The internet’s weird
By Nicole Ojo
Have you ever wondered why some things trend on social media?
With so much information being thrown at us every second when online, it’s impossible to know what things will stick in our minds and force us to react, whether as a comment, a share, a like etc.
Looking at my ‘for you’ pages on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, I’ve discovered that although something might have been presented in a certain medium at the beginning of its life cycle, the message will be communicated in a number of ways and spread like wildfire when enough people connect with it.
From memes and viral videos to catchphrases and songs, we generally search and interact with our interests and hobbies i.e., fashion, football, or cooking. These then get more specific and Neish, turning into sub-genres directed to us by the platform. The more we consume, the more specific our content, however when something becomes viral, it can leak into your socials and take over.
For example, my pages mostly consist of music, fashion, tv/film, and books. However, I get a few memes and viral things pop up on my page and the minute I watch/interact with it for longer than 3 seconds, it’s almost all I see for a while. It comes from nowhere and all of a sudden, it’s everywhere, unescapable, like the capybara song.
You must immediately listen to the capybara song if you have not seen or heard of it. Not because It’s amazing, life-changing, or ground-breaking. No. It’s because the song is amazingly annoying in the best most humorous way possible. The song was created by Russian artist, Сто-Личный Она-Нас and is called Капибара which is just capybara in Russian. The song blew up around 3 weeks ago, but it only reached my socials a couple of days ago. Despite not following any animal pages or viewing anything capybara related in my life, after watching just one video for a few seconds, it was all I could see. Did I enjoy it, yes, think it was weird yet intriguing, of course, but did I also get bored and frustrated after listening to the 10th video with the famous TikTok song, absolutely.
Here’s are a few of the videos I’ve seen recently:
So yes, the internet is weird and when you’re not on it regularly, you miss out on viral sounds and videos. When it comes to talking to my friends and or peers, it is important to know the latest trends to discuss, tweet or share. If you somehow miss these viral moments, people will question whether you live under a rock.
Something so small and honestly inconsequential can play a part in pop culture in new and unexpected ways. It doesn’t matter how certain trends came about or if it is a revolutionary idea that will change society, anything and everything has an opportunity to invade our phone screens from the weirdest and most fantastical places in the world to the most mundane and unassuming ones. As long as it entertains, intrigues, and captures our attention, even for a split second, it can trend.
