By: Reiko Hungee (24J08)
Well, we did it, folks. 2024 has been a whirlwind of a year, but it’s coming to an end. For me, this year has been full of many ups and downs, but you know what has always been there for me in these times?
My phone and the endless social media apps that soothe my dopamine-seeking brain.
Of course, my family and friends have always been there for me, as well as my non-online-based hobbies. However, as a member of Generation Z and modern society, it’s hard to go a day without my phone to scroll through what the rest of the world has to offer. Namely, I loved keeping up with (or at least attempting to keep up with) all the trends that rose and fell in 2024. From music trends to fashion trends to even random memes, let me bring you through my favourite trends from this year!
Disclaimer: If your favourite trend isn’t in this article, I’m really sorry! I just picked out a few…
Music
Every year, music does not cease to impress as it continues to get better and better. However, I think pop music has really shaped 2024. From Taylor Swift to Sabrina Carpenter to Chapell Roan, I don’t think I could scroll past 5 videos on TikTok that didn’t have one of their songs playing in the background. Thank goodness those songs played, though, because I got introduced to so many good ones!
However, I personally wanted to delve deeper into Sabrina Carpenter’s rise to fame. I remember watching her as Maya Hart on the Disney Channel sitcom, Girl Meets World. Primary school Reiko loved that show, but my favourite character was always the tough but lovable Maya.
Sabrina Carpenter plays Maya Hart, the main character’s iconic best friend.
(Photo Credit: Disney Channel)
So imagine my surprise when I suddenly see Sabrina Carpenter’s face appear all over my social media platforms, wearing pretty dresses and singing catchy songs! I was sort of taken aback – is this really that same girl who only wore leather jackets and constantly got into wacky adventures around town with her best friend (in the show, of course)? Nevertheless, it made me incredibly happy to see her get all the recognition she deserves.
She’s been making music as early as 2014, and also acting in some other shows; seeing her thrive as one of today’s main pop icons is truly admirable. Though, I maintain that my favourite song of hers is “Looking at Me” from her 2019 album, “Single Act II”. I hope she gives us more incredible music in 2025!
Sabrina Carpenter performing on her “Short n’ Sweet Tour”.
(Photo Credit: Marleen Moise)
Another music-related trend that tickled me is “brat summer”. If you have never heard of Charli XCX, I would call you a liar – how could you have never heard the song that goes, “Boom clap, the sound of my heart, the beat goes on and on and on and on and…”
Charli XCX’s latest album, BRAT.
Either way, Charli XCX released her album, “BRAT”, in June of this year, and it became wildly viral. The design of the album cover seemed basic, with the word “brat” simply written on a lime green background, but this slowly became an iconic shade of green as many people began wearing the colour and “bumpin’ that” (a lyric from the song “365”). The internet even started “brat summer”, a new style with cool, party-girl attitudes and lime-green fashion.
Charli XCX sporting a brat-inspired tote bag.
(Photo Credit: Charli XCX on Instagram)
This trend amused me because it’s not every day you see a whole season get defined by the simplest of album covers. I guess simplicity sells! Although lime green is not my colour, the countless influencers who participated in this trend definitely made it work.
It was super fun to see all the awesome outfits people are able to come up with after being inspired by something intangible, like music! I even saw a brat trash can, which made me a little confused, but man, I need that trash can.
@koysun on TikTok turned a lime green trash can into another piece of brat summer memorabilia.
(Photo Credit: @koysun on TikTok)
Generation Alpha’s Confusing Lingo
I can’t write an article about the year 2024 without some mention of the new “brain rot” lingo, right? I mean, Oxford even named it 2024’s “Word of the Year”.
The oldest of Generation Alpha (2010-2024) have already turned 14, and given that children nowadays are accessing the internet earlier and earlier, it comes as a surprise to no one that Gen Alpha is taking over the internet.
A compilation of Gen Z slang terms.
(Photo Credit: Dato Parulava)
With every generation comes a new set of slang terms that they use to communicate. For example, the millennials came up with words like “swag” and “lit”, while Gen Z followed up with terms such as “cap” and “delulu”. I find that with the newer generations, it becomes harder and harder to understand the different slang terms, but this is especially true for Gen Alpha.
If you have been around on the internet lately, you may have come across words like “sigma”, “skibidi” or even “rizz”. When I did, I had absolutely no idea what any of it meant. Nonetheless, just as how anyone learns new vocabulary, these words started to become ingrained in my skull after I heard many people online use them. But the definitions of these words are not as straightforward as my journey in learning them…
You see, while words like “rizz” are fairly simple to understand (short for charisma, rizz means the ability to attract someone), words like “skibidi” are far more complicated. Is it a noun? A verb? An adjective? A filler word to end a sentence with?
As it turns out, it can be all of the above. It’s not hard to see why many of my millennial family members are asking me why their child is saying things like, “Mum, today’s dinner is very skibidi.” Sorry, I have no idea what your child is trying to convey either.
My juniors with whom I attended a camp presented me with some drawings of “brain rot onions”. Don’t ask, I’m just as confused as you are.
In all honesty, after being bombarded with these words all over my explore page, they seem to be appearing more often in my daily vocabulary, be it ironically or not. I use these words too often, sometimes from the screen, to the ring, to the pen, and also to the king. Perhaps 2025 will give us even more amazing words for me to mess up my speech with.
Dress To Impress
Roblox is a game that has existed since 2006, and it hasn’t lost any popularity since then. However, it blew up again this year with the game “Dress to Impress”. Aptly acronymed as DTI, players are first given a theme to follow, such as “Roaring 20s” or “Academia”. They then have to dress up their avatar with the in-game clothes or accessories.
Look at all the different outfits!
(Photo Credits: Roblox)
When I first watched over my friend’s shoulder as she played DTI, I was sceptical; I hadn’t played DTI because I was unfamiliar with Roblox. I also didn’t think there would be enough clothing or accessory options. But I was so wrong!
There are a myriad of different items to dress your avatar up in, even different makeup looks and hairstyles. The game even allows you to layer items together to create your own unique look. One playthrough with my friend was enough to convince me to download Roblox to play it.
Even though I personally think the voting is rigged, – how have I not won yet? – this game is still really fun to play with my friends as we try to compete with one another in vying for the top 3 placements in the game. I think this game allows your creative juices to flow as you get to design different looks, even mixing and matching to see what fits.
The game even has a freeplay mode, where players get to dress their avatars up without the pressure of a competition.
Nicole from 24J02, an avid Roblox player, weighed in on this. “I think Roblox first blew up because of its horror games, but not everyone wanted horror.” She said that in order to branch out to a wider audience, Roblox had to develop another genre of games, hence the birth of DTI.
She shares my sentiment that DTI is well developed and allows players to make friends while also being innovative. She even provided some screenshots of her wins.
Nicole clinched 3rd place with this stunning red ensemble.
As someone who loves dress-up games, this is right up my alley, and maybe yours too! I have never gotten 1st place, but this may change in the near future.
Stanley Cups and Owala Bottles
Finally, I had to include a trending item as well, and what better item to include than those huge thermos flasks that come in fun colours?
Stanley Cups blew up earlier this year due to many reasons – not only was there a wide range of colours to choose from, but these cups could also hold up to 1.2 litres of fluid, as well as keep them as hot or cold as you want. People started to see these cups as collectibles, buying every colour imaginable.
Stanley Cups even went on to collaborate with big names such as the talented singer-songwriter, Olivia Rodrigo, hence garnering even more consumers.
So many colours to choose from! I see why people are collecting these now.
(Photo Credits: Stanley Cups)
Stanley Cups collaborated with Olivia Rodrigo to make these pretty purple cups!
(Photo Credits: Stanley Cups)
There are even many add-ons you can purchase to decorate your cup, such as pouches, charms, and even lip balm holders.
What an ergonomic design.
(Photo Credits: Lille Allen)
But as with every popular item, knockoffs soon ensued, with every brand coming up with their own version of a thermos flask that resembled Stanley Cups. Not that I, someone who drinks a lot of water daily, minded; this just meant I had more options to choose from!
Then Owala came along with their own insulated water bottle, the biggest of which holds the same amount of water as a Stanley Cup. Owala bottles have many vibrantly coloured parts that can be mixed around until you find colours that suit you; there were even some bottles with flowers or bows printed on them.
Photo Credits: Owala
Though I don’t own either of these items, people around me sing endless praises about how good these products are. After a hot day out in the Singaporean sun, a sip of ice-cold water is surely shiok!
All in all, 2024 has given us many new trends to ponder over. Some were awesome, and some were… questionable, but I have no doubts that 2025 will give us more to talk about! May 2025 be a good year for us all, and even if it isn’t, I hope there are at least some funny pieces of media to keep us entertained…