Madeline Gearheart | December 31, 2022

Rewind through 36 viral internet trends from 2020 to 2022

Last Updated on February 2, 2023 by Zoi Walker

Contents

In life the only constant is change—and that’s especially true on the internet, where TikTok and other social media trends catch fire, burn bright, and burn out at a quick pace.

But some internet trends keep their spark in public memory for months, even years. Humanity hasn’t exactly put its finger on why, either. It’s a question we’ve been asking since the internet’s first viral video.

Will people even remember the name Eddie Munson next year, let alone his luscious locks? Will the corn song drive us wild for different reasons in 2023? Before it all feels unbearably old fashioned, take a minute to cherish some of the biggest trends that united internet citizens in a notoriously difficult time.

Top internet trends of 2022

Top internet trends of 2021

Top internet trends of 2020

Methodology

To identify online trends from the last 3 years, we searched topics and hashtags on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter that gained massive social engagement within a short period. To confirm the timing and intensity of the trends we chose, we also analyzed their web traffic using Google Trends. We gathered this data in November 2022.

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Year in Review: Online Trends 2020-2022

Month	2020 Trends	2021 Trends	2022 Trends
January	Among Us	GameStop stock	Euphoria on HBO
February	Anthony Davis' Ruffles sponsorship	TikTok feta pasta	Wordle
March	Tiger King on Netflix	#WakingUpinTheMorning TikTok song	94th Academy Awards
April	#PassTheBrush TikTok challenge	"Bongo cha cha cha" TikTok song	Dirty soda
May	Dalgona coffee	Olivia Rodrigo's Sour album	"My Money Don't Jiggle Jiggle" TikTok song
June	#See10Do10 challenge	Loki on Disney+	Kate Bush's song "Running Up That Hill"
July	Taylor Swift's Folklore album	#Bennifer gets back together	#GentleMinions
August	Fall Guys	#FrozenHoneyTikTok challenge	Corn Song
September	#LaundryStripping TikTok challenge	Squid Game on Netflix	Farewell to Queen Elizabeth II
October	TikTok pillow couture outfits	"Bones or No Bones Day" pug on TikTok	Taylor Swift's Midnights album
November	PlayStation 5 released	Taylor Swift's All Too Well short film	Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
December	Mysterious monoliths	Spider-Man No Way Home	Spotify Wrapped