Trends Are Kinda Sus

 

               I have been known to say, “I might be old, but I social media like a teenager.”  That might be an exaggeration, but I still consider myself fairly hip. Do people still say that? Hip? Cool? Rad? Maybe I am not as with it as I think I am. With the ebb and flow of pop culture it can be hard to keep up with what is in, and what is on its way out. Barry Brummet pointed out in his book Rhetoric in Pop Culture that “things, actions, and events are often in the process of either becoming, or declining as, cultural artifacts.”  In other words, pop culture icons, sayings, trends, and fads can come and go, some rather quickly, and some are with us for a long time.

            Some trends I remember as a kid stuck around for a while like “Where’s the beef?” That saying was derived from a Wendy’s commercial, and often meant more than just looking for a piece of protein produced from cattle. It was used in many ways like if you received an item you thought was not up to par, when someone wasn’t putting in the effort that was expected of them, or just as an exclamation to be funny.  People like my husband had t-shirts that said it and the phrase was even used during a presidential debate.  It was very trendy for a time and then no one said it anymore. About a year ago my son encountered something that referred to that saying. I tried to explain how big it was and what it meant. I looked up the commercial so he could watch it hoping that would help but honestly, I am still not sure he got it. Conveying cultural connotation without the culture and context surrounding it is difficult. 


 

            In recent history there have been new pop culture trends that have come and either gone or look to be on their way out.  Among Us was a hugely popular video game last year that produced clothing trends, TikTok trends, and sayings like “kinda sus.”  Today the game only gets a relatively few viewers on Twitch compared to other games and the clothing and sayings are no longer hot items. 


 

There is a new popular game in town called “Wordle” that is creating memes, trending on social media, and getting people like me to Google what it is.  What I found is what CNBC described as “not just a simple word game” but “an addiction.”  I guess I better go download the game and start playing.


 

            What trends have you seen come and go? Have they had an impact on your life? Have you ever had to explain an old trend to someone who did not know about it?

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