The internet, as a natural reflection of the offline world, is a constantly changing landscape where new trends emerge every day and old ones are forgotten just as quickly, caught up in the next big thing. From fashion and TV shows to songs and memes, they capture our attention for months or years before fading away. But what happens to these forgotten trends that were once so popular that they dominated our feeds, conversations, and pop culture? Do they disappear into the abyss of the web, a testament to the ever-changing nature of what’s popular and what’s not?
Nope, not today, folks! We planned a first-class trip down memory lane for you. We’ll look back on the trends from our childhood and teenage years, the ones that were once so popular they filled up your entire closet and now feel like they belong to a bygone era. While it’s impossible to keep track of all of them, we were able to include the best once viral trends thanks to the wonders of the internet and its endless trove of information, aka Reddit!
People shared the popular fads that most forgot about, from the early days of the internet when butterfly clips were the must-have 90s fashion accessory to the global obsession with the Harlem Shake and Pokémon Go — the whole package of iconic trends from the past decades! Whether you’re a 90s kid or grew up in the early 2000s, you’re sure to find something that brings back fond memories.
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“Waaaazzzaaaaap”
Wassssaaappppppppppppp....really takes me back to texting with word limits so you wouldn't have to pay for more than one text message. Good ole teen days filled with angst and cringe lol
"What Does The Fox Say?"
"Gangnam Style!"
"Jelly Shoes"
"No one ever talks about little girls wearing jelly shoes in the ‘80s and early ‘90s. When I was a kid, every little girl’s “dress up” shoes were jellies and they all wore them to church, even though they hurt. Only one movie I’ve ever seen has included jelly shoes."
sometimes it left lines on your feet, and not just sweaty but also stinky feet , i had a pair of pink with a flower on.
"Marbles"
"We played marbles when I was young and I'm 40."
"Pagers"
My dad is a doctor and he had a pager when I was little. I almost took a hammer to it after it woke me up during a movie
"Tamagotchi"
"Butterfly Clips"
"Macarena"
"Those Shoes With The Wheels In Them... Heelys"
"Pokémon Go"
"I’ll never forget the summer "Pokémon Go" came out. Everybody and their grandparents were playing it, all the parks were full of people just talking and meeting each other. I hate to sound boomer-y but it made me remember what life was like before smartphones, which is ironic I guess because an app made it happen. I wish more technology had the goal of getting people active and outside and interacting with others."
I still pop it open now and then just to catch some random Pokémon around the house.
"LMFAO"
"LMFAO may be a total trainwreck of a music group, but they were also everywhere in 2011-2013. You couldn't turn on the radio without hearing "I'm s**y and I know it!" played five times in the span of 30 minutes, and "Party rockers in the house tonight!" was a line scream-sung at any nightclub."
"Planking And Yolo"
"Cell Phones That Worked Like Walkie Talkies"
"PTT on severe-duty hard-phones is still a thing on some mine sites and oil fields."
There was plenty of phones with this feature, but it wasn't supported by operators. They want your money for calls, not to support technology that will allow free talk time.
"Swatch Watches"
"I remember being envious of the kids that had those back in the third grade."
"Walking Around With A Stereo On Your Shoulder Making You The Coolest Cat Around"
"Rat Tails"
"Flappy Bird"
"I still have the original and my high score is 482."
I remember when they took it off the market and people were trying to sell their phones for £1K+ just because it had flappy bird installed lol - I preferred flappy nyan cat.
"Rainbow Looms"
"Those bracelets that you made with rubber bands on that loom thingy."
I got my daughter one recently (she's nearly 10) and she absolutely loves it!
"Cabbage Patch Kids"
"Furby"
"Yo-Yos"
You really don't see yoyos anymore, well not as much as you did back then.
"Jacks Game"
"Alvin And The Chipmunk Remixes"
Keep Calm And
"I know it makes lots of people cringe, and rightfully so, but boy does thinking of that period make me nostalgic for middle school. Simpler times."
"Pet Rocks"
"I have been breeding them for years."
I got this for a friend a few years back on Christmas as a gag gift. I mean, the novelty wears off fast but it was worth it.
"Fidget Spinners"
"Remember all those pop-up stalls in shopping centers selling fidget spinners? I sure hope they got their money back."
Fidget spinners were originally designed to help people with autism and ADHD relieve their anxiety, then it became a fad, then the fad died out and now the people who the fidget spinners were made for can't use them anymore without being called cringey.
"The Budweiser Frogs"
"Everyone was going around saying, 'Bud.' Someone else would say, 'Wise.' And someone else would say, 'Er.' I even had a couple of different shirts with the sayings on them lol."
Bud Weis Er. Oh the freaking Bud Ice penguins! Dooby dooby doooo. Beware of the penguins
"The Cinnamon Challenge Of 2010-11"
"The Dress, The Black/Blue Or White/Gold Dress"
"People claimed mental breakdowns over it, personality tests showed up out of nowhere for it. Turned out to be overexposure and terrible filters I think."
Dark Blue and Black - I never understand how people saw white and gold
"Crazy Frog"
🎶 Ring ding ding daa baa Ring ding ding daa baa Baa aramba baa bom baa barooumba Baa aramba baa bom baa barooumba Wh-wha-what's going on-on? Wh-wha-what's going on-on? Ding, ding Ding, ding This is the Crazy Frog This is the Crazy Frog Ding, ding Ding, ding Bem, bem! Bem, bem! Ring ding ding ding ding ding Ring ding ding ding ding ding Ring ding ding ding bem bem bem Ring ding ding ding bem bem bem Ring ding ding ding ding ding Ring ding ding ding ding ding Ring ding ding ding baa baa Ring ding ding ding baa baa Ring ding ding ding ding ding Ring ding ding ding ding ding Ring ding ding ding bem bem bem Ring ding ding ding bem bem bem Ring ding ding ding ding ding Ring ding ding ding ding ding This is the Crazy Frog This is the Crazy Frog Breakdown! Breakdown! Ding, ding Ding, ding Br-br-break it, br-break it Br-br-break it, br-break it Dum dum dumda dum dum dum Dum dum dumda dum dum dum Dum dum dumda dum dum dum Dum dum dum dum dum🎶
"Beyblades"
"Pogs Or Crazy Bones"
"Were around so much in the 90s, early 2000s, but just disappeared into the nothingness"
"Trapper Keepers"
"The Harlem Shake"
"W.W.J.D. Bracelets"
"When I was a teen in the late mid-to-late 90s, the W.W.J.D. bracelets were everywhere. And I would see W.W.J.D. merch all over the place, even W.W.J.D. board games. People don't remember how huge maxim magazine was back in the day. Like from 1999 to 2002 it was universally loved by young men."
"Ty Beanie Babies"
"Slime"
"Finger Skate"
"Bottle Flipping"
"That One Weird Summer Of 2016 Where Clowns Randomly Appeared Out Of Nowhere And Creeped Us All Out"
"Dubstep"
"2011-2014 was a wild time."
"Bakugan"
"Pen Pineapple Apple Pen"
"Club Penguin"
Except this is a screenshot of one of the fan made Club Penguin revival servers instead of the original website so it's not exactly a "forgotten trend" if people remember it enough to go through with the effort of making a revival server
"Chat Roulette Or Omegle"
"Hypercolor Clothing"
"I was a huge nerd in elementary school, and I thought I was gonna be super cool when my mom bought me an off-brand Hypercolor shirt. I wore it to school, and one of the kids who bullied me realized that it would change colors if he spit on it. Then he showed lots of other people. It was the worst day of my elementary school life."
"Epic Fail"
"Riding Your Skateboard While Drinking Cranberry Juice"
"With 'Dreams' by Fleetwood Mac in the background."
"The "Clear" Craze"
"We saw lots of clear drinks and products in the late '80s and into the '90s, including Crystal Pepsi, Tab Clear, and, of course, Zima."
"The Mannequin Challenge"
"Flash Mobs"
"I miss the awkwardness of school teachers and office managers to entice others to join."
"The TV Series 'Lost.'"
"Like A Boss"
"Neopets"
My Lupe, Amaranth, is 22 years old. MY NEOPETS ACCOUNT IS 22 YEARS OLD. bruh I feel so old now XD
"A Weird Obsession With Mustaches"
"Cup Stacking"
"Second Life"
"The virtual reality 'game,' or whatever it was. There was a time when every self-respecting global company just had to have a place there. When people paid real money for its virtual real estate."
"The Power Balance Bracelets"
"Yik Yak"
"Yik Yak was the s***. Everyone knew what was going on on campus within seconds. People within the same classes used it to shit-talk professors and cheat on tests. It’s too bad that people had to ruin it with death threats and such, which kind of forced Yik Yak to make it nonanonymous and killed the appeal it had in the first place. For me as a commuting student at the time, it was key to keeping up with the happenings and drama around campus."
"Drawing The Cool S"
"Silly Bands"
Why - why is the image legitimate bracelets? Silly Bandz were the rubber bands in different shapes, lol
"A Weird Obsession With Bacon"
"I Love B***ies!" Bands"
How about bracelets for anything and everything? It went from Livestrong to sports teams to every fundraiser.
"Lisztomania"
Lisztomania was marked by extreme fan frenzy, similar to the adoration of contemporary celebrity musicians, in a time when such musical fervor was uncommon.
It's from the Ken Russell movie of the same name. Roger Daltrey was perfectly dreadful as the composer, Franz Liszt.
"Kony 2012"
"Webkinz"
Anyone remember money? It’s what we had to spend on silly stuff like this instead of food and shelter
How are these "viral" trends? Most of these existed before social media existed. Some existed before the internet existed.
Anyone remember money? It’s what we had to spend on silly stuff like this instead of food and shelter
How are these "viral" trends? Most of these existed before social media existed. Some existed before the internet existed.
