Hello, and welcome to what I will call “trend a week.” As one of few Gen Z members of the t2 team, I drew the short straw and will now be sharing and explaining some of the trends or social media highlights that millennials (one of my coworkers, cough, cough) might not know about. The one that I will talk about today was chosen quite organically — yesterday, I referred to a meme, and she didn’t know about it. This one is for you, Wanshu.
Let me introduce you to the “stop normalising the grind and normalise whatever this is.” The internet’s answer to hustle culture. Its antithesis, one might say. It first started in 2021 and highlighted that burnout should not necessarily be our goal. Neglecting friends, family, and your own well-being is not going to get you anywhere, basically. And while it started with a serious comment on the toxic mindset of many, the internet then did what it always does, and the meme started living its own life.
One version of it, and a recurring theme online, uses pictures from children’s books and movies. And I think those ones hit the spot, at least for me. Any post that relates to my childhood, even in the smallest bit, or captures feelings from that period—the warmth, comfort, easiness of life, and straightforwardness of relationships—is getting saved by me and reused on various occasions.
But why stop there. There are so many other posts and versions that share the same feeling. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do, and share your favourite ones in the comments!