Posted on 30th May 2023
Meme calendars are really popular on TikTok at the moment, with videos highlighting some of the biggest trends of each month getting a huge number of views.
The TikTok meme calendars are a revival of something that started on Tumblr back in 2014 when people started declaring a meme for each month of the year. The trend evolved into a calendar format, like this entry from 2016, which is thought to be the first:
The dramatic growth of TikTok gave the trend a new lease of life, with videos like this one from @chicken_prime recapping what happened in 2022 and inspiring lots of accounts to post about the biggest memes each month in 2023.
The meme calendars have really taken off this year – this one from @2023.m3m3calendar showing the meme of the month and playing an example of the current month's biggest meme has had 32m views:
Dozens of the videos, like the example below from our own @shooglebox TikTok account showing trending memes for May 2023, have been racking up the views:
Because the nature of the TikTok algorithm means lots of people don't see the same videos on their For You Page, and the most recent content isn't always shown to TikTokers straight away, the posts often start conversations about what should or shouldn't be included in them, and when the meme was from:
Some of the TikToks start by asking people if they agree with their choices as a way of inviting positive contributions and helping their video make its way into more people's FYP as more TikTokers comment on it:
Here's how our team of TikTok trend spotters say the memes of the month are shaping up so far for 2023:
January:
Meme of the month: Finn Wolfhard snapping
Other trending memes:
February:
Meme of the month: Dancing Barbie dogs
Other trending memes:
March:
Meme of the month: Pedro Pascal crunching on a sandwich
Other trending memes:
April:
Meme of the month: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
Other trending memes:
May:
Meme of the month: The Lorax Let It Grow
Other trending memes:
Spotting TikTok trends
Buzz from Shooglebox helps brands and organisations quickly spot and explore TikTok trends and memes as they start to take off. Take a look at some of the recent big TikTok trends that Buzz customers were among the first to discover here and get in touch to find out how Buzz could help your business here.
