Social Media Ideas for Internet Culture

Viral Moments That Prove the Internet Shares One Collective Brain

The best internet moments of 2026 (so far)

The memes, trends, and cultural moments that took over the internet in the first five months of 2026.

Memes and Teens: A Media Literacy Lesson Plan

How is internet “brain rot” culture affecting you?

Hot or Not Built the Internet We’re Still Swiping Through

The early website Hot or Not taught its users to rank people at scale. Twenty-six years later, dating apps are trying to escape the culture the site helped create.

The social media algorithm has left me behind. I’m unc and I’m chopped – and that’s OK

If you have to Google an internet or gen Z/alpha slang term, you absolutely shouldn’t be using it. I’m accepting this milestone with quiet dignityI’ve just reached an important adu...

Meme magic: how a crude Chinese animation reshapes country’s viewing habits

A crudely made animated film has emerged as an unexpected cultural flashpoint in China, sparking debate over how memes and online virality are reshaping audience perceptions of wha...

You’re Thinking About Online Trends All Wrong

From pessimism around dating to AI reshaping culture, cyber-ethnographer Ruby J. Thelot tells WIRED why people are putting too much stock into things that go viral.

The faces behind the feeds: Gen Z’s private lives and public posts – in pictures

For the first digital natives, there are two places to express yourself: in the comfort of your own room and online. Photographer Niccolò Rastrelli set out to find out how the iden...

TikTok kitchen: How viral cooking videos changed what we actually own

  For centuries, American cooking habits were shaped by word of mouth and print media. When food television debuted in the 1940s, new cuisines and kitchen hacks were broadcast to c...

The new C-word

'Culture' was advertising's last C-word. Now it's community’s turn.

Speeding for online glory: the internet subculture where young men drive dangerously for likes

Social media trend feeds on footage shot from cars racing down busy roads, with potentially lethal consequencesThe hashtags tell the story of the potentially lethal social media su...

Why entertainment culture is changing expectations around modern living

From movie streaming to smart audio features, entertainment culture is a common part of American homes. Instead of passive activities, people are engaging in more immersive experie...

Latin America’s parks are being overtaken by teens fighting fierce ‘aura farming’ battles

Almost anywhere in the world, the “6-7” hand gesture and the dab are simply nonsensical relics of internet culture. But in public squares and university courtyards across Latin Ame...

Seinfeld memes went viral this week and made me worry too much about the future

Our FactCheck editor details the internet trends seen by a thirtysomething-year-old man.