The 10 Viral Vine Trends in 2016 (So Far)

When someone says a “Vine has gone viral”, it means that a short, looped video on the Vine app (referred to simply as a “Vine”) was replayed over and over, and other spinoff videos were created using the same idea. This leads to a series of videos all with the same theme and jokes in different scenarios. These Vines often become quite famous and phrases or pieces from them get extrapolated and used frequently in the lingo of young adults and teenagers. Here are the 10 best Vine trends that have gone viral recently (see if you recognize any):

1. “… or nah?”

This is a video of a man asking a little boy if he’s “mad or nah.” The little boy yells back at him ferociously and this pattern repeats. The phrase “or nah” has come to be quite popular and is used in everyday language frequently. While the concept is funny, the original video itself is actually somewhat sad, as the boy was clearly upset.

2. The Schmoney Dance

The Schmoney Dance is a dance set to a song by the rapper Bobby Schmurda that involves twisting your upper body with your feet planted on the ground. Both the dance and song have inspired countless spinoff videos, with everyone from Bill Gates to grandfathers doing the Schmoney. Check them out! They’re actually pretty funny.

3. The Nae Nae

Similar to the Schmoney, the Nae Nae is a Vine dance that later inspired the song “Now Watch Me Whip” by Silentó. It involves waving your arm above your head in sync with music, then pushing your arm forward like you’re driving a car. This craze has become widespread, and celebrities from Odell Beckham Jr. to Matt Damon have indulged in the Nae Nae. The Nae Nae is huge at clubs and among teenage friend groups, particularly when paired with the song.

4. Just Girly Things

This Vine trend is inspired by the Tumblr “Just Girly Things” that posts pictures of girls doing things with which they are stereotypically associated. These pictures include quotes like “When you love your eyes,” or “When you feel safe with him driving.” The Vines take this to an absurd and hilarious level by featuring a picture of one of the “just girly things” with something ironic happening – for instance, a shot of the “safe driving” photo before showing a car crash.

5. Wrecking Ball

Shortly after Miley Cyrus’ music video for her single “Wrecking Ball” was released, Vine was full of parodies of people reenacting her Wrecking Ball dance. These videos include people licking foam fingers and swinging around on fake wrecking balls. These parodies are a hit because they feature a wide range of people trying to be as sexy, and downright weird, as Miley.

6. “WHAT ARE THOSE?” 

This is another phrase that has been fully adopted into the everyday lexicon of millennials. The original Vine video involves a guy pointing to a police officer’s shoes and screaming “WHAT ARE THOSE?” This was funny enough for endless parodies to be created with different people asking that one famous question on repeat. Personally, these videos are funniest when the subject is completely befuddled, like the police officer was in the original Vine.

7. “A Potato Flew Around My Room” Song

This Vine is my personal favorite and a spoof of the song “Thinkin Bout You” by Frank Ocean. There’s a lyric in the song that reads “A tornado flew around my room,” but, you guessed it, the spoof comes from replacing the word ‘tornado’ with the word ‘potato’. These videos often feature a potato tied to a ceiling fan and literally flying around the room. This trend is also tagged in nearly every video featuring potatoes or potato chips.

8. Pears

The original video “I eat pears” features hip hop artist Rick Ross explaining how he loves to eat pears in his diet. This phrase gained special attention because of how distinctly Ross pronounced the “P” in “pear.” Vine users have since spoofed the video repeatedly by mimicking this sound clip.

9. “Look at all those chickens”

This clip features a little girl gesturing to a field of geese and saying “look at all those chickens.” The cute baby voice, combined with the girl misidentifying the geese as chickens, results in a joyful video ripe for parody. The Vine community has since created a multitude of different spinoffs of the video featuring everything from fried chicken to a house full of guests.

10. “What’s 9+10?”

Hint: in this video, it isn’t 19. This Vine features a boy being asked to add these two numbers and giving the answer “21.” This leads to the cameraman (presumably his brother) calling him stupid. Good luck not second guessing the answer next time you do simple addition if you watch this one too many times.