On January 4th, 2019, a simple picture of an egg broke the world record for the most liked picture on Instagram. This sparked many reactions from awe to confusion.

What is it about our generation that inspires someone to post something as simple as an egg and for it to become this big? Throughout the years, there have been many trends that have gone viral, but why?

Sophomore, Julia Giesenhagen said, “I think that people allow something to become viral because it’s a way to fit in. If someone else likes a video or picture, then I am more likely to like it as well. It goes viral as this goes on.”

“I think that humans want to see what other people are seeing. When someone sees something they enjoy, they want to share it,” senior Mia Stolpe said.

Not only does the constant desire to fit in play a role in something going viral, but the competitive nature of humans as well.

Preslie Denton said, “As humans, we are constantly waiting for the next big thing to top whatever the latest trend was. For example, we wanted to make the egg successful so it could beat Kylie’s post.”

The egg, Fortnite, the dress, Rebecca Black’s “Friday,” and Charlie bit my finger are just some of the pictures, videos, and games to go viral throughout the years. The question of “why” continues to linger, however. It’s difficult to predict what will go viral.

Typically, for something to go viral, it must fall within one of three categories: simplicity, humor, and relatability. It also helps that with our technology, it takes less than one minute to like a post and share it.

Think about it, one picture of an egg quickly became the biggest trend with over 51,000,000 likes on Instagram. People felt the need to like it because it was so straightforward.

Vines, memes, and videos are also likely to become big because they are funny. “Whenever I find a funny or relatable post on Instagram I send it to my friends hoping they think the same thing,” freshman Hanna Hartzell said.

The question is, what is next? What will become the next big thing to come across the internet? Will it be you?