e.g., “bright p4l3 sk1n”). Some subliminal creators draw inspiration from incel communities, focusing on changing teenagers’ skull shapes to appear more “angelic” or “warriorlike.”
Nevertheless, many subliminals remain compelling due to their ability to externalize people’s most amusing and embarrassing fantasies. There are subliminal videos designed to give someone a Queens accent, turn them into a star soccer player, or transform them into a cooler older sister. @lolabunni admitted that her interest in subliminals started when she clicked on a video titled something like “everyone is in love with me.” People who watch her videos consistently claim to experience results, such as disappearing nose bumps, eye color changes, and resembling a young Angelina Jolie. As she contemplates the overwhelming number of people vouching for the effectiveness of subliminals, she finds it challenging to question or deny their impact. She believes, “How many people can lie to you? Or to themselves? Right?” The broader internet is drawn to the potential benefits offered by subliminals, according to her.
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