TikTok Trends February 2026
I’m back after a week off with my family and digital detox from the internet.
When my husband asked if I wanted to purchase WiFi for my device on our cruise ship, I chose No.
I wanted to fully disconnect.
To make sure I could cut any sort of app addiction, and take note of if I felt any differently.
Truthfully, I feel deep pangs of guilt when my kids complain I am on my phone too much. I wanted to make sure they saw me fully off of it, that they knew they were my most important priority on our vacation.
And I did it. I spent a full week of no phone and totally in the moment.
I only jumped back into the business of social media when we docked back in Orlando at a business conference taking place there.
Jen Gottlieb was one of the featured speakers, and someone I was so excited to listen to.
Jen, with over 600k followers on Instagram, is a PR and personal brand powerhouse. She wrote a book on showing up authentically, called Be Seen.
I wondered if she would talk about content pillars, finding your niche, honing your message.
And I had my pen and paper ready to take notes!
But what I discovered, is that Jenn didn’t speak on those tactics at all.
And she reignited in me a passion for what I have based my company on from the beginning.
It’s not about “what works for me will work for you,” or “Take this strategy and copy and paste.”
Success in building your audience doesn’t come from the perfect key talking points.
It comes from telling stories, showing up as your imperfect self, and having the courage to keep doing it every day.
I want to share with you my key takeaways from her speech:
Build Your Courage Collection Start saving screenshots of every rejection email and text you receive in a dedicated folder in your photos. Instead of letting them sting, reframe them as evidence that you're actually out there trying. That folder is proof of your bravery, not your failure.
Practice in Public, Even When It's Messy Your favorite comedian still goes to dive bars to practice new jokes. Jenn used Instagram Lives with no makeup as her "stage in her pocket" a low-stakes place to show up repeatedly until she got better. You don't need perfect conditions to practice your craft, you just need repetition. Cringe is part of the process.
You Only Need 51% Belief, not 100% belief Inspired by Louise Hay's You Can Heal Your Life, Jenn reminded the audience that you don't need to be fully convinced something will work. You just need to tip the scales ever so slightly in favor of believing it might, and then take one step at a time from there. This one might be my favorite, because I know many of us struggle with confidence, comparison, and imposter syndrome.
Visibility Is Your Responsibility Nobody can benefit from what you have to offer if you're hiding. Showing up and being seen isn't vanity, it's a service to the people who need you.
HOPE: Help One Person Everyday Shift the focus from yourself to the person on the other side of your content, your work, or your message. When you stop making it about how you look and start making it about who you can help, the fear gets a lot quieter.
Stop Comparing Your Chapter One to Someone Else's Chapter Twenty That person you're measuring yourself against has had years of messy, unglamorous reps that you never saw. Your beginning is supposed to look like a beginning.
Start Before You're Ready The enemy isn't failure — it's resistance, that chattering voice that tells you to wait until everything is perfect. Don't prepare forever. Just begin.
Jen’s speech, and my digital detox together, made me so excited to come back to the game of making content.
What I learned from the digital detox?
I’m not addicted to social media, and being off my phone didn’t make me a better mother.
I still got annoyed with my kids…
I hung out with them the same amount as I usually do…
& they still complained about things non stop...
And honestly, I’m kinda sad I didn’t take more photos and videos to document the trip!
So this week, I’m ready to get back into the game of telling my stories, taking the photos and videos, and enjoying without guilt this craft that I love so much.
XO,
Lindsay
Retired Party Girl
Parents sure can relate to this trend!
Looking back at your early twenties is crazy. It’s wild realizing that the person you were then and the person you are now don't even feel like the same human.
That’s why this trend is so relatable, it perfectly captures that "then vs. now" energy in a funny way. We all had our chaotic years, and while life looks a lot different today, different doesn't mean boring. Our priorities shifted, sure, but we’re still having just as much fun now, a different kind of fun, sure, but fun nonetheless.
Examples: Mom, Volvo, Boy mom, In my 40s, Parenthood, Adulthood, IG audio.
Stay on top of social media trends! 📬 Join the Authentic Creators Network, the content creator network of our CT social media marketing agency and get exclusive prompts delivered right to your inbox.
