January flash mob on social networks, in which users shared footage of overrated romantic paintings, accompanying them with the same phrase about the "toxic codependent relationship of a spineless mumbler and a sociopath gone crazy." It turned out that this characteristic is suitable for a variety of films, TV series and cartoons. Among them are "Eternal Sunshine of the Pure Mind", "Venom" and even "Masha and the Bear".
In February, netizens began to compare what they eat with how they look. A great way to show that high-calorie food may not be terrible for the figure, or just share your taste preferences. There were jokes about Pacman, Shredder and worms from "Men in Black".
In May, Telegram founder Pavel Durov posted a photo where he stands half-naked against a background of sandy rocks, with a black raincoat fluttering behind him. A few days later, three more new frames followed in the same location. All of them quickly went online and became the subject of discussion. Someone admired Pavel's athletic form, someone compared him to the hero of "Dune" and the Prince of Persia, and someone was ironic about the quotes that accompany the pictures.
In June, the main viral topic was a possible fight Elon Musk with Zuckerberg. It all started with a skirmish in X (former Twitter) and quickly came to loud statements about the desire to fight in the octagon almost in the Colosseum itself. Both billionaires diligently prepared and sparred with UFC fighters, but it all ended in nothing. A lot of noise without any outcome.
Also in the summer, NPC streams suddenly became popular in TikTok. These are live broadcasts during which bloggers behaved like non-player characters from video games: they have a limited set of phrases and "animations" that start when certain actions of the audience are performed. It looks as strange as possible, but it is still flourishing. If you see "hung up" bloggers who swing from side to side and clap their hands, do not be surprised.
The main summer phenomenon was "Barbigheimer" (or "Barbenheimer"). This event is the reaction of the Internet community to the simultaneous release of completely opposite films "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer". The contrast between Greta Gerwig's comedy about a Barbie doll and Christopher Nolan's biographical thriller about the creator of the atomic bomb has generated a lot of jokes and neurocarts. Many viewers decided to watch both films in a row on the same day, and even the actors who played in the pictures supported this idea.
Throughout the first half of the year, collections of frames from the Midjourney neural network, which was at the peak of popularity, were actively viral. The most hit ones are with the animation of the characters of various cartoons. For example, the AI showed funny characters from "Shrek", "The Simpsons", "Family Guy", "Atlantis" and even animated Ghibli tapes. Also of great interest were the images of the heroes of famous books based on the original descriptions of the authors. For example, from "The Lord of the Rings", "The Witcher" and "Harry Potter". Many franchises have started to play with new colors.
A completely unexpected September flash mob — "How often do you think about the Roman Empire?". Women asked this of men — and the answers were surprising, because many of them, as it turned out, often think about Rome. The question itself has been floating around the Web since last year, but they began to discuss this topic hotly quite recently, with several viral reels and tweets that have gained millions of views. This trend reached Russia, and people reacted the same way.
In TikTok in November, a new strange trend started hair training — do not wash your hair for at least 30 days. The participants called it "hair training," claiming that gradually increasing the time between washing improves the scalp and hair, making them healthier. The content on this topic has had over 160 million views. However, the practice is quite controversial, and you should not blindly trust it.
At the end of the year, the main topic for discussion was the series "The Word of the kid. Blood on the asphalt". He has already set an absolute record for popularity in Russia. They continue to talk and argue about him, videos are being shot in TikTok based on his scenes, and the soundtrack has become one of the most wanted tracks in Shazam (you probably heard the song "Pyala" by the Aigel group). And despite all the drama, there is no humor in social networks. It's such a year.
And what trends on the Web do you remember in 2023? Write in the comments.
