A video of a teenager's explanation of what "girl math" entails to her father has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was posted six days ago by Marley Brown (@thebobmarleyy) and has received 11.5 million views at the time of writing.
The 18-year-old TikTok user based in Connecticut told Newsweek: "My dad and I have joked about how dumb 'girl math is' for a while, since I've grown up being taught about finances, so I had the idea to make a TikTok [video] about it."
The "girl math" trend on TikTok reportedly began from a segment known as "Girl Math" on the morning show Fletch, Vaughan & Hayley from the New Zealand-based radio station ZM.
The series sees listeners call in to describe their recent big purchases—such as thousands of dollars spent attending four nights at a Taylor Swift concert—and the show hosts attempt to justify their spending.
The latest post comes amid an ongoing cost-of-living crisis in the U.S. Forty percent of consumers were reported to feel highly affected by the crisis in the country. This is according to an April 2023 survey by We Are Social and Statista Q, a platform providing market and consumer data.
Last summer, the Consumer Price Index (CPI)—defined as the average change over time in the prices of consumer goods and services—saw its largest rise in 40 years.
The CPI increased by 9.1 percent over a 12-month period ending in June 2022, driven mostly by a hike in fuel and gas prices.
The latest TikTok post appears to be the third part of a series of videos showing Brown explaining girl math to her dad.
In the latest video, Brown says: "If something's less than $5, it's free." Her dad swiftly replies "No," asking "What if you buy a hundred things that are $4?"
Brown says, "They're all for free," and her dad replies: "No. It's $400, which is obviously not free."
The teenager then provides another example, saying: "If I want to get Starbucks [drink] and there's already money in the account... money in my app, it's free... I'm not paying for that Starbucks."
The dad replies: "No. You've just loaned them money and you're using the money that you've already loaned them."
Brown adds, "But it's already left my bank account, so it's free," while the father says: "No, but it's [the money] in a different account, the Starbucks account."
The teenager outlines another scenario about spending more to get free shipping. If a company offers free shipping to those who "spend $10 more... if the shipping is $4, I should spend the $10 because it's a better investment," the daughter said.
The dad is seen with his head turned up toward the ceiling before simply saying "no" as the clip ends.
A caption shared with the post reads: "I'm crying."
The latest post has sparked debate among TikTok users, with some siding with the daughter.
User Elise ! wrote: "The free shipping one makes so much sense tho because at least your paying $10 for an item rather than $4 for nothing."
Tess agreed, noting: "Spending the $10 for free shipping gives you something to show for, instead of just paying for shipping."
Several TikTok users, such as ingy and @veyeoyhae, wrote that "the Starbucks one is so real."
Lil_dvlln criticized the teenager, posting: "Girl math only applies to girls who never had money problems, I can assure you that when bank account is empty we don't think like that."
Others were simply amused by the dad's reaction.
User @828..alyssaa wrote, "He's stressed," while Fini (Taylor's version) commented: "This was my dad when I tried explaining it."
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Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in travel and health.
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