This is Home for the Night: A Social Media Analysis of Everyday Life in the #Vanlife Community

Emma Vetter Taylor

Advisor: Amy L Best, PhD, Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Committee Members: Christopher Morris, James Witte

Online Location, Zoom
April 22, 2026, 01:00 PM to 03:00 PM

Abstract:

Van life is an emerging lifestyle phenomenon where young people, typically in their 20s and 30s, live part-time or full-time in converted vans, school buses, or RVs. Largely popularized on social media platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, van life content is searchable through hashtags such as #vanlife, #vanlifeadventures, and #vanlifediaries, among others. These accounts, videos, and photos capture a colorful depiction of adventure, freedom, and a minimalist lifestyle in snapshots of aesthetic splendor that are highly stylized and carefully curated. These aestheticized portrayals of “doing” everyday life are not completely unique to van life. They are part of larger social media trends and broader influencer culture that is focused on portrayals of happiness, self-care, and living a life free of regret (Tirocchi 2024), which showcases a kind of social production of emotion (Bericat 2016; Illouz 2007; Thoits 1989) and feeling (Sharma and Tygstrup 2015; Williams 1977) created online.

This dissertation research asks how everyday life is portrayed online in the #vanlife community, focusing on its aesthetic patterns, narrative structures, and depictions of modern living, working, and cultural consuming. Using social media ethnography and content analysis, data reveal that #vanlife content serves as a site of deep meaning and identity formation for young women who are influencers and content creators. Portraits of contemporary womanhood emerge that idealize life on the road, downplay its challenges, and navigate doubly public lives that are purposely on display to views, likes, and scrutiny through their public posts and profiles. Ultimately, this research reveals a feminization of #vanlife content, highlighting the aesthetics of everyday life, the routines displayed, and the ways the female body is featured across #vanlife content on Instagram.

Join us on Zoom: https://to.gmu.edu/TaylorDefense