As the year is very quickly coming to a close, it’s only fitting that we reminisce on some of the most memorable trending topics of the year.
January tends to follow the same trends every year, such as ‘Dry January’ or ‘Veganuary’ as people attempt to start their new year on a positive and healthy note. An honourable mention this year, however, goes to the ‘dead celebrity prank’ that went viral on TikTok. The prank involved children recording themselves telling their parents that random celebrities, who were very much alive, had died. As morbid as it sounds, the dramatic reactions were priceless and worth the short-term heartbreak.
From January to March, millions of people tuned into HBO’s adaptation of the Playstation game The Last of Us. The nine-part series followed Joel and Ellie as they travelled across America in the midst of a fungal pandemic in an attempt to find a cure.
March saw a random resurgence in the popularity of adult cartoons, South Park in particular. This phenomenon was almost entirely caused by a sudden surge of TikToks showing a split screen between an episode of a TV show and a video of someone playing a mobile game. March also marked the beginning of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, which spiked a massive interest that carried on throughout the year.
In April, Nintendo fans everywhere were excited to go and watch The Super Mario Bros. Movie which sparked nostalgia for everyone who grew up playing any Super Mario games as a child.
May 6th saw King Charles’ coronation as he and Queen Consort Camilla were crowned, officially becoming the main monarchs of the UK.
As usual during the months of June and July, Love Island captivated British audiences every night with millions tuning in each night.
July could potentially hold the most popular trend of the year: Barbenheimer. If you somehow haven’t heard of this, it’s the collective name people online used to refer to the movies Barbie and Oppenheimer that both released on July 21.
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup took place from July until the August. England made it to the final before eventually being beaten 1-0 by Spain, making nationwide news and sparking debate about the importance of women’s sports.
In September many women took to social media to ask whether men really thought of the Roman Empire every day. This query was met with worldwide agreement from men and confusion from women, causing people to theorise what the female equivalent was.
October’s trends were weirdly nostalgic for 2014. The game Five Nights at Freddy’s received a movie remake of the same name, and The Hunger Games made a comeback due to the release of its prequel movie. In another weird coincidence, Taylor Swift released her re-recording of 1989, 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
Big Brother also returned this year. Despite its five-year hiatus, it was extremely popular with an eventual 3.3 million viewers watching the finale in November.
Of course, the annual release of Spotify Wrapped has also caused excitement online. So far, December has held many festive trends as families reunite for the holidays.