Famous Pop Culture Moments on Social Media!

Social media has completely re-fashioned pop culture consumption for me. No more glimpse of a breaking news report in television, and reading about scandals in mags. Today, it’s in real-time, and if you even blink, you miss the next big famous pop culture moments. Over the years, I’ve seen trends blow and fizzle at breakneck velocity, and many have been laugh-out-loud, and many have been simply absurd.

I recall when I first saw a viral meme go supernova overnight for the first time. It was That Dress—that confounding blue-and-black (or white-and-gold?) optical illusion that for no apparent reason, fueled full-fledged battles between me and my friends. We sat in a coffee shop, each of us swearing that we saw a different hue, even when staring at one and same phone screen. It was absurd, but in a warped kind of fascinating, too. That’s social media’s sorcery: it takes little, arbitrary events and turns them into full-fledged cultural battles.

The Viral Celebrity Moments That Conquered the Net

Sometimes, pop idols break the web and don’t even try to try. Other times, they’re in on it totally. Whatever, when a big famous pop culture moment happens, social media will be first in line with a reaction.

• Beyoncé’s Surprise Albums – I recall waking one morning and my whole timeline freaked out about Beyoncé dropping an album out of nowhere. No singles, no promos—just boom, an album. It totally re-fashioned album releases for performers forever. When she did it a second time with Lemonade, nobody even flinched any more. That’s Beyoncé for yah.
• Will Smith and Slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars – I saw one of these in life, and my brain couldn’t even believe it at first. Did that actually happen? Social media went mad in seconds, and in no time at all, a thousand memes, conspiracies, and hot takes took over Twitter. It seemed unreal, one of those scripted dramas unfolding in real life, in real-time, for everyone to see.
• Super Bowl Baby Reveal with Rihanna – Everyone hyped for an epic halftime performance, but nobody saw that one coming. I was out with a group of mates, and during the performance, one of them shouted, “Wait, is she pregnant?!” Instantly, everyone reached for their phone, checking Twitter for affirmation. And, naturally, the internet had long confirmed in seconds.

Meme Trends That Became Culture Cornerstones

Memes fuel social media. Online humor comes in meme form, and sometimes, they become a staple for years to go down in famous pop culture moments history. According to Views4You, these are the most remembered moments.

• The Dress Controversy (Blue & Black or White & Gold?) – I mentioned it, but I’m amazed at how much the arguments flared up. Even scientists couldn’t resist weighing in and explaining everyone about colors and perception. Spoilers: it failed to stop them arguing, regardless of whatever.
• Bernie Sanders’ Mittens at Inauguration – Who’d have ever predicted an older fella with a folded arm and oversized mittens would become one of the decade’s greatest memes? Bernie photoshopped into everything—posters, famous works, even outer space. I even took a go at creating my own edit, but let’s say my Photoshop skillset is in dire need of a revamp.
• Crying Michael Jordan Meme – I swear, this one’s been around forever. Any failure at something, and I can bet my life someone will post this meme over your face. I even saw it posted in university group chat after exams—it’s savage but funny.

Twitter Feuds and Celebrity Drama That Broke the Internet

A little Twitter feud is a great way to get everyone talking about the internet. Some of the most famous pop culture moments in recent years started with a single tweet.

• Kanye West’s Twitter Tirades – I mean, I like Kanye’s music, but Twitter? That’s a different story altogether. There was a time when you woke up, checked Twitter, and read the wildest tweets ever tweeted under Kanye’s name. Some of them were funny, some of them were worrisome, but nevermind, they made headlines for sure.
• Taylor Swift and Kanye West and Kim Kardashian – Peak social media drama, y’all. That leaked phone call, the snake emoji usage, and then Taylor flipping the script with Reputation—watching a reality show in real-time, for real. Even non-fans of celebrity soap operas couldn’t help but get in on it.
• Elon Musk’s Twitter Invasion – I don’t even know where to start with this one. Buying Twitter for Musk was like a slow-motion car accident in slow motion. Renaming it to “X” and then laying off a whole lot of its employees all at once, it was just madness. I still think of it instinctively, even, as Twitter, not X, I don’t know, it doesn’t sound right, I guess.

Internet Trends That We Loved!

The place where trends are born is TikTok these days. Some are cool, some are creepy trends, and a few make one question humanity. But all of them contribute to famous pop culture moments online.

• The “Renegade” Dance – I tried my first and last TikTok dance with “Renegade” and, trust me, I soon realized I have no coordination whatsoever. It was everywhere—celebrities, influencers, even news anchors were dancing it.
• The “Corn Kid” Trend – All that boy ever liked about life was corn. His interview melted everyone’s heart, and everyone in the web opted to make a tune out of it. Before I even saw, everyone was talking about corn. Social media is a wacky, wacky beast.
• The Grimace Shake Trend – Flailing about when ordering a McDonald’s shake? Yeah, why not? Best ones, in my humble view, were over-the-top horror-movie edits—actually pretty sweet ones, sometimes.

Record-Breaking Events (!)

Some moments not only entered cyberspace, but entered history, too. These are the famous pop culture moments that truly defined an era.

• The Most-Liked Instagram Post (Egg vs. Kylie Jenner) – I mean, who could have foreseen a picture of an egg beating Kylie Jenner? Social media can and will, and one such case in point is this one, for sure.
• BTS Breaking YouTube and Twitter Records – Fans of BTS don’t mess about. They have smashed streaming records so many times, YouTube actually changed its algorithm.
• MrBeast’s YouTube Domination – I swear, I say to myself, “MrBeast can go no larger,” and then he one-ups himself again. Videos gain hundred-million clicks in a matter of days. It’s madness, I say!

Shocking Challenges That Shoced Us

Some trends cool, some stupid, and some simply deadly. Many of them, despite their absurdity, became famous pop culture moments in their own right.

• Ice Bucket Challenge (for ALS Research) – Unlike most trends, one actually did a lot of positive for a change. Celebrities even participated, raising millions for researching ALS.
• The Tide Pod Challenge – I don’t even believe humans actually did it. Drinking washing machines? Come on? One of them trends that stole your faith in humanity.
• The Milk Crate Challenge – Watching humans try (and failing at it) hurt and chuckled at the same time. How many humans probably landed in hospitals over one? Chilling, I say!

Lastly!

If there’s one lesson I’ve learned, it’s that social media will forever have a knack for getting something trending. It can be a meme, a controversy surrounding a celebrity, a full-fledged frivolous challenge, but whatever, the web doesn’t stop rolling. And for real? That’s its draw. Just when you’re thinking that you’ve heard enough, then whatever, and off we go, beginning again.