Throwback Thursday: The viral trends that defined a generation

Santo Domingo.- Since 2010, social media has been the perfect stage for digital trends and movements to grab headlines and become global phenomena. In this Throwback Thursday, we take a look at those trends that not only dominated the internet, but also remind us today that time passes faster than we think. In 2011, millions of young people chanted and danced to the rhythm of “Party Rock Anthem“, by the American duo LMFAO. Eye-catching clothing, neon colors, and extravagant styles took over parties and social media. It was a trend as intense as it was ephemeral, but impossible to forget. The worldwide phenomenon of “Gangnam Style” A year later, South Korean PSY revolutionized YouTube with “Gangnam Style”. The song recorded an average of 19 million views every 24 hours, which was equivalent to almost 116 views per second, a historic figure for the time. His catchy choreography known as “the horse dance” was replicated by millions of people around the world, becoming one of the first truly global phenomena of the digital age. The video reached 3,165,549,406 views, thus becoming the fifth most viewed video in YouTube history The Harlem Shake madness: “With the terrorists” In 2013, it was the turn of the “Harlem Shake“, which consisted of recording a close-up of a person dancing in a strange way with a mask, while the song played and the other participants remained still. After a few seconds, the scene changed abruptly and all the people were dancing wildly and dressed up in an extravagant way. Basically 15 seconds of calm and 15 of chaos that were enough to flood the internet with thousands of creative versions.

You can also read: The trend fever: Why do people follow trends?

The Ice Bucket Challenge and the charitable cause

More than a simple trend, the “Ice Bucket Challenge” was an awareness campaign about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Driven, among others, by the American Corey Griffin, the initiative consisted of pouring a bucket of ice water over the head and nominating other people to do the same. The campaign reached such a magnitude that public figures such as the then-President of the United States, Barack Obama, the businessman Donald Trump, Kim Kardashian, Jeff Bezos, Lionel Messi, and Bill Gates joined the challenge, managing to raise millions of dollars for disease research.

The growth of other social networks

With the rise of TikTok and other short video platforms, challenges gained more traction.

In 2016 the trend “Mannequin Challenge” became popular, where groups of people remained completely still, like mannequins, while the camera moved through the scene. This challenge was accompanied by the song “Black Beatles”, by the duo Rae Sremmurd, and was replicated by athletes, artists, and celebrities around the world.

Although 2017 didn’t have a dominant challenge, it did leave memorable moments: one of them was the live interview for BBC News of Professor Robert Kelly, whose small children burst into the broadcast, starring in one of the most tender and shared videos of the year. That same year, “Despacito“, by Puerto Ricans Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, broke all records on YouTube. From August 2017 to November 2020 it was the most viewed video on the platform, becoming the first to reach three, four, five, six and seven billion views. In 2018 the “In My Feelings Challenge” became the most viral trend of 2018. The challenge consisted of getting out of a moving car to dance to the rhythm of the song “In My Feelings”, by rapper Drake. Although celebrities like Will Smith and Ciara helped popularize it, the authorities warned about the risks of performing this practice on public roads. In 2019, TikTok consolidated its dominance with the “The Git Up Challenge”, inspired by the song “The Git Up“, by Blanco Brown. The challenge promoted a “cowboy boogie” style choreography that accumulated millions of views. That same year, “Con altura“, by Rosalía and J Balvin, also became a digital phenomenon. Rosalía’s urban flamenco style conquered the internet, and the choreographies with red suits and high ponytails were replicated on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Trends come and go, but each one leaves a mark on the digital collective memory. What was a viral challenge yesterday is now part of our generational nostalgia. And while new trends are born every second, it’s clear that the internet never stops reinventing itself… nor making us feel a little older with each TBT.