What Makes Something Go Viral?
Not every funny video becomes a cultural phenomenon. True viral trends share a few key ingredients: they're easy to participate in, create a sense of community, and tap into a universal emotion — whether that's joy, nostalgia, absurdity, or even a touch of fear. Here are ten viral trends that ticked all those boxes and left a permanent mark on internet history.
1. The Ice Bucket Challenge (2014)
Perhaps the most impactful viral challenge ever, the Ice Bucket Challenge raised significant awareness and funds for ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) research. Participants dumped buckets of ice water on their heads and nominated others to do the same or donate. Celebrities, athletes, and world leaders all participated, turning a simple act into a global movement.
2. The Harlem Shake (2013)
One person dances alone in a room full of oblivious people — then the beat drops and suddenly everyone is going absolutely wild. Groups from offices to military units created their own versions, making this arguably the first truly mass-participation video meme.
3. The Mannequin Challenge (2016)
Freeze. Everyone freezes. A camera weaves through a scene of perfectly still people while Rae Sremmurd's "Black Beatles" plays. The result was mesmerizing, creative, and surprisingly difficult to pull off with a large group. Schools, sports teams, and even politicians tried their hand at it.
4. The Bottle Cap Challenge (2019)
Roundhouse kick a loosely-screwed bottle cap off a bottle without knocking the bottle over. Simple premise, insanely impressive execution — especially when martial artists and celebrities like Jason Statham started posting videos that looked physically impossible.
5. The In My Feelings Challenge (2018)
Drake's "In My Feelings" single spawned the #KekeChallenge, where people jumped out of moving cars to dance alongside them. Fun? Yes. Safe? Absolutely not. This was one of the first trends to prompt serious public safety warnings from police departments worldwide.
6. The TikTok "Renegade" Dance (2019–2020)
Created by then-14-year-old Jalaiah Harmon, the Renegade became the defining dance of early TikTok culture. Its story also sparked an important conversation about credit and attribution in viral content creation.
7. The "How It Started vs. How It's Going" Format (2020)
A simple two-panel format comparing the beginning and current state of something — relationships, careers, pandemic lockdown moods. It was low-effort, highly relatable, and spawned millions of variations across every social platform.
8. The "What Are Those?!" Meme (2015)
A vine video of a police officer being asked about his shoes launched a catchphrase that became inescapable for months. It proved that a single perfectly-timed question could echo across the entire internet.