Epic, As Usual

Jennifer Garner Wins The 'Teenage Dirtbag' Social Media Trend

A slow clap for Ms. Garner, please.

Jennifer Garner is anything but a 'teenage dirtbag.' Here, she's seen at a fund-raiser for Barack Ob...
MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images/MediaNews Group/Getty Images

Can someone get Jennifer Garner a trophy? Because she, once again, proved she’s the gem of social media.

The Adam Project star tackled TikTok’s “Teenage Dirtbag” trend, but instead of sharing photos of her rebellious past, the 50-year-old mom of three put her nerdy, goofy stage-kid self on full display.

“My ‘teenage dirtbag’ photos,” she wrote on the reel, which included snapshots from her days as a ballerina, high school band member, and cross-eyed goofball — aka, anything but a teenage dirtbag.

Fans and celebrities alike commented on Garner’s post, celebrating her dorkiness in all its glory. Especially the millions who identified more as a band geek or quiet kid than as a leather-clad, smoking-behind-the-school rebel.

The world doesn’t deserve Jennifer Garner.

Stars like Jimmy Fallon, Nina Dobrev, Alicia Silverstone, Tony Hawk, Gwen Stefani, and Christina Aguilera shared their “dirtbag” reels — but none came close to Garner’s pizzazz.

Garner, who shares kids Violet, 16, Seraphina, 13, and Samuel, 10, with ex-husband Ben Affleck, is now as known for her social media presence as she is for her film roles. She brings an authenticity to her Instagram page — sharing everything from throwback photos to at-home snaps to “good news” videos. Frankly, she just makes people smile.

“I went through a period where I just couldn't come up with anything creative,” Garner told Elle of Instagram in 2020. “I felt like all the fun was a little bit zapped out of me. If you just give into that feeling totally, then you really fall away from it. So I started forcing myself to just play a little, because there has to be a version of Instagram for me at least, or whatever we do, that feels like play.”

The purest corner of the internet: @jennifer.garner.