About

If You Asked Me On A Deeper Level or If You Asked Me About X, I Would Say Y, But If You Asked Me On A Deeper Level, I Would Say Z is a TikTok trend in which users describe their feelings about a particular person, object or activity, paired with a contemplative sound, a slideshow of typically four images and the phrasal template. The trend emerged in the summer of 2024 but had notable antecedents in the months prior.

Origin

The earliest findable examples on TikTok of the meme trend date back to the week of May 15th, 2024. In these early examples, posters discussed relationships with their parents, contrasting what they would say is simply "asked" (generally, a brief, simple answer) versus what they would say when "asked on a deeper level" (usually, a wall of text discussing a complex situation).

TikToker @bubblegumcherrymfpop posted an early example on May 15th (seen below), which received over 80 likes and over 27,000 views in the course of two months.^[1]

An important antecedent to the trend was viral in the fall of 2023, contrasting simple "asking" with "if you ask me when I'm alone." Posting on this trend followed a similar pattern. For example, on October 15th, 2023, TikToker @adriann2lit received over 929,000 likes and 5.4 million views in nine months for posting a slideshow expressing love for her sister.^[3] These posts used a different sound than the one used in the "deeper level" trend.

The sound most frequently paired with the "deeper level" videos is a sample of "One More Light" by Linkin Park, originally posted by @favsoundds to TikTok on March 3rd, 2023. It was used in over 450,000 videos in the 15 months following its posting.^[4]

Spread

Throughout June and July 2024, the trend saw continued viral spread on TikTok. Posters used the format to describe personal situations, but also more lighthearted topics. For example, TikToker @gracelrogne posted a slideshow on June 26th, 2024, in the voice of her dog about eating cat poop, earning over 4.2 million views and 532,000 likes in just over three weeks.^[5]

While many of the posts focused on family relationships and appeared to be made by female creators, others focused on different themes. TikToker @7sznn posted a slideshow about his friend group on July 11th (seen below) receiving over 4.4 million views and 725,000 likes in a week.^[6]

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References