When growing up in New York City and attending an elite private school, it’s not uncommon to be asked, “Do you live like the characters in Gossip Girl?” While we all know that Gossip Girl is just a television show that accentuates the lives of wealthy private students on the Upper East Side, the glamorous life can actually seem like reality to those who don’t have any insight into what it is really like.
The Gossip Girl series was first aired in 2007, quickly becoming a favorite to those who were interested in this extravagant world. Gossip Girl followed a group of teenagers on the Upper East Side who lived lavishly unrealistic lives. Living on the Upper East Side and attending private school is not uncommon, but the characters became stereotypical of people who do.
Credit: Huffington Post
The Gossip Girl epidemic is a running joke for the people who seemingly had experienced the life that these characters were based on. “Kids are more advanced in the city, they act like adults,” is a phrase I have heard multiple times growing up. Views of city kids became askew, as the lives of these teenagers seemed so realistic because of how integrated into the city life the show depicted. Soon enough, teenagers tried to start mimicking the actions of the characters by creating comparisons to their own lives.
Gossip Girl created this fantasy that students on the Upper East Side that went to these prestigious schools were wealthy, snobby, manipulative socialites, while anyone who did not fit that description was labeled as an outcast. That could not be farther from the truth.
Private schools have students from all backgrounds and a multitude of nationalities attending their schools. When asked what it is like to attend a school in the league known for being associated with the stereotypes based on Gossip Girl, Reayana K. ‘19 said, “I have never watched Gossip Girl and I have no interest. I know what it is about and I have never had the impression that Hewitt is like that. The show and real life are completely separate, nothing is the same. It is completely fictional.”
Another student, Olivia T. ‘19, who came to Hewitt this year from Texas, explained that after watching the show she was “anxious and did not want the stereotype, drama, and emphasis on wealth to be a reality for her.” She believed that these ideas would come hand in hand with going to Hewitt or any other private girls school on the Upper East Side. She explained how girls in her previous school would tell her, “Go to a Gossip Girl school!” Olivia expressed how her old peers had mixed emotions regarding her transferring to Hewitt. They believed it was both interesting and “cool”, but also a bad idea because of the various unrealistic aspects that Gossip Girl promoted.
While Manhattan is stereotyped for multiple different movies and T.V. shows, Gossip Girl’s influence is the most prominent in student life. Hopefully the trend of emulating Gossip Girl’s characters or being compared to them will subdue, but for now, you may still be asked the question, “Is your life like Gossip Girl?”