Gen-Z have been slammed for their ‘ridiculous’ new trend of taking aesthetic photos of their TSA security tray.  

The trend involves organizing and styling a TSA tray before snapping an overhead shot of your carefully arranged belongings before they go through the X-ray detector. 

A graphic designer and TikTok influencer, Piper Taich, skyrocketed the trend after posting snaps of her own precisely presented TSA trays.

The photos include arranging items such as sunglasses, bags, shoes, cameras and jewelry. 

While the trend is upsetting plenty of users on TikTok, it’s also becoming a trend across airports as people attempt to snap their own photos and flyers in line behind are less than pleased.  

One commenter said: ‘I work at LAX and this is annoying. We’re just tryna get to work and you’re in our way lol.’

Another said: ‘Girl it’s already stressful enough, why?’

‘Get out of the way,’ write another. 

Some TikTok creators have responded online making it clear that the photos they post were taken at home, with a TSA tray lookalike bought and staged as if they were in an airport. 

Taich, 25, does exactly that – she prints off a fake plane ticket and assembles an aesthetic ‘TSA’ tray for a photo shoot. She said she bought the tray and assembled it in her home in Chicago, according to the New York Times. 

After receiving some negative comments claiming the trend to be ‘pointless’, she responded saying: ‘The point is that it’s fun and it’s art. I by no means made up this concept, I’ve seen it everywhere but it’s a really fun way to express my love for fashion and artistic direction.’

However, the trend was staged to look so similar to TSA security that people started recreating the trend at actual airports.  

Author of How to Pack: Travel Smart for Any Trip, Hitha Palepu, told the New York Times that the trend was one of her ‘biggest pet peeves’. Palepu said that the trend is inconsiderate to fellow travelers and TSA staff, stressful and just ‘gross’. 

Commenters shared concerns that the TSA security would never allow the time for people to do this anyway and feared being yelled at. 

Other influencers and users suggested waiting until after going through the TSA security check before arranging the trays and taking any photos. 

One commenter shared their stressful experiences of going through security without doing the trend, saying: ‘the TSA agents at Newark made me cry because I couldn’t empty my bin fast enough.’ 

Another said: ‘TSA would in fact smack everything in my bin around for trying this. Lol’ 

However, a TSA spokesperson told Nexstar: ‘As long as staged glamor photos are not causing delays or issues with other passengers in the checkpoint, there are no issues. 

‘Travelers should take care to secure their IDs, passports and any light items on top that could be swept out of the bins when they go into the machines,’ he added.