Dalgona coffee, #UntilTomorrow: Instagram trends in the times of lockdown

Since the past few weeks, on account of the coronavirus pandemic, most people are staying home, working or lounging, only leaving the warm embrace of their couch or bed for frequent snacking and meals. Brushing off crumbs of chips from their face and pajama tops as they scroll through their social media accounts. And thank God for social media, which used to save us all earlier in a crowded room where we knew no one, and is now saving us from the silent screams of solitude that ring in our heads perpetually thanks to social isolation. Despite my millennial status, I truly hate social media, it makes no sense that people wish to showcase the interesting/morbid details of their life for the world to see. If you were truly so happy, you wouldn’t care what people think. But in trying times like the present pandemic, I guess it doesn’t hurt to fill our minds with mindless trends and challenges to avoid facing the tragedy of what is actually happening. And maybe that makes sense to some people, so they get on Instagram shooting videos from their fancy homes and do tutorials on how to make Dalgona coffee, the latest fad taking over Instagram. Picasso was right, ‘Without great solitude no great work is possible.’ Obviously the definitions of great and work have changed substantially since Picasso.

Of the many fun distractions that have taken over Instagram, one is the trending hashtag ‘Until tomorrow’, where users post embarrassing photos of themselves, with the common caption ‘until tomorrow’, and post these pictures without any other context. To carry this trend forward, for every person who likes your post you must send a direct message to them instructing them to post an embarrassing picture of themselves for at least 24 hours, so until tomorrow, tagging the person who gave them the challenge. And the cycle continues.

Given how bored people have gotten, a lot of new trends and challenges have popped up on Instagram. Like the #see10do10, which is a pushup challenge to encourage at-home workouts. You are meant to record yourself doing ten pushups and then tag those you’d like to see doing the challenge. My favourite has to be the #SeeAPupSendAPup challenge on Twitter and Instagram, wherein users post pictures of their pets.

One of the initial hashtags to start on Instagram was #stayhome, complete with a sticker. All stories that have the sticker are compiled together in a bid to encourage people to stay at home.

Another interesting trend that everyone seems to be obsessing over is that of Dalgona coffee, which is basically just whipped instant coffee over cold or hot milk. And absolutely everyone is making this, even the people who never posted anything from their kitchens. Upon investigating this absurd pattern on my Instagram feed I found out the cause of the problem.

27-year-old Aftab Khan, who returned (a few months ago) from London after completing his MA blames unemployment and boredom. He says, “I don’t follow social media trends. I just thought it was an interesting thing to make. I started cooking pretty recently and whenever I come across something interesting I try it out. Although the lockdown has made me cook more though. Just to have something to do.”

However PhD student Ovia Seshadri has nostalgic reasons for whipping up Dalgona coffee, “Back when I used to stay in a hostel, about nine years ago, my friends and I would sit in the mess and whisk coffee in steel tumblers as we gossiped. We used to drink it back then, and when I saw it on Instagram it reminded me of those days so I’ve been making it almost every day. But I don’t post pictures.’’

Salome Soni, Marketing Head at L’Dezen Jewellery, has found herself turning into an overnight social media influencer. She says, “I don’t follow Instagram trends as such, but I make coffee every day so this was an interesting twist and I liked it so I make it all the time now. Also given that I’m bored at home I post videos of my workouts and braid my hair differently every day and post it. And the funny thing is that people I haven’t spoken to in years have started messaging me. Even if the conversation lasts only a few minutes. So I guess I like to post as it helps kill boredom and lets me interact with a lot of people I lost touch with.

However, 22-year-old Katha Sharma’s answer is what seems most honest, “See I stay with my parents, they’re always asking me to do chores. My mom’s always yelling that I only sleep or stay on my phone. So I keep doing random things like making Dalgona coffee for them or some home workouts so they feel like I’m participating in chore duty. It gives me content to post and gets them off my back, it’s a win-win”

As for me, I’m happy with my desi gur ki chai.

Have you tried your hands at any of these trends? What do you think of them?

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