Trends

I've decided I'm anti-web trends. I'm sick of pointless, annoying and straight-up stupid trends  I want to (Harlem) shake the creators of these trends. I mean, really people? Are they really that entertaining?

Ok, so maybe these trends are worth a few laughs. Admittedly, planking (the internet craze of 2011) provided an opportunity for some creativity. But at some point you have to wonder: does some guy with poor dance moves and a poorer sense of style really deserve a billion of views on YouTube? 

I guess what prompted my anti-lame web trend campaign was a reflection on our generation: no other generation in human history has had the scope or reach to impact society quite like Gen Y. Social networking on Facebook, YouTube  twitter, etc mean that we can communicate with millions of people around the world with the press of a touch screen. Take for example Gangnam Style: it has over 1 billion views (that's one seventh of the worlds population) and has only been on YouTube for seven months.

But it's not all randomness and bad dance moves. As we saw from the Kony 2012 Campaign, social networking can be used to create social change. We need to be aware of the web legacy we're leaving. Past generations left their legacies in fading books and forgetful ears. We leave ours on Facebook walls and YouTube channels, retained in the annals of cyberspace. Can we please not be remembered as a room full of jumping, gyrating, mask wearing lunatics?