Believe it or not, in a little over two weeks, 2025 will be over, and a quarter of a century will be complete. New teen internet culture and trends have popped up everywhere, taking over schools, homes, and the world. From new movies to national controversies and viral celebrity moments, this is a list for the chronically online. Here, we have compiled a list of the biggest and most talked about things in teen pop culture.
- Zootopia 2
A much-anticipated film release in 2025, teens who saw the first Zootopia when they were children were excited to revisit a movie that was part of their childhood. The first Zootopia movie was a huge box office success, grossing over $1 billion dollars and the second had a similar record-breaking opening over Thanksgiving weekend.
- Italian brainrot
This strand of internet madness was a mix of AI images, gibberish and a computer-generated Italian accent. Kids were saying “tung tung tung sahur” and “trallalero trallallà” non-stop in late spring and early summer.
- Gap X KATSEYE
After gaining popularity from their performance at Lollapalooza with their intricate dance routines, the K-pop girl group starred in an ad for Gap jeans. The dance went viral right along with the multi-racial girl group, with many people trying to recreate their moves.
- Robert Irwin wins Dancing with the Stars
After watching his older sister, Bindi, win 10 years prior, Robert Irwin stole the audience’s hearts and the show. His skillful, heartfelt dances with ties to his father, Steve Irwin, carried him to win the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy for the show’s 20th year on air.
- The Gulf of America
Early in the spring, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed the “Gulf of America” in order to support an America-first agenda. It caused a massive uproar on the internet and gave life to new debates and jokes.
- “It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on Business.”
This viral and iconic quote from Justin Bieber originates from a clip of the singer/songwriter in a memorable blue hoodie, talking to paparazzi. The clip became extremely popular and well-known, with teens everywhere repeating it.
- AI filters and content
Over the course of the year, everyone’s feed became more and more flooded with AI images and videos. From cute AI animal videos to filters that transform your face into fantasy backgrounds, AI is growing in influence every day.
- Katy Perry in space
Back in April, the singer/songwriter tagged along on a sub-orbital trip to space, and it received a lot of negative attention on social media. Many argued that the stunt sent a bad message; the uber-rich sending themselves to space for PR while those back on earth face real-world economic struggles.
- Stranger Things season 5
This past month, Netflix hit show Stranger Things just released the first four episodes of its fifth and final season. Fans are in absolute shock at the crazy plot twists, especially nearing the end of the fourth episode. This new season has crazy development of both characters, new and old, but no spoilers!
- Louvre heist
One of the most prestigious art museums in the world lost approximately $102 million when a group of thieves successfully stole precious jewelry from the Louvre in Paris. Was it pure genius or pure stupidity to make the password to the security system ‘Louvre’? Who are we to say?
- Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce engaged
In August, Taylor Swift, one of the most well-known musical artists of all time, got engaged to Travis Kelce, the tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. The engagement received a lot of attention on social media shortly after the engagement post was made.
- Aura-farming Indonesian boat racing
Back in the summer, a clip of traditional Indonesian boat racing went viral. The main feature of the clip was a young boy standing on the prow of the rowboat, dancing in front of the rowing team. The unique and recognizable dance moves became incredibly viral, and people everywhere could be seen recreating them.
- Love Island season 7
While a new season of Love Island comes out every summer, this year was even more insane and drama-filled than the years before. Featuring fiery and memorable cast members like Huda Mustafa, this season was filled with iconic viral moments.
- Wicked
After the first movie gained tons of popularity in 2024, much anticipation was created around the second part of this Broadway show reimagined. The iconic duo Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande and their recognizable color scheme of pink and green, have been everywhere the past year.
- A Minecraft Movie
Based on one of the most well-known video games ever made, A Minecraft Movie brought back nostalgia for many. In addition to memories, the movie brought many new memes and quotes to social media. However, the real phenomenon was the chaos that erupted in theaters every time Jack Black said the words “Chicken jockey.”
- Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday
This insanely viral sound originated from an advertisement for a UK airline company, and somehow spiraled into everyone’s social media feed this summer. The sound was stuck in everyone’s head at some point, and one internet user even argued that it was this year’s “song of the summer.”
- Performative males
This movement has had several evolutions, and all of them centering around that idea of the ‘performative male,’ who drinks matcha, listens to Clairo and reads feminist literature. However, as the internet concept grew, quarterzips were added into the mix, and men all over the internet started making the switch from Nike Techs and coffee to quarterzips and matcha.
- Labubus
These fuzzy little monsters gained incredible popularity in the middle of the year, with every child asking their parents to buy them one. These overpriced Labubus became hot commodities among young adults as well. It’s safe to say that people either love them or think they’re creepy, with no in between.
- Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show
Coming off the Kendrick-Drake beef from 2024, Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime performance was much anticipated. The performance lived up to expectations, with several subtle digs at Drake, along with a powerful political message about American equality and justice. On another note, the performance also led to the onslaught and many new Lamar-related memes.
- Block Blast
This mobile game was on almost everyone’s phone at some point in the past year. After gaining popularity in late 2024, it was the top globally downloaded game in March 2025 and kept its number one spot for a couple of months.
- CEO caught cheating on the Coldplay kiss cam
During a Coldplay concert last July, Andy Bryon, the CEO of Astronomer, was caught on the kiss cam with a female co-worker. Everyone who saw the viral clip knew he was having an affair, and kiss cams at other stadiums started recreating the moment. The fallout was swift and painful for Bryon; He resigned from his position and was immediately divorced.
- Kpop Demon Hunters
This animated movie quickly gained popularity across all age demographics, becoming a global phenomenon as the most-watched Netflix film in history. Adults and children alike have been singing songs like ‘Golden’ and ‘Soda Pop’ for months, bringing the soundtrack to the top of the music charts. ‘Golden’ even presided in the Billboard Top 100 #1 spot for a total of 17 weeks.
- Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle jean ad
This collaboration with Sweeney and American Eagle jeans was EXTREMELY controversial and caused quite a stir across the nation. With obvious sexual undertones, some claimed it was objectifying women. Others even claimed that the slogan “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” supported racism and eugenics.
- TikTok ban
On January 19, TikTok was banned for less than a day. After months of discussion over National Security concerns in regards to the Chinese-based developers, the company was told to either sell the company or face a nationwide ban in the US. App users mourned the loss of their entertainment and lifestyles; that is, until President Trump delayed the ban, and users were relieved.
- Six-Seven
Okay, whether you love it or you hate it, you have to admit that these two random and meaningless numbers have taken the world by storm. What started with a song, a hand gesture, and a basketball star, somehow became Dictionary.com’s word of the year. Six-seven infiltrated the minds of the children and the teenagers, and eventually worked its way up to their parents and the adults, although they still don’t know what it means. They can’t seem to grasp the fact that the two numbers are completely meaningless.
We hope you enjoyed this compilation of the most talked-about pop culture moments of 2025. While some of them do require a high screen time and thorough internet knowledge, it must be said that social media has become a big part of our lives these days. Its trends and moments affect our lives daily, even if it is sometimes only with useless brainrot and memes.
