Why ‘Don’t Google’ Memes And Trends Are Back (And Here To Stay)

Don’t Google trends and memes are back with a whole slew of classic shock sites and media.

Lately, they’ve been taking over much of TikTok, targeting a younger audience of Zoomers who didn’t grow up with the experience of an older brother talking them into searching Tubgirl on Google. Millennials grew up knowing the dangers of these “Don't Google” trends, having stumbled upon these ancient web pages over a decade ago and often regretting it ever since.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7164135062760475950

In a way, it's surprising that these “don't Google” trends are getting so much attention right now, because they're very old trends that fell out of favor long ago. Conceptually, It's similar to a new Advice Animal appearing in 2022, but there’s something addictive about looking for content that everyone knows they’re better off not seeing.

This does, however, have the downside of young children Googling degloved face and seeing a form of gore they had never anticipated.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7161583423415684398

When you tell someone not to Google something, they’re obviously going to do it. Telling a person not to do something, especially when it makes them curious about the results, is really more of an encouragement than anything.

So now, telling people not to Google Blue Waffle has led to a bunch of pre-teens discovering what a Blue Waffle is or what exactly Meatspin means, thus scarring their young minds just like the generation before them.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7028430988522884357

But this is seemingly the natural order of things on the internet. When we're online, we're bound to delve into things we never really wanted to think about, but suddenly feel like we absolutely need to know about.

Upon hearing about something "forbidden," no logic can stand in your way, and neither can your innate desire to not see disturbing medical imagery that will make you want to cry. It seems like traumatizing ourselves is part of human nature, and so, we do it.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7006422685521628421

You'd think that we'd learn from the mistakes of traumatized Millennials and move on to a more wholesome era of the internet, but no.

Everyone should know by now not to expect this sort of discretion and sensibility to apply to the online community, and thus, even younger Gen Z users now know what Two Girls, One Cup is, which is perhaps not really something the older generation wanted to pass down.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7043626821606362415

Ultimately, reaction videos are largely to blame, and we've had these for pretty much forever. There were people who used to Google these “don't Google” trends back in the early 2000s and post their reactions on YouTube.

Now, users of TikTok do the exact same thing, only in a much shorter format. They’ve realized these reaction videos are a great way to get views consistently. And apparently, one of the best materials for a truly memorable reaction video is shock content. So lately, a trend has appeared on TikTok where people film themselves before and after Googling different shock terms.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7155571574739897642

So, why are Zoomers so intent to torment one another with shock sites that oftentimes hardly even work now that Adobe Flash Player is defunct? The same reason Millennials talked their friends into doing the same back in 2008.

People just love to freak out one another and themselves, so a resurgence in the popularity of these search terms was inevitable. Now, Millennials can sit back and watch the new generation of young adults experience the same psychological damage they once did.

Unfortunately, some participants in this are too young to have even figured out how incognito windows work yet, so they’re plausibly going to be working through some things for the next few years after seeing this stuff.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7128582906305465646

So should you Google these things if you haven't already? Honestly, no one's going to stop you, and it's pretty likely that your curiosity will win out over your desire to not see disturbing content.

That doesn't mean you should though. In fact, if you sat and stared at a wall for several hours on end, that would probably be a more appealing experience than seeing some of these. Just because something is trending doesn't mean it's a good idea.

If you’re really curious, maybe just check out our entries on the subjects instead, because hearing about it secondhand is always better than burning a disturbing image into your corneas.