By Jack Peng Website Manager
2020 is just around the corner, signifying that another decade is coming to a close. The 2010s was a new era of social media with memes and challenges surfacing the internet, so let’s reminisce on the biggest trends of the decade.
Memes usually start as an online trend on Reddit or YouTube, which gradually make their way to Twitter or Instagram. For example, “Rick Roll”, which played after getting clickbaited, became a big YouTube meme. Additionally, memes, such as “Ancient Aliens,” displayed a ridiculous statement about aliens and “Mind Blown Matrix,” which showed a Matrix character stating an astonishing fact, became classic infamous memes. Senior, Corey Nguyen, recalls, “The memes were wholesome rather than the edgy memes we see today.” These memes were the pioneers of many of the online trends today.
Now, let’s reflect on the music videos that were popularized by meme culture such as “Baby” by Justin Bieber, the second most disliked YouTube video. Remember when Justin Bieber was 15 years old with a bowl cut? Even now, a meme of Bieber is gaining popularity on Twitter that compares the evolution of his appearance and lifestyle from the beginning to the end of this decade. Similarly, “Friday” by Rebecca Black is also infamously remembered for being very auto-tuned and catchy, which drew in more than 137 million views. Amusing videos such as “What does the Fox Say” by Ylvis and “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus were major songs for their uniqueness. Other songs were also remembered for specific dance moves that exploded on the internet- “Harlem Shake” by Baauer had its own viral challenge, where stars like Jimmy Fallon, Ryan Seacrest, Stephen Colbert, and fans alike danced to the song. “Gangnam Style” by Psy was the first big mainstream hit in Korean music and sparked popular interpretations ranging from Minecraft animation to funny parodies.
There were also plenty of popular challenge videos- the first viral challenge being “The Cinnamon Challenge.” It was very controversial for being dangerous since the challenge consisted of someone eating a spoonful of cinnamon. However, harmless challenges such as “Mannequin Challenge” was another viral challenge that allowed participants to freeze to the song “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd. It was popular not only among pre-teens and teens but adults as well. Celebrities like Kevin Hart, Ellen DeGeneres, and James Corden hilariously froze in places like the gym and office. Similarly, in “The Ice Bucket Challenge,” people poured a bucket of ice over their heads to donate to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Research. This challenge was very prevalent since many celebrities, including Christ Pratt, Oprah Winfrey, and Lebron James, participated to raise awareness and donate to ALS.
The 2010s was an era of social media with viral memes, music videos, and challenges. These trends were very humorous and will be remembered by many as the best of the decade.
