There’s a new viral TikTok video that has become so popular it’s made the headlines in Google News, being discussed on podcasts and showing up on reddit. I made the mistake of watching the video and am now dumber for having watched it. I won’t even tell you what it was to spare you the experience in case you haven’t seen it.
For some reason, I am usually not the least bit entertained, interested or informed by what’s trending. This spans Most Popular on Netflix, Trending On YouTube, The New York Times Best Seller List, Top Podcasts, Hit Music Lists and of course, anything on TikTok that jumps to the “news”.
It’s not because I’m trying to enhance my street cred by being a contrarian. I have no street cred and am definitely not cool.
I wish I liked consuming things on these lists. It would fill my calendar with entertainment. I’ve even samples some podcasts, TV shows, books and music to see if I was missing anything.
Nope. I wasn’t (with rare exceptions).
The exceptions are so rare that I treat online viral trends the same way I treat actual human viruses. I avoid them and my life is better for it.