2023’s Biggest Trends Include The Roman Empire And Fruit Roll-Ups

The most bizarre 2023 trend was surely the NPC livestream movement, which saw a number of TikTok creators pretending to be programmable robots responding to the stimuli of small donations. TikTokers can donate to live streams using seemingly arbitrary cartoon icons such as ice cream, popcorn, or shooting stars, each of which would elicit a specific response from the human NPC on camera.

Though it doesn’t sound incredibly entertaining in theory, some social media magnates, such as those like TikTok user @Nautecoco from the image above have amassed fortunes performing these micro-performances, often for hours per day.

Unlike some of the more destructive trends, the 2023 dupe trend has been a rousing success for positive reasons. Years ago, knock-off designer products were derided and considered tacky, often resulting in mass bullying from those who were not sympathetic to the financial stresses of the modern world. In 2023, these knock-offs have been rebranded as “dupes” or duplicates, and have become a trend all their own.

Now, owning an off-brand sneaker, purse, or orthodontic treatment is not considered a poor man’s attempt to blend in with the wealthy ruling class. Instead, duping a pair of shoes is considered a forward-thinking and frugal investment in oneself.

Speaking of designer sneaker brands, the Big Red Boots may be one of the most eye-catching 2023 trends on this list. The massive colorful footwear, which you can see on Instagram user Philatz, produced by the avant-garde sneaker company MSCHF, began cropping up all across social media throughout the year, prompting thousands of mixed responses from sneaker-heads and fashion snobs alike. The boots retail for a whopping $350 plus shipping, and despite their name, now come in black and yellow varieties.

Another 2023 trend which speaks to the common consumer is the girl dinner trend. Despite the gendered title, this trend can be utilized by anyone feeling too tired, lazy, depressed, or overwhelmed to cook a full meal after a long day of existing through the nightmare hellscape of the past year. Girl dinner sees the participant crafting a makeshift charcuterie board out of any assortment of random snacks they can find, such as TikTok user BrookieBarry does with Kraft macaroni and dino nuggets, in place of a traditional meal.

Leftover chicken wings, four carrots, a block of cheddar cheese, and four Ritz crackers? That’s girl dinner. A stalk of celery, a half a jar of pickle juice, three brownies, and a few pretzels? Girl dinner. An entire tray of salami and a pack of THC gummies legally purchased from a local dispensary? Now you’re getting it!

In 2023, trends focused on class consciousness and a general pivot away from consumerist culture. That is, except for the Grimace shake trend, which saw droves of TikTokers sprinting to their local McDonald’s to order the limited-time-only purple milkshake in celebration of the taste bud’s 52nd rotation around the sun.

This trend saw content creators taking a sip out of their beverage before jump-cutting to a horrific crime scene, implying that the shake had either made them sick, been drugged, or served as a catalyst to transport the consumer into an alternate dimension not unlike the DOOM video game series.

A cursory search for the 2023 Fruit Roll-Up trend reveals mixed results. Depending on which corner of the internet you visit, you may be exposed to one of three trends utilizing the fan-favorite childhood snack. One unsavory iteration of this trend sees users applying a Fruit Roll-Up to their partners’ body as a means to spice things up, often resulting in a painful comedy of errors. The more common trends utilizing the fruity treat see teens eating the snack with the plastic wrapper still attached, which is not advised per the manufacturers specifications, or draping the treat over an ice cream. The ice cream method hardens the Fruit Roll-Up and creates a crunchy, frozen texture, which many TikTokers highly recommend. The same can absolutely not be said for the previous two trends.

First appearing in April of 2023, the Instagram Notes number trend sees users engaging in a form of public flirtation by secretly revealing their crushes to the world. In a trend ripped straight from the yearbook-signing days of yesteryear, the numbers trend sees teens posting a code such as “o45” or “038” to signify the first initial of their crush’s name.

This trend was a mostly harmless addition to the year, which had young people blushing across the world as they calculated which of their friends’ posts utilized codes corresponding with their own names.

Some 2023 trends rely on deeply absurd and complicated premises, making it impossible for the older crowd to catch on. Luckily, the AI yearbook trend is quite straightforward. This trend saw droves of young people utilizing artificial intelligence image and video generators to reimagine what they may have looked like if they’d grown up and graduated in decades past, such as the 1980s or 1990s.

2023 was truly a year for budding romance trends among young people, as the moon phase trend goes hand-in-hand with the Instagram Notes trend. This version sees users learning and posting about their compatibility with others using zodiac signs and astrology. Using websites and apps that track the phases of the moon, users are encouraged to locate a soulmate whose moon fits perfectly with their own to form a full lunar picture.

In one of the funniest 2023 trends on the net, the Roman Empire trend caused many social media users across the world to think about the nature of society. This fad prompted women to ask their male partners roughly how often they thought about the Roman Empire in their day-to-day lives, prompting a host of hilarious responses. Before long, many TikTokers joined in across gender, race, and cultural barriers, revealing that many people are thinking about Julius Caesar and his cohorts on a daily, or even hourly basis.