By Kayla Nwaki
Currently, many people over social media are obsessed with Labubus – fluffy little animal keychains. There have even been fights, fits and clashes over these overpriced keychains, but it is expected that popularity will die down slowly next month. However, Labubus are not the only of these ‘microtrends’.
People will queue in front of stores for hours on end just to get a taste of some Crumbl cookies, or scout their local coffee shops for matcha. Dubai Chocolate and Stanley cups are also becoming increasingly popular. A common denominator for all of these is they all trend for days on end, urging people to purchase them as soon as possible, but in a flash they become irrelevant and uncool. This is what we call a microtrend – things many people like, but then are made into big trends, only to be labelled as outdated a week later.
But why do people like microtrends? Is it because everyone loves each new trending topic and wants to be amid all the fun? Is it because they find these trends cute? To find out, I made a quiz to explore students’ views on microtrends.
From a schoolwide survey, it appears that the majority of pupils like microtrends because they truly find them cute or interesting, with more than 40% liking food-related microtrends because they “look tasty”. However, 9% said their main reason for liking them is because they are trendy and many other people like them. More than a quarter of students claimed they would still be interested in microtrends even if social media were to criticise microtrends. However, more than 50% of students said they were unsure whether they would still be as hooked onto these trends if social media stopped promoting them. It appears that nowadays many young people are highly influenced by social media, and encouraged to like the same things as others.
Several students who partook in the survey said they thought microtrends made irrelevant things expensive and were bad for the environment, with one student saying “they influence overconsumption, which is negative for the environment” and another saying “they don’t allow for people to have their own opinion or style”.
While taking the quiz, I also noticed that certain memes and sayings are also trending. A lot of the quiz takers talked about a phrase called ‘6-7’ – originally coming from a rap song which has now become a microtrend. This is the same case for words and phrases such as ‘Skibidi’ or ‘Bombastic Side Eye.’
It seems like a vast amount of people, specifically those using social media, feel as though finding a new interest can be difficult and consequently end up finding a little thing, such as a microtrend, that they become obsessed with for a short amount of time. Perhaps this is because trying something new can trigger dopamine boosts, which creates the feeling of excitement. This could be why after every month or so new trends emerge, and are welcomed into social media’s hands and made popular.
If you like microtrends, that is not a problem. As one survey participant put it, “if you really like something, then it doesn’t matter if social media thinks it’s a micro trend”. So stay true to yourself and enjoy what you like.