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10. Conspiracy Theories
Since the rise of the internet put the World Wide Web in our pockets, everyone has had the power to broadcast their ideas. This has allowed some pretty crazy opinions to proliferate without the necessity of being published by a reputable newspaper or publishing company. The result? Lots of conspiracy theorists. The most prevalent conspiracy theories that flourished through the 2010s include the following: chemtrails, the Flat Earth theory, 9/11 hoax theory, anti-vaxxing, 5G, Jeffrey Epstein didn't kill himself, global warming, Australia doesn't exist, the reptilian conspiracy, birds are government surveillance drones and so many ridiculous others. Rein in your imagination, ditch the tin foil hat and get a real job.
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9. VSCO girls
To say that VSCO girlsare canceled implies that they were once cool, but for anyone over 19 years old, VSCO girls were always a joke. VSCO girls are characterized by wearing oversized t-shirts, a scrunchie on their wrist, short shorts or mum jeans, Birkenstocks, friendship bracelets, and a puka shell choker, as well as carrying around a Fjallraven backpack, a sticker-covered Hydro Flask, reusable metal straws, and Burts Bees lip balm. The VSCO girl persona really came alive on TikTok, where they could demonstrate their slang phrases like "...and I oop" and "sksksk" (both of which came from the black LGBT community), as well as their neurotic eco-consciousness. Like their predecessors, the "basic" teen, VSCO girls are overwhelmingly white and wealthy, and we can't think of anything more boring than a bunch of self-image obsessed teenage girls. RIP and good riddance.
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8. Influencers
Since the rise of social media, you don't have to be famous to be seen or heard. All you need is a smartphone and an internet connection. Inevitably, this brought out the egomaniac in each of us, because who doesn't want their five minutes of fame? Today, every fish in the pond thinks that they're an influencer, with trademark influencer-wannabe habits like sharing their "much-asked-for" makeup routine (no-one asked them about it), repeating that they've been "getting a lot of requests for" something (they haven't) and revealing their "authentic" selves while only uploading highly stylized or edited photos. No one actually cares about what "influencers" have to say, and we think the 2020s would be far better off without every second person trying to claim a free meal because of their "influencer" status. You're no-one, just like the rest of us.
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7. Wellness trends
When the 2010s began, it seemed that everyone suddenly realized that there's more to being healthy than treating illnesses. In an essential-oil flavored tidal wave, new wellness trends started emerging every week. They ranged from annoying to downright ridiculous. Some of the most irritating wellness trends were (in no order): raw diets, activated charcoal, crystals, essential oils, the yoni egg, kale, apple cider vinegar, the Keto diet, anti-vaxxers, kombucha, CBD, gluten-free diets, dairy-free diets, sugar-free diets, carb-free diets, intermittent fasting, mindfulness, chia seeds and last but not least, this obsession with drinking water. I don't see how adding charcoal to my meals, teeth, and face can make me a better person, and frankly, I don't want to know. Just let me eat my Mars Bar in peace.
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6. Dabbing
Dabbing, or the dab, is a dance move that involves dropping your head into the bent crook of one arm while raising the other arm to the sky, and it has been overused to death. Dabbing became popular in the mainstream after football players adopted it as a gesture of victory in 2015. Although its origins come from hip hop and allude to smoking hash, popular use of dabbing led it to become synonymous with 'winning.' Before we knew it, everyone from grandmothers, to policemen,' to politicians were doing the dab. After about a year, the dab became so overused and washed out that it was canceled. Those who continued to dab after this time are generally considered as out of the loop, or in other words, boomers.
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5. Fidget spinners
Fidget spinners rose into popularity almost as quickly as they dropped into ambiguity again, and the exact purpose of them has never really been clear. In early 2017, a couple of teenage kids created the fidget spinner on a 3D printer and promoted them on social media. A few months later, fidget spinner knock offs were on every shelf in every shop, and every single kid had one in their hand. But what was the aim of the fidget spinner? Some people say that they are meant to be helpful for people with excessive amounts of energy, like those who experience anxiety, ADHD, autism, and psychological stress. Whether they actually help with these disorders — we don't know. What we do know is that fidget spinners were annoying, and we're glad to see the back of them.
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4. Gangnam Style
Gangnam Style was released in July 2012 by South Korean rapper PSY, and it reached such popularity by December 2012 that it became the first YouTube video to reach 1 billion views. Gangnam Style topped the charts in many countries, and PSY's style of dancing became a worldwide phenomenon, as well as the phrase 'Oppan Gangnam Style'. While the song may have originally been noticed for its catchiness, everything about it soon became extremely
irritating and today, anyone trying to replicate the stupid dance move from the song is categorized as a loser.
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3. Selfies
Selfies are everywhere and we are so over them. Is there anything more narcissistic than a selfie? Selfies have actually been around since the late 1800s, but they took their current form in the early 2000s when an Australian bloke accidentally coined the term 'selfie' on an internet forum. In 2002 the Sony Ericsson Z1010 was released, being the first mobile phone with a front-facing camera. But selfies didn't really take off until 2010, when the iPhone 4 came onto the market. Soon after, Instagram and Snapchat introduced filters, and in 2014 the awful selfie stick was invented. We all know that your face doesn't really look like that, and we couldn't care less about seeing yet another duckface selfie that highlights your narcissism. Let's leave the selfie (and the selfie stick) in the 2010s.
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2. The Duck Face
Duck face, otherwise known as Myspace face, originated around the time the selfie came into popular use. Duckface is achieved by pressing your lips together in a pout and sucking in your cheeks. It is mostly associated with teenage girls who upload selfies to Myspace and Facebook. Duckface is used to convey sexiness or confidence, but one study shows that people who use
duckface are more likely to be neurotic than others (and through empirical evidence, we agree). Thankfully, "duckface" is mostly used in a comical or parodying nature these days, but if you see someone doing one in all seriousness, steer clear.
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1. Internet Challenges
Of all the trends that exist on the internet, challenges are the most annoying and the stupidest. Internet challenges prove that if all our friends jumped off bridges, then yes, we would follow them. There are debates as to when the first internet challenge was really created, but it is accepted that the cinnamon challenge was one of the first. Emerging in 2001, the challenge dared people to swallow a teaspoon of cinnamon without drinking water, choking or dying. Sounds like a smart idea, right? The rest of them are just as stupid: the Bird Box challenge, the Kylie Jenner lip challenge, the Tide Pod challenge… seriously, doesn't everyone have something better to do?
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