What's the Internet Making Us Do?

The other day I had a conversation with a friend about the ways the Internet has impacted our behavior and perceptions of quality humor and ‘coolness’. It made me think about all of the strange trends that have originated because of social media. Some of these trends are so bizarre, and even dangerous, that it is hard to imagine people coming up with them, let alone participating in them, without the social pressures of Internet culture. Because people are incentivized to appear hip and funny to their peers, they are willing to throw all common sense out the window to do ridiculous things that people pre-Digital Era would have never even considered. Here are some of the best examples of popular and strange Internet trends throughout the years.

Harlem Shake

Although the Harlem Shake hardly needs any introduction, for those who stored this weird dance phenomenon far back in the depths of their brain, allow me to refresh your memory. Dancing to the catchy techno song, “Harlem Shake,” became a popular Internet trend around 2013. For the beginning of the song, a group of people would hold a certain pose with only one person dancing. Then, when the beat dropped, the group would suddenly grow in size and everyone would choose one strange dance move, creating a mass of chaotic movements.

Some of the more creative videos featured participants in crazy outfits and at bizarre locations. This trend became so wide-scale that its participants extended beyond just the typical meme demographic of teenagers, ranging to business people and even full sports teams. To think that grown-up professionals would get together, dress in funny costumes, and videotape themselves dancing to a techno song can only be a result of the Internet.

Planking

When you think of planking, you might first recall the popular exercise, but planking was also a popular Internet phenomenon. For this meme, people laid facedown on whatever random surface they could find. Anything from stairs to trees to busy streets were fair game, and thousands of people participated around the world.

Here is a picture of talk show host Jimmy Fallon and comedian Andy Samberg planking on top of each other on Fallon's The Tonight Show to mock this ridiculous trend.

Hot Dogs or Legs?

For those who do not remember, “hot dogs or legs?” was a trend where people posted pictures of their bare legs, usually in some outdoor landscape, and poked fun at the fact that they looked uncannily similar to hot dogs. Some people took this meme so far as to put ketchup on their skin, or even added props to hot dogs to demonstrate their creativity and dedication to the trend.

Before social media, I cannot think of a reason why any person would have chose to cover their legs with condiments or tried to create a comparison between their body and food. But, according to the Internet, it is hilarious.

Tide Pod Challenge

One of my all-time favorites is the trend that convinced people that eating Tide pods was a good idea. This has to be one of the most bizarre (and dangerous) Internet memes. It started on platforms like Twitter with people talking about how delicious Tide Pods must taste based on their fresh smell and resemblance to gummy candy. Naturally, you would think people would have stopped there given that Tide Pods are literally laundry detergent. But no...

For some reason, people decided to turn this into an Internet challenge where they would post videos of themselves eating pods. The challenge quickly turned into a scandal, with participants starting to have health problems from the effects of ingesting soap. Shocker. YouTube actually had to remove all Tide pod-consuming content in order to prevent further safety issues. Although the fact that eating laundry detergent could bring health problems seems fairly intuitive to me, people’s desire to be a part of the trend clearly interfered with that common sense.

Cinnamon Challenge

For another meme that led people to dangerously ingest something for the sake of Internet clout – the infamous Cinnamon Challenge. Sounds harmless enough, right? Wrong. This trend had participants eating a spoonful of cinnamon, with the punch line being that they would have a cough-attack and nearly suffocate. The dry powder would coat their entire mouth and tongue, making it basically impossible to breathe.

I regret to admit that I tried this one, but it was my first and last involvement in an Internet challenge. After experiencing pure terror in the form of cinnamon, I decided to leave my meme-ing days behind me.

The consistent theme throughout all these trends is that people are willing to humiliate themselves and even harm themselves in order to be perceived as hip and funny by their Internet peers. What did people do to prove their worth before the Internet? I am not sure, but I can almost guarantee that they did not put mustard on their legs, eat laundry detergent, or choke on spices to earn respect from others. What’s the Internet doing to us?