Barbie and beige flags: The best (and weirdest) internet trends of 2023

In 2023, the internet trend mill churned so fast that it was hard to keep up. One minute we were obsessing over Gwyneth Paltrow’s bizarre ski trial (yes, that happened this year) and the next, it was all about David and Victoria Beckham vibing to Dolly Parton.

So, before you log off for the year, we’ve curated a list of the most talked about moments on the internet in 2023.

Matildas mania, The Beckhams, Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski trial, Prince Harry, Tube Girl and Barbie: The things we could not stop talking about in 2023.Credit: Stephen Kiprillis

Celebrity candour

Something about 2023 made celebrities want to spill their guts. The year started off strong with the much-anticipated release of Prince Harry’s memoir Spare, which bestowed insights into the royal’s time in Afghanistan, his rocky relationship with brother William and bizarre oversharing about his, ahem, todger. Other highlights from the year included Jada Pinkett Smith’s revelation that she and Will Smith had been separated since 2016 (but did not plan to divorce) and Britney Spears’ fling with actor Colin Farrell. Finally, there was the Beckham documentary, which offered a stripped back version of the former Manchester midfielder’s relationship with Victoria. Lauren Ironmonger

Beige Flags

If a red flag is a relationship dealbreaker and a green flag is a dealmaker then the beige flag sits somewhere in the middle. The dating slang describes an odd or even boring behaviour you’ve exhibited in your relationships, like one user whose partner only uses the iPhone timer function as an alarm rather than just using the alarm app. TikTok’s obsession with beige flags took off in June and users rushed to post about their partners, and to self-reflect on their own curious habits. Abby Seaman

Matildas Mania

The Melbourne Cup’s reputation as “the race that stops a nation” may have been usurped by this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, which delivered some unforgettable moments and smashed audience records. The tournament drew in legions of new fans – particularly young women – including many who had little prior interest in sport. But the impact of the Women’s World Cup went far beyond the field. With around 100 openly LGBTQ players across the tournament’s 32 teams, many dubbed it the “gayest World Cup ever”. The 2024 Paris Olympics can’t come soon enough for the next wave of Matildas mania. Lauren Ironmonger

Making public transport sexy with “tube girl”

In August, Sabrina Bahsoon uploaded a video to TikTok that flaunted the unspoken rules of public transport etiquette. Captioned “Being the friend who lives on the other side of the city so you gotta hype yourself up during the commute”, Bahsoon films herself dancing on the London Tube and lip-syncing to music, unperturbed by the stares from her fellow commuters. The 23-year-old model and law student quickly went viral under the moniker “tube girl”, with copycats popping up around the world attempting to harness her unbridled confidence. The original video now has over 13 million views, and its success put Bahsoon front row at Paris Fashion week, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Penn Badgley and Troye Sivan. Lauren Ironmonger

You better not be acting like you’re in a Wes Anderson film

This 60-second film trend was great for both amateur filmmakers and fans of indie film director Wes Anderson. TikTok user @avawillyums posted the original video in April of a train trip with music from Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel that mimics the style and techniques that the director is known for, such as symmetrical framing, lots of colour and quirky details. Looking to romanticise the everyday, other creators took on this framework to create their own “accidentally” Wes Anderson videos, usually of mundane activities like going to the coffee shop. Abby Seaman

The mask falls off on therapy speak

The past few years have turned us all into armchair therapists. We asserted “boundaries”, denounced “toxic” exes and felt “triggered”. Dubbed “therapy speak”, the phenomenon rapidly fell out of favour this year when a series of text messages from actor Jonah Hill were leaked on social media by his ex-partner Sarah Brady. In one exchange, Hill is said to have written that “surfing with men”, “posting pictures of yourself in a bathing suit” and “friendships with women who are in unstable places” are among the things he deems his “boundaries for romantic partnership”. Immediately, Hill copped widespread criticism for his alleged misuse of therapy speak as a means of control. Lauren Ironmonger

The Roman Empire makes a comeback

The Roman Empire is back baby! In what is possibly the greatest PR move for a fallen superpower ever, 2023 was the year we learnt that men think about the Roman Empire – a lot. Apparently, all modern men want are togas, aqueducts and gladiators fighting to the death. Pretty soon, people on the internet began talking about their own version of the Roman Empire – the niche, oft-forgotten moments in our cultural or personal history that continue to haunt us. People’s Roman Empires included everything from Fergie’s infamously chaotic rendition of the US National Anthem at a 2018 NBA game to the pressure to be thin. Lauren Ironmonger

“Girl” culture

Who ran social media in 2023? Girls! While terms like “girl boss” (circa 2010s), “hot girl summer” (coined by rapper Megan Thee Stallion in 2019) and “hot girl walk” (a fitness trend from 2022) are not new, this year the slang reached strange new heights. On TikTok, #girldinner has 2.5 billion views with users sharing their meals, many resembling a charcuterie board for one and others more satirical versions of “girl dinner” like sleep or only pickles. Despite its name, “Girl math” is not as much mathematics but a way to justify a purchase like working out the cost per use or that paying with cash is like using free money. The “clean girl aesthetic”, “tomato girl summer”, “vanilla girl”, “that girl”, “rat girl” and many more were brief labels presented with a fashion collage mood board. The year carried undertones of celebrating femininity and youth, and slapping “girl” on something is easy marketing. Abby Seaman

Barbie, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé

These past 12 months were inundated with women capitalising on all things pink, pop and powerful. You could run, but you couldn’t hide from Barbie-mania – not when the marketing budget was an estimated $US150 million ($220.55 million). The film starring Margot Robbie was the highest-grossing movie of the year and made $US1.44 billion at the box office. Barbie (the doll herself) was even nominated for Time’s Person of the Year only to lose to Taylor Swift. Swift kicked off her worldwide Eras Tour in March, which launched a worldwide frenzy to purchase tickets, breaking Ticketmaster in the process. In October, the demand shifted to the cinema with her concert film. Beyoncé also treated fans to a Renaissance World tour (that sadly didn’t make its way to Australia) but also produced an official film. Tay and Bey turned up to support each other – go girls! Abby Seaman

Cosmetic procedure of the year

Ageing is always a touchy subject, particularly among women, but online it looks and feels like no one is getting older. And sure, a lot of this is good lighting and make-up, but cosmetic procedures are also on the rise. According to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency Australians are spending more than a billion dollars a year on procedures like Botox, fillers and thread lifts. Our collective fear of ageing reached its peak when TikTok’s ageing filter went viral, as people filmed their own horrified reactions to seeing their “aged” faces. Kylie Jenner summed it up when she gave the filter a spin and declared, “I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.” Abby Seaman

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