19 Viral Internet Moments From The 2010s That Are So, So Cringey Now
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Trends that stem from viral moments not only show that we cling to moments to have something to talk about, but that we are also an unoriginal bunch socially. Of course, it's all for fun, but sometimes we can look back on viral, trendy moments and say, "What were we thinking?"
Here are 19 viral moments and trends from the 2010s that people thought were "cool," but are now pretty cringey:
1.That Oscars Selfie
On March 2, 2014, Oscars host Ellen DeGeneres took a selfie with a bunch of famous people. The viral popularity of this single selfie lasted for weeks, and showed that the Academy Awards could be a fun, silly time.
Years later, the act of selfies isn't really what makes this "cringe," but who appears in the selfie is why this hasn't aged well. With all the controversy surrounding DeGeneres's toxic workplace allegations and actor Kevin Spacey's sexual misconduct allegations, the image itself is a reminder of the stain that has always been present in Hollywood.
2.ALS Ice Bucket Challenges "Gone Wrong"
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was a wonderful global trend in the summer of 2014 that promoted awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and encouraged research donations. The challenge was simple: pour a bucket of iced water on yourself and challenge other friends to do the same (and donate).
The internet, like always, had to turn something cute into a desperate attempt for likes and social exposure. Some staged challenges labeled themselves as "gone wrong" for the sake of clicks, and usually involved the person hurting themselves in the most over-the-top ways. Influencers thought it was a cool way to promote it, but now people more often roll their eyes at such behavior.
3."Hot Felon" Memes
Call me a "Buzz(Feed)-kill," but looking back at all the memes that followed a man's arrest seems like something that would be frowned upon today. An arrested individual, who mostly everyone agreed was attractive as hell, became the face of a meme whenever someone thirsty enough wanted to make a joke.
I love memes as much as the next person, but it feels wrong to make a non-celebrity famous at their lowest moment. Fifteen minutes of fame aren't usually worth the lifelong link that follows a person who goes viral. So, the man behind the meme isn't the cringe-worthy element, but the people who pushed the meme format were.
Luckily, this meme ended in a positive way. The "Hot Felon" named Jeremy Meeks turned his life around in an inspirational way, and like most entries on this list, he's not at fault for going viral.
4.Everyone Wants to Find #AlexfromTarget
An image of a teenager working at Target went viral, with, once again, thirsty young folks wanting to know the identity of #AlexfromTarget.
The viral moment led to the doxing of the kid, and even ended with an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. This was extremely cringe at the time, but plenty of Ellen show lovers ate it up. Hopefully, we are leaving "making random people famous" in the 2010s, especially snapping nonconsensual photos of underage boys...because, ew.
5."Adele Dazeem" Jokes
When actor Idina Menzel performed "Let It Go" at the Oscars, fellow actor John Travolta butchered her name when introducing her by calling the singer "Adele Dazeem." The moment was awkward, but hilarious at the same time.
So, the internet did what it always does with the viral moment, and told the same joke in a million different ways. It got to the point that poor Menzel was getting bombarded with comments purposely saying her name wrong. It was supposed to be a big moment for her after the success of Frozen, but everyone became too distracted by the flub.
6.Torturing Rebecca Black Every Friday
To keep it brief, a teenage girl and aspiring artist named Rebecca Black released a viral song called "Friday," leading to everyone roasting it at the end of every week.
The trend gained a lot of traction every Friday, but led to the ruthless cyber bullying of Black. Everyone needed to hop on the "cool" train and make fun of a kid for those 20 likes on their social platforms. Way to go.
7.#MannequinChallenge
At the peak of viral challenges, the #MannequinChallenge was born. Gather your friends or work colleagues and stand completely still while someone films you with some trendy song played over the clip.
Kids: Have all the fun with your trends. Celebs: Quit making everything about you!
I'm probably overreacting. But these trends always seem to lose their cool when late-night hosts or some popular celeb does it. It comes off as desperate.
8.The Storming of Area 51
"They Can't Stop All of Us" might be the funniest tagline ever. In September 2019, a viral Facebook event was launched for people who wanted to storm Area 51 to learn what the government was hiding from us.
No one got to "see dem aliens," and the movement fell flat. Looking back on this after the events of January 6th, storming government property really seems cringe-worthy.
9.World Record Egg
In an attempt to break Kylie Jenner's most-liked Instagram post, someone launched a campaign to have a photo of an egg break the record.
Who started it? Don't know. Did it break it? Don't care. This stupid egg flooded social media for weeks, and the desperate attention-seeking built an egg-loving fanbase.
10.Planking
Find a spot anywhere and plank facedown.
That's it. That's planking.
In 2011, the trend of planking was hot in the States, and even had people challenging each other to do the best plank. Of course, this led to dangerous attempts for social attention (imagine someone planking on a bridge's ledge).
Even as a kid, I found this ridiculous. We often find ourselves quite board as a society. (Board? Like a plank? Instead of "bored." It was funnier in my head. Leave a puke emoji if you hated it.)
11.Dabbing
Who could have guessed that dipping your head into your elbow would become the next big trend? From NFL players to kids in school, everyone was dabbing.
Despite being an easy emote to use in real life, the victorious gesture became so overdone in 2015 that it had already become cringeworthy before the year ended. To those about to dab in 2024, we salute you.
12.Ugandan Knuckles
The virtual reality game VRChat became infected by an army of misshapen Knuckles characters known as "Ugandan Knuckles." The character was everywhere in video game culture but also became the face of its own memes outside the gaming world.
The figure obviously drew criticism for being problematic at best, and racist at worst. From the literal "Ugandan" name, to quotes and accents attributed to the character, this Knuckles meme was in poor taste.
13.Fidget Spinners
The unique spinning tool was invented by a woman who earned $0 from its popularity. It's a fun little tool that has been around since the '90s but exploded as a must-have toy in 2017.
Like all culturally huge things, the toys became a nuisance and distraction to younger students.
I say: Spin away kids! (Just don't let it distract you too much.)
14.Tide Pod Challenge
One of the most dangerous internet challenges was the dreaded "Tide Pod challenge," which involved the lowest IQ members of the internet popping a 3-in-1 laundry solution into their mouths.
Tide had to input safeguards because some people thought poisoning themselves for likes was a good idea.
Don't. Eat. Tide Pods. It was cringe then, and still is now.
15.Flossing
The "floss dance" is moving your hips side to side while swinging your arms in beat with the motion...like you're flossing the air around your hips.
Unfortunately, rhythm isn't for everyone, and flossing became one of the most poorly done trends, followed by the "griddy." Like all trends, it was overdone, but as long as the kiddos are having fun and not dislocating their hips, all is well.
16.BBC News Dad Video
To save you from googling "BBC Daddy," a BBC Network reporter was reporting from home, and his kids and a panicked mom video-bombed him. The situation itself was awkward, but the internet found it funny.
Which led to, you guessed it, late night hosts and online comedians regurgitating the same jokes. I'm not a fan of making fun of stressed people on camera. Seems pretty mean-spirited.
17.Pretty Much Every YouTube Prank in the 2010s
Pick your poison.
There are still young bucks on YouTube dishing out cringe-worthy pranks, but the 2010s was a renaissance of people going viral for extreme staged stunts. In fact, so many problematic people blew up from staged pranks that usually ended with someone getting emotional or physically hurt.
YouTube had at least one new prank video hit 1M views weekly, and maybe for kids, they are hilarious, but the majority are just obnoxious.
18.Harambe Jokes
In the summer of 2016, a gorilla named Harambe at the Cincinnati Zoo was put down after a child fell into the exhibit. Outrage rightfully followed, but then the weirdest meme of my lifetime was born.
The internet turned the dead gorilla into a messiah for...giggles? The memes ranged from Harambe welcoming dead celebrities into heaven to the viral phrase: "D*cks out for Harambe."
The whole viral trend has always been cringe, but I think the internet is finally coming around.
19.#InMyFeelingsChallenge
The Drake song "In My Feelings" was one of many victims of viral dance trends. The trend consisted of people leaving their moving cars and dancing in the doorway while the song's chorus played.
The challenge itself was pretty unsafe and led to plenty of "gone wrong" moments. I'm all for dancing fun, just do it safely...do it for Kiki.
If there is one thing I can't tolerate, it is people looking for approval through clicks. Anyway, if you liked this post, smash that thumbs-up button (LOL). And be honest, even if you don't agree with these, there has to be some trend or viral moment that you look back and cringe at. Comment below!
