Five things that have gone viral during the coronavirus pandemic

We’ve done a lot of learning in the past month. Despite social distancing, isolation, and what feels like a pause in normal life, people still become obsessed with the same things at the same time. If this global pandemic has shown us anything, it’s that we’re a trend-based society. Here are five trends that have gone viral during the coronavirus pandemic.

Baking Bread

As if we needed another reason to love bread! Baking is the perfect way to feel in control in a very out-of-control world. In a poll conducted on Facebook’s “Point Loma Nazarene University Connections” page, in just 24 hours, over 40 people said they’d made bread of some sort during the pandemic. Sourdough, banana, focaccia, you name it… Here’s the recipe to my favorite chocolate chip banana bread. (For maximum deliciousness, tweak the recipe by adding vanilla extract and both white and brown sugar.)

Tie Dye

While the process of bleaching one’s clothes into patterned swirls isn’t anything new, everyone and their mothers, it seems, has done a tie dye activity of some sort. According to an article by Insider, “search terms like ‘DIY tie-dye’ and ‘tie-dye sweatsuit’ surged in popularity on Google and YouTube the last week of March.” Additionally, tie-dye kits are among Amazon’s current best-sellers in arts and crafts. Check out this article by Parade to see how people are doing it, and brace yourself for the number of tie-dye sweatsuits you’ll see people strutting around in post-pandemic.

Whipped Coffee

There’s a high chance you’ve seen Dalgona Coffee, or whipped coffee, on your Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok in the past month. No wonder, considering the beverage is made with just five simple ingredients: instant coffee, sugar, hot water, your choice of milk or dairy product, and (optional) ice. Even The New York Times has recognized this trend! Read their article to learn about the drink’s history before you whip up a cup of your own.

Long Hair, Don’t Care

After the pandemic subsides, many of us will walk out of our homes and straight to a hair salon! Some people, however, are taking matters into their own hands. In the same poll conducted on the “Point Loma Nazarene University Connections” Facebook page, 30 people said they’d either cut or dyed their own or someone else’s hair.

Alyssia Neill Peters, who responded to the survey, was one who tried her hand at hair cutting. 

“I watched a youtube tutorial and gave my husband a pretty awesome fade and cut!” said Peters. 

“I may have found my new profession,” said Michelle Nickel, who also responded to the survey, has additionally become a stylist. Between cutting her husband and daughter’s hair, she said cutting her dog’s was the hardest!

TikTok

Since its launch in 2017, the app TikTok has grown exponentially in popularity. According to an article by Wallaroo, the app “is available in over 150 countries, has over 1 billion users, and has been downloaded over 130 million times in the United States alone.” 

On the app, users create short clips of up to a minute. Comedy, lip-syncing, talent… The app, however, would not be TikTok without its dancing. While there seems to be a new jig every day, if you’ve downloaded TikTok, odds are you’ve seen “Renegade,” “Cannibal” and “Say So.”