Remember when the world started eating tide pods in 2017, because of a bizarre and confusing trend on social media? Well, let’s forward the time to 2020, trends not as bizarre but as confusing are dominating the social media space, aren’t they?
Here is a list of some of these confusing trends and things that you should know about them. Also, why are these so popular and what made people go gaga over them?
Let’s go!
#BINOD
This particular name was all that could be seen on social media till a few weeks back. Every comment, every caption consisted of this one particular name. But why was it so?
This started with a single comment and it was quick to explode. YouTubers Abhyudaya Mohan and Gautami Kawale uploaded a video on their Youtube channel named Slayy Point. The video titled “Why the Indian comments section is garbage (Binod)” focused on exactly what the title stated. One of the videos they reviewed had this comment by a Youtube user named Binod Tharu, and the comment was Binod. Just that.
Due to the lack of subsequent explanation to the comment, the YouTubers talked about it for just nine seconds in their video explaining how it was absurd for someone to just comment their own name without a pretext.
A day after the video was posted on Youtube, and the bizarre nature of the comment started going viral, the Mumbai police tweeted addressing #binod in an amusing way. After that, it was everywhere.
Binod was not only limited to being a name, it became an expression used by a lot of netizens, and popular people. It became so popular that it even came up in the live stream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This tells us how important and bizarre meme culture really is and how it can actually get even more absurd with time.
The Imposter outbreak
The imposter memes have just recently taken over the internet. Every time you open your social media accounts, you must have seen these tiny red, yellow, green, black human graphics on your explore page. Why is it so popular? let’s find out.
After the PUBG ban in India, the game named Among us has obtained immense popularity. It surpassed the PUBG franchise in the world ranking, with nearly 4 lakh concurrent stream players last week.
Have you ever played the famous indian chit game of ‘chor police’? The game has the same concept just with a few more steps. Players have to figure out who is the imposter before it kills somebody or after somebody dies.
There are two opportunities where you vote about revealing the imposter. One when you find a dead body and the other is by calling an emergency meeting. Emergency meeting is where all the talk happens, when the players discuss about their positions at the time of the murder and then try to figure out who is the imposter amongst them.
This became such a viral thing because of its relative nature with the chaotic year of 2020 and the way people have been feeling lately. People started making memes and now fashion trends and its hilarious and absurd at the same time!
The Pillow Challenge
Remember when everyone just started wearing pillows instead of clothes earlier? Well, that was one bizarre trend.
The challenge included wearing a pillow, strapping it on with a belt, trying to look hot and posting a picture on social media and the challenge was done!
This challenge had no reason or a rhyme, the only thing which promoted this challenge was the fact that you are at your home and so are your pillows.
The Don’t Leave Me Challenge
Seems like the world went gaga here. The Don’t Leave Me challenge took quarantine with a storm.
The trend shot up because of a Nigerian comedian, Josh Alfred. He posted an amusing video in March, goofing around with his friend. In the short clip, he says that he is on a leaf, while standing on a leaf. The pun did not get as much appreciation, but the way his friend responded was really responsible for the challenge to go viral.
The challenge mainly revolves around dry humour which is so absurd that it becomes funny. I am sure you have had such humorous instances in your life, like everyone else. If not, just search #thedontleaveme challenge and you’ll see how absurdly humorous it can actually get.
The Bin Isolation Outing Challenge
Everyone is missing dressing up, because what we are not getting to do, is to go out. Staying in our pyjama’s might have looked fun before, but now, eight months into quarantine, it is not really that fun anymore.
Hence, originated this confusing and bizarre trend of dressing up while taking the bin out. The trend originated in Australia, when a kindergarten teacher, Danielle Askew, got all excited to take her garbage out and dressed up for it, as it was the only ocassion she had that required stepping out.
The teacher started a Facebook group called the Bin isolation outing which now has around 9.8 lakh members.
This longing of dressing up started this trend and people started wearing evening gowns, dinosaurs, teddy bears and even full on cosplay costumes while taking their garbage out.
The trend went global soon and people are still taking out garbage all dressed up and having fun. As we all could use little laughs in this pandemic.
These were some of the numerous number of bizarre challenges that took place in 2020. The year has been chaotic and somewhat disappointing as a whole, for not just one or two countries but for the whole world. In this chaotic environment and scary circumstances, these bizarre trends have helped all of us smile from time to time.
No matter how confusing trends get in the future, or how absurd the meme culture becomes, the thing that needs recognisation and appreciation is the fact that these trends have now become a binding force for us all.