All about the ‘Only Until Tomorrow’ challenge and what we know about the latest Instagram trend; Stay At Home stickers and more

Social distancing, self-isolation and work from home has brought on some challenges and a whole new perspective on life at home in times of a global pandemic, and we’re all learning to get along with these changes. When you sit by yourself in complete isolation, what is the one thing that instantly comes to mind? As far as I’m concerned, it’s usually wanting to pick up a book but ending up scrolling through my social media profiles to get a peek into my friends’, their dogs’, cats’, babies’ lives and then some. On days of what I’d like to term ‘purposeful scrolling’ I’ll go to accounts held and run by artists, poets, writers, food aficionados and then some. If you too have been scrolling through Instagram and other social media assets more often now as part of your quarantine adjustment, you may have stumbled upon a new string of posts with the caption and/or hashtag ‘until tomorrow’.

As the virus and the panic around it continues to spread, the digital-friendly world has been looking for ways to keep themselves occupied, in turn creating a window for new trends on social media.

From toilet paper filters on Snapchat to songs against coronavirus and positive messages about staying home on TikTok, to Facebook groups teaching new skills to fans, users are going all-out to create shareable content on social media. And the best part is that we’re all in it together.

What is the Only Until Tomorrow challenge?

The latest viral challenge on Instagram has users post cringe-worthy pictures of themselves for a period of 24 hours with hashtags as captions - #UntilTomorrow or #OnlyUntilTomorrow.

There is all but one rule to join in: the picture should be as embarrassing as possible. These are made available for until the next day and users are free to delete them afterwards. (Personal advice: Archiving is better, it doesn’t show up on your feed but you have a memory of the moment in place).

How to ace the Only Until Tomorrow challenge?

A Reddit thread explains that to become a part of the challenge, you have to be nominated by someone who has posted a picture as part of the challenge. For example, if a friend of yours has posted a picture and you like it, you have self-nominated yourself. On the other hand, you can be roped in by a friend or a user to participate. Once you accept it, you have to share an embarrassing albeit hilarious picture of yourself and use the hashtag #onlyuntiltomorrow so that others can see your posts.

Remember to revisit and delete the picture 24 hours later: that’s the reason why this challenge has been named Only Until Tomorrow.

Mr Manish Chopra, Director and Head of Partnerships, Facebook India says, “Instagram’s the home for creativity and expression. We are working to ensure that everyone has accurate information pertaining to COVID19, stopping misinformation and harmful content, and supporting global health experts and relief efforts. Simultaneously, with the new reality of social distancing, we’re glad to see public figures and creators connecting with their communities and engaging with them. Especially in the past week, we’ve especially seen content on home workout regimens, ‘quarantine antakshri’, IG music festivals and challenges like the ones on ‘safe hands’ and ‘until tomorrow’ being posted on the platform.”

Interestingly, Twitterati also reacted to Only Until Tomorrow even though the trend has gone viral on Instagram.

Ghar Baitho India on TikTok:

TikTok’s #GharBaithoIndia campaign aims to encourage Indians by egging them on to be their productive and creative best while they stay indoors and safeguard themselves. This campaign has already seen engagement from general users and celebrities alike. People have been uploading videos about how they are spending time either by cooking unique recipes, showing their new home-workout routine or even the glimpses of them working from home. Popular TikTok creators such as actors Kajol, Kartik Aaryan, Adah Sharma, Riteish Deshmukh, Rannvijay Singh, Karanveer Bohra, Yo Yo Honey Singh to name a few, have captured moments of fun, leisure and learning from their daily lives while staying indoors and inspiring everyone out there.

Cooking, Fitness, Travel via Facebook:

With the world fighting back the pandemic that has gripped pour daily lives, the good part is using this time especially the commuting and traffic snag hours into learning a new skill. From learning new recipes to sprucing up your home with handy home decor tips to taking care of your body and mind to virtually travelling the world to getting the artist in you out, there’s something in it for everyone. Go the DIY route and learn a skill that you can use for the next few years with discipline and perseverance.

From pages like 5-min crafts, Tastemade, Your Food Lab, Under Armour, Fittr, to seeing the Pyramids or the insides of a Glowworm Cave in New Zealand via Virtual and Augmented Reality, there’s a plethora of activities lined up virtually, available at the click of a button. For moms and dads who are managing their time between working from home, con calls, their homes and children, kids’ art and craft groups are also a great place to keep your child busy with while you manage your hours at work, from home.

Stay Home and Co-watching with Instagram:

Instagram also launched a sticker to spread the message of staying home. When the sticker is added to an (Instagram) Story, it can be featured in the ‘Stay Home’ story, which when tapped will show how your Instagram friends are keeping safe at home, all in one place. The message in the sticker also shows up in Hindi, as ghar pe raho. The stickers are available in English and Hindi.

All social media platforms have taken the responsible route to show updated information from World Health Organisation so people are updated with relevant and up-to-date resources.

Instagram also introduced a feature called Co-watching that lets users engage remotely via their DM inboxes. The Co-Watching feature lets the user view posts along with your friends over video chat within Instagram — including saved, liked, and suggested photos/videos. To enable, click on the video icon within an already existing DM chat, or click the plus (+) sign in the top of the Direct inbox to create a new chat group and proceed by clicking the video icon from there. From here you can then tap the photo icon in the bottom left corner of your video chat to display posts that all members of the chat group can view together.

Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter