Things I do not feel guilty about
What is the Things I do not feel guilty about trend?
Creators post aesthetically shot lifestyle footage with a text list of unapologetic personal choices, set to Candi Staton's "Young Hearts Run Free." The format is first-person, declarative, and radiates zero-explanation energy. Brands use it to position a product as a deliberate, guilt-free choice: a splurge that requires no justification, a self-care ritual a customer owns completely.
Origin
The "things I do not feel guilty about" trend is a format-plus-audio trend on TikTok and Instagram Reels in which creators post aesthetically shot footage of their everyday lives overlaid with a first-person text list of life choices made without apology, typically including decisions about relationships, money, leisure, or lifestyle. The audio anchor is Candi Staton's 1976 disco single "Young Hearts Run Free," written and produced by David Crawford. Staton wrote the song drawing on her experience of an abusive marriage. It reached number one on the US Hot Soul Singles chart and number two in the UK. The song resurfaced on TikTok in a major wave in late 2024, partly driven by widespread sharing of Staton's account of the song's backstory, including her interview in the 2024 PBS documentary Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution, which gave the track an additional layer of emotional resonance as a survival and freedom anthem. Creators adopted it as background audio for the "no guilt" list format, pairing the song's energy with text captions enumerating personal freedoms. A Kym Mazelle cover recorded for the 1996 Baz Luhrmann Romeo + Juliet soundtrack also circulates on TikTok and contributes to the sound's cross-generational familiarity.
Great for
Aesthetic lifestyle b-roll of daily routines Product flat lays and close-up texture shots Morning or evening ritual footage
Examples
things I do not feel guilty about: the $58 face oil, the Sunday reset, ordering the refill before the first one is empty things I do not feel guilty about: the candle I lit at 2pm on a Tuesday, the second latte, the skincare routine that takes longer than dinner things I do not feel guilty about: skipping the plans, the mask while the laundry runs, buying the shade I already own in a new finish
Sources
Turn a trend into an on-brand short from footage you already have.
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