This year, Met Radio is taking part in the time-honoured tradition of the year-end top ten list. Throughout the month of December, Met Radio staff and volunteers will be sharing their personal pop culture favourites from the year gone by. Visit the website every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to check out our best of 2023!
This year has been filled with a variety of social media trends. But TikTok as a platform has seen its own share of comedic, relatable and oversharing trends. Have a look below to see Met Radio’s Top 10 TikTok trend list.
1. Girl math/Girl dinner
If there’s one thing 2023 will be known for, it’s for being the year of the girl. Not only did Margot Robbie blow us all away with her portrayal of Barbie, but there have also been several smaller representations that shed light on what being a girl looks like. Girl math was an all-too-infamous finance explanation of how *some* women control their spending. To sum it up, if I bought a concert ticket and the concert is six months away, by the time it rolls around, I really haven’t spent any money. Girl dinner, on the other hand, showcases that, sometimes, all you really need for supper is three Takis, a leftover egg from your fridge and a cup of Jell-O.
2. He’s a 10 out of 10, but…
Now, to shift focus away from the women for one second—don’t worry ladies, we’re coming back to you in a little bit—this trend puts an ironic twist on the rating scale of men. Users pointed out flaws with their crush, husband or even coworker. They ranged from smaller offences, like the inability to respond to texts, to much larger problems, like cheating and lying. Personally, he’s a 10 out of 10, but he uncontrollably shakes in his sleep.
3. Beige flags
Sparing absolutely no one, this trend focuses on those things about a person that aren’t quite a red flag or a green flag. They’re just there and they don’t really affect you day-to-day, just like the colour beige. Although this is rather subjective, it normalizes things like having holes in your underwear or putting pineapple on your pizza. The reality is, we all have those little quirks that someone is either going to love, hate or not care about.
4. Things that are none of our business
Popularized by Mads Mitch, this trend takes a look at things that we really don’t care about because, realistically, they’re not our business. Whether it be the worn out soles of your shoes, the back of your hair, that monthly Apple charge you have no idea where it’s coming from or the person you are while wildly hungry or upset at traffic, you don’t really need to care. Because guess what? It’s not your business. At least, that’s what this TikTok trend says.
5. Bird’s-eye view
More of a recent TikTok trend, J.I.D.’s “Surround Sound” has been stuck in many people’s heads. Whether it be a doctor’s office, construction site or your nearest Starbucks, people all around the world are taping their phones to the ceiling and dancing below the camera. The bird’s-eye view allows everyone to be in frame while still providing the funny angle we’ve all been waiting for.
6. Get ready with me
Now, hear me out: I know this one has been here for a while. Yet, we can’t dismiss the fact that content creators like Alix Earle have brought this back into full swing. From moms discussing the struggles of parenting, to teenage girls ranting about their breakup, this trend involves sitting in front of your camera and simply…getting ready. Whether it be skincare, makeup, or hair, this trend normalizes stepping in front of the camera and being your truest self, whether that be with a bare face or the harsh realities of life.
7. Pet spinning videos
Regardless of whether or not your For You Page is filled with animals, it’s more than likely you’ve seen a video of someone holding their pet up to the camera and spinning them. The logistics of this trend are on the more complicated side, with people showcasing they had to either hold their phone with their teeth or between their chin and neck. But the result is adorable. Animals anywhere from dogs, to cats, to pigs and ferrets are held up to the camera and spun around in a circle. Not to mention the camera angle makes them look fluffier and cuter than ever before.
8. AI headshot, age filter and more
2023 saw the rise of artificial intelligence and TikTok was no stranger to it. The trend of the AI headshot, whereby the technology uses one’s face and creates a portrait of them that looks identical to the grade three school photos your mom still keeps on her fridge, became popular. Users were able to pick from the punk rock look, to the 1980s gym outfit to the plain professional headshot. The other popular filter on the app was the age filter. Going about 50 years into the future, it’s meant to show you what you’ll look like as the years go on. More prominent smile lines, deepened undereye bags and white hair are all effects that come with this filter. Some dermatologists have come out and said it’s accurate, which has left some users happy, and others utterly mortified.
9. Store-bought pesto
This trauma-dumping trend has taken over the app in recent months. The trend started when a girl made a video of her recipe for pesto, because as she states, store-bought pesto just isn’t the same. The result was an array of duets and stitches where creators agreed that store-bought pesto sucked, but what might suck a little more is their traumatizing experiences. No one saw this coming for the poor girl who was just trying to share her sauce recipe, but it sure does make for an interesting video.
10. “Attenzione pickpocket”
Beginning from a viral sound of a lady in Venice, Italy, alerting a tourist of a pickpocket on the loose, this trend had all types of creators on the app in a trance. The sound has been added to videos of users’ pets, siblings and partners, to mimic a meme effect.
