#Wipeitdown: The most popular TikTok trends of 2020 revealed
The social media platform has released rankings of its most viral Australian content and yes, it’s all truly bizarre.
A video of Sophie Monk sipping a three-litre bottle of cranberry juice in the back of a wheelbarrow to the sound of ‘Dreams’ by Fleetwood Mac is among the most viral Australian TikToks trends of the year. Bizarre? Yes. But such is the nature of social media (and the world) in 2020.
Yesterday, TikTok – the video streaming app that became a lockdown phenomenon among teenagers and even some savvy middle-agers – released a comprehensive ranking of the videos, creators and trends that were the most popular among Australian viewers this year. According to a spokesperson, the list was determined by TikTok’s Australian team, based on factors including followers, likes, shares, reach and engagement metrics.
In addition to Sophie Monk doing the #dreams challenge – which became an overnight hit when a skateboarder from Idaho posted an absurd video of himself sipping juice while lip-synching to the song – the #blindinglights dance, which involves TikTokers filming themselves performing a choreographed routine to the song by Canadian singer The Weeknd, also made the app’s most viral trends list.
A few months ago, the Western Australia Police Force found fame on the social media platform when a trio of officers uploaded a video of themselves doing the jig.
The number of Australians that use TikTok grew from 1.6 to 2.5 million in the months between February and October this year, a study by market research firm Roy Morgan shows. In a year defined by social distancing and isolation, the app found a captive audience among people seeking a source of entertainment and escapism. Generation Z was particularly quick to board the TikTok train. The format of the platform – which requires users to film, edit and upload 60-second video montages that are set to music – is particularly appealing to creators who wants a more hands-on social media experience.
Creativity is a theme that runs through this year’s most popular TikTok trends. The more weird and unexpected a video is (clips that end with some kind of punch line or big reveal are especially popular), the more likely it is to become a viral sensation.
Other trends to make the list of 2020s most popular include the #wipeitdown challenge, which sees TikTokers dressed in lockdown-esque attire – sweats, bathrobes, a face mask – receive a ‘glow-up’ (a makeover) upon swiping a mirror with a cleaning cloth, and #boredinthehouse, which involves users filming themselves finding methods of entertainment while stuck at home, set to the rap by Tyga and Curtis Roach.
If you’re not ‘on’ TikTok, you may be wondering how a video of some teen Windex-ing a mirror ranks among the most popular social media trends of 2020. But keep in mind that this year, normality has been up-ended like never before. People have been driven to various degrees of insanity and therefore, it makes sense that social media trends would echo this.
So here’s to losing our marbles, filming the process and putting it on TikTok.
For the full list of the most viral TikTok trends to take over Australia in 2020, see below:
1. #Dreams
2. #Mipan
3. #Blindinglights
4. #Lovestory
5. #HurtMyFeelings
6. #OhNo
7. #WipeItDown
8. #RandomThings
9. #Savage
10. #BoredInTheHouse
For more of TikTok’s top 2020 trends, including the app’s biggest Australian fashion and beauty influencers, see here.