Year in Review: 2024 Trends That Took Over Social Media
Ah, 2024, the year where we spent most of our time glued to our phones because of various 2024 trends that took over social media and made us laugh, cry, and hit the “share” button. Now that ’24 is in our rearview mirror, let’s take a stroll down memory lane and look at the wild, wonderful, and weird social media trends that dominated the year.
2024 Trends That Took Over Social Media
“Very Mindful, Very Demure” Trend
Betches.com credited TikTok creator Jules Lebron (@joolieannie) with the “very mindful, very demure” trend. She’s created 30+ videos explaining how to do certain things in a “very mindful, very demure trend.” It caught on and her original video below already has 54.8M views and is credited for almost 900K videos with the hashtag #demure.
“AI Boyfriend/Girlfriend” Trend
This year, AI got personal. The AI Girlfriend/Boyfriend is one of the 2024 trends that took social media by storm since it seemed to be the answer to some people’s quest for love. People started talking with their “perfect partner”: AI chatbots always saying the right thing. In this post from The Guardian, paid ChatGPT users can choose their girlfriend from OpenAI’s GPT Store. There’s Judy, Tsu, Your AI Girlfriend, Secret Girlfriend Sua, and Your girlfriend Scarlett. You can also chat with Boyfriend Ben, who is “A caring virtual boyfriend with a flair for emojis.”
Chats with these AI boyfriends/girlfriends, however, are governed by OpenAI’s policy. According to BBC, Chinese women opted with “Dan” or Do-Anything-Now, a “jailbreak” version of ChatGPT that can use explicit language when “sexting.” Some opted to use a different and free app to “date” these chatbots, like Replika AI. One Reddit user found out his wife has been engaging “hours of roleplaying, sexting, [and] messages about falling in love” with her Replika AI boyfriend and even discussed “about leaving her husband” since her AI boyfriend “helped her realize what her relationship was missing,” per Vice Magazine.
“Running From the Police” Trend
Another social media trend that made many people laugh and feel flattered is the “running from the police” trend. In this trend, creators are pretending to escape the police only to hear their flattering and complimentary descriptions on the “police radio.”
Even celebrities and well-known public figures jumped in on the trend, such as rugby player/Olympian/ Dancing with the Stars runner-up Ilona Maher.
“VIP Thinks They’re So Way Too Cool To Do This” Trend
Thanks to Chappell Roan, we’re closing 2024 with another fun social media trend. According to Datebook, Roan calling out the audiences at the VIP section’s lack of enthusiasm to learn the dance moves to her breakout song “Hot To Go” gave birth to the trend. TikTok users created videos using the audio clip about people who think they’re “too cool” for other people’s interests.
“Apt. Dance Challenge”
In 2024, BLACKPINK’s Rosé and Bruno Mars gave us a collaboration we didn’t know we needed. Their hit song “Apt.” also gave us a viral TikTok dance trend with Rosé providing a tutorial herself.
