TikTok’s Tinx explains why she doesn’t have many ‘boundaries’ when it comes to what she shares with her followers

It was just a few short year ago when being an influencer meant creating a glossy Instagram grid full of perfect #OOTD photos in aesthetically pleasing settings. An influencer ugly-crying over a breakup, or sharing a story about an embarrassing social faux pas? Rare. Enter Christina Najjar, better known to her TikTok and Instagram followers as Tinx.

When Tinx started on TikTok in May 2020, she was making tongue-in-cheek videos about “rich moms.” Since then, her account has become a go-to destination for dating advice (her relationship "box theory" is TikTok's version of He's Just Not That Into You), commentary on everything from the best portable cups to hangover cures, and occasionally a vulnerable vlog.

While the 31-year-old Los Angeles-based content creator has the shiny balayage hair and an enviable wardrobe of the influencers before her, Tinx stands out because she talks to her followers like they’re her friends — no judgments, no filter. Whether that’s talking openly about her anxiety or the boyfriend she gushed over in previous videos who she discovered had cheated on her, Tinx isn’t interested in providing followers with the ideal snapshot of her life.

“In the past, we’ve had influencers who have only shown the highlight reel. They show the incredible vacation to Bali, for example, but that feels very unattainable,” explains Tinx, who amassed more than 1 million followers on TikTok since she began posting in May 2020. “Before I started doing this job, I felt like I couldn’t really look up to the women I saw online, because I didn’t understand. I was like, ‘Wow, you guys never look ugly, you never look puffy, you never feel like crap?’”

For Tinx, it felt “really natural” to share so much of herself on social media. Yes, everyone’s life, influencer or not, is curated in some way for social media — but Tinx says she doesn’t really have any rules for what she shares with who. She doesn’t keep separate socials for her IRL friends — save for the occasional private Instagram Story, Tinx’s followers see every aspect she wishes to share.

“I probably need to be better with more boundaries — I may be too open with my followers,” she says. “But it just feels like I’m friends with them, and it’s just the easiest way to connect.”

Vogue previously coined Tinx “TikTok’s big sister” — though few of our siblings have their own bowl named after them at Chipotle, or boast having gone on a date with Diplo (even if it was for a brand sponsorship). Still, the title seems fitting, as connecting directly with her followers is what brings Tinx the most joy within her career.

The American-born social media star, who was raised in London and moved back to the United States to attend Stanford University when she was 19, says she spends at least an hour a day going through her DMs, answering calls for advice from girls writing to her about “really serious stuff.”

“I have a little brother, and I love him to pieces, but I’ve always really wanted a sister, too. I went to an all-girls school and then was president of my sorority,” she explains, noting that she’s “always loved the power of female friendships.” (Her nickname was coined after she created a confident alter-ego inspired by a character named Tinka, played by Monica Keena, in the all-girls boarding school movie All I Wanna Do.) It’s why she’s shared her breakup video, and several other less-than-glossy TikToks since.

“When my breakup happened and I found out my boyfriend cheated on me, when I was so in love with him, I was like, ‘If I can make one girl feel better about this, then this is a win.’ It was a little silver lining to my heartbreak,” she recalls. “I have people watch that video now who say, ‘I was going to me embarrassed about this, but hearing you talk about it, it made me realize that it wasn’t something I did, but something my partner who betrayed me did.’”

Now, Tinx is finding a new way to connect with her followers: She’s partnering with subscription book company Literati on a book club, and her first selection is Katie Couric’s memoir Going There.

“What I love about reading is the catharsis of connection through the written word, so what better way to connect with my followers than talking about what we’re reading — what’s resonating with us, what’s not, and what’s sparking new thoughts. I’m really excited,” she says, adding that much of the advice she doles out on her TikTok she first absorbed from reading memoirs from women writers. “I read [Katie’s book] and there was so much I didn’t know about her, and I took so much away from it," she says. "With Katie, it’s all about the power of resilience, how to overcome adversity in a male-dominated industry, and break through so many barriers. I tore through it.”

While Tinx may be crushing her own industry at the moment, she clarifies that she has a strong dislike of “hustle culture” — another thing that sets her apart from the Instagram influencers of yore and their perpetual hocking of skinny lollipops and hair gummies.

“I have a lot of young women following me, and I don't want to put across the idea that you have to work 24/7 to be successful. That’s not true,” she points out. “I’m so in love with my work that I do find myself really just going for it, and trying to work a lot, and I’m trying to find more balance in the new year.”

Her ultimate goal? “I want to grow up with my followers,” she says. “I don’t know everything, but I know a little bit about some things, and if I can share a little bit with them, and make someone’s life better, that is the greatest honor. I can't wait to do life with them. I feel really lucky that they’ve chosen me to go on this journey with.”

Ever self-aware, Tinx laughs. “That’s a woo-woo answer,” she jokes. “But it’s really how I feel.”