My First War: Coping with Geopolitics, One TikTok at a Time
Alright team, gather ’round the digital campfire. While some of us were busy trying to figure out if our forgotten streaming subscriptions auto-renewed (spoiler: they did, RIP ₹149), the internet decided to collectively brace for… well, potentially bigger things. And how are we handling it? Naturally, by making TikToks.
Yes, friends, “WW3” was trending, and hot on its heels came the truly bizarre, slightly unsettling, yet undeniably *internet* trend: “My First War.” The premise? Gen Z contemplating potential global conflict and framing it as their inaugural experience with, you know, world wars. Think dramatic music, pensive stares into the middle distance, and text overlays proclaiming “POV: This is my first ever war.” Or, my personal favourite from the headlines, “Is this gonna affect my SHEIN order?” Pure, unadulterated internet brain.
Why is this a thing? Is it genuine fear filtered through layers of irony so thick you could wear them as tactical gear? Is it dark humor so dark it needs its own blackout curtains? Or is it, as the internet often suggests, simply worrying if it will impact their next fast fashion haul? Honestly, it’s probably all of the above, mashed into a 15-second video clip for maximum virality.
It’s the internet’s classic move: take something terrifyingly serious and render it slightly absurd, slightly relatable, and entirely shareable. It’s less about geopolitics and more about a generation processing anxiety through their native language – memes and short-form video. So while the world situation remains… ‘monitoring the situation’ (hey, another trend!), rest assured, the internet is handling it. By asking if it will impact their SHEIN order. Ctrl+Alt+Trend out.
