How To Do The Tube Girl Trend Respectfully, According To An Etiquette Expert

From law graduate to TikTok sensation (and now Paris Fashion Week), we all know who ’Tube Girl’ is by now. By confidently filming herself lip-synching to trending audios in the iconic Gen-Z adopted 0.5 angle, Sabrina Bahsoon has grown to a whopping 683K followers, amassed over 23M likes, and has over 799M views on TikTok. 

Obviously, with over 123K online searches for ‘Tube Girl’ in the past month, it’s no surprise that TikTok users have been eager (including me!! Get that ‘Greedy’ by Tate McRae blasting through my ears so I can partake ASAP!!!) to recreate the iconic trend. 

That said, while this confidence and self-boosting trend is great, one etiquette expert had a few things to say on how trend partakers can stay respectful on the tube and to those who are around them

As part of their European Etiquette study, language learning platform Preply, spoke with etiquette expert, John-Paul Stuthridge on the topic. 

So… How can I recreate it respectfully?

Stuthridge explains: “The handy trick to social media nowadays is that if you’re not talking at length on camera, you can film a whole video in silence and add the music later – this is far more preferable than actually playing music aloud live.”

If you’re worried about filming the video and trying to get the lip-sync right, you’ll probably love the fact that Sabrina has AirPods in her ears while filming. This way you can listen to the audio privately instead of out loud, which could disrupt others on the tube.

Pick the right time and a quiet route

“If someone were to recreate the ‘tube girl’ style video, I’d urge them to choose a time in the day, a route and a carriage when the people present are minimal.”

John-Paul states that even if hardly anyone minds, it’s best to make little disruption to anyone else trying to go about their day. 

What should you do if you’re in the background of someone else’s video?

“Unless the filming of any video is directly causing an obstruction to your day, it really is best for everyone that you as an observer let people film – live and let live.”

John-Paul explains that if the creator is following proper etiquette and has spatial awareness and is following correct volume etiquette, then “no observer should be close enough to the camera for it to matter.”

If you are, just simply move away so you’re not in the shot. 

“You are in the background of thousands of photos and videos other people capture all the time knowingly or unknowingly, so why kick up a fuss in this instance,” John-Paul explains.

“A public argument is distasteful and awkward for everyone, and a recording of that is one we sure don’t want to see.”