Coaches, Gurus and Influencers as Self-help and Lifestyle Experts: from Insta therapy to becoming “that girl” on TikTok

The twenty-first century has witnessed the proliferation of coaches, gurus and influencers sharing advice online about how to live. Scrolling on social media users are inundated by gurus sharing tips and secrets about how to improve their lives. This chapter contextualises the rise of lifestyle gurus in the history of self-help, exploring how technological developments have given rise to an industry of lifestyle gurus who offer advice about health, relationships and wealth creation. It examines how the new medium of short video platforms has impacted lifestyle journalism and the industry of self-help by analysing two emergent trends on these platforms: “That Girl” on TikTok and Instagram therapists. “That Girl” is an aspirational ideal and aesthetic that uses the genre of self-help to motivate and encourage self-improvement. Insta therapy offers bite-sized educational content to self-diagnose and treat mental health issues, often shared by self-appointed experts, therapists and healers, who are unregulated and possess limited or no formal certified training. In addition to analysing how short form videos have broadened the genre of self-help and blurred the boundary between influence and expertise, fact and opinion, this chapter explores the consequences of commodifying emotional experience in an attention economy incentivised by engagement.