By Scarlett Robinson
What happens when a niche becomes a trend? Can a trend become a niche? Social media has turned hobbies, fashion, interests, food and even daily routines into trends. TikTok in particular can be found at the heart of the problem. With the never-ending racing trends on social media apps, it is too easy to fall down a rabbit hole of capitalism-encouraged consumerism.
Googling “TikTok Hobby Trends” brings up articles such as “Top 10 Trending DIY Hobbies on TikTok and How to Get Started” published on the website Robotime Online. A Reddit post by Mammoth_Jelly7511 on r/hobbies is entitled “saw this trend ‘nerd out’ on TikTok and I want to have a cool hobby.” Searching “Social Media Hobby Trends” brings up “The 8 Hottest Hobbies of 2026, According to Pinterest” on marthastewart.com, and multiple websites mention so-called analog hobbies meant to get people away from doomscrolling and doing something with their hands.
However, analog hobbies, despite their original purpose, have become just another trend. People are not picking up hobbies because it is something they are interested in, or something they truly want to do, but because it creates a few aesthetic snapshots that can be added to their next post to show off just how multifaceted they are to all of their followers.
Maybe people do not even realize they are doing this, especially if they do not have an online presence and only consume content. Even so, it is easy to be influenced into buying a few skeins of yarn, a set of crochet hooks or knitting needles, a pack of air-dry clay or a large pack of colored pipe cleaners when the “niche” trend of making pipe cleaner flower bouquets is all the rage on TikTok.
If you are lucky, you might have just found a new hobby. If you are not lucky (which is the vast majority of the people picking up new activities because of the trends they watch), then you will have a closet filled with crafting supplies that you will forget about until your next spring cleanout, when they get thrown away or donated.
Yes, social media can introduce people to new activities and arts that they might not have found before, and it can bring people together by bonding over newfound hobbies. However, for the most part, people are only participating in it for the aesthetic and dropping it the second it no longer interests them.
Take the TikTok coloring trend. For a couple of weeks, large TikTok accounts were purchasing coloring books and exorbitantly expensive alcohol markers, including well-known brands such as Copic and Ohuhu, which are typically used by professional artists. The classic set of Copic markers, including 72 colors, is priced at $735 from Jackson’s Art, and the full set, including 358 colors, is priced at $1,594 from Art Supplies Japan. This trend was over within a month, and I have yet to see another video about coloring books.
For another example, look no further than candle plates. Search the term on TikTok and you will find videos of people purchasing plates and a variety of glassware and tapered candles. All these items are clumsily put together to create an arrangement where melted wax drips down the glassware and, in theory, becomes something rather pretty.
Once again, the trend lasted for a couple of weeks, and since it died out, I have yet to see another video about candle plates.
There is nothing wrong with finding new interests, or getting involved in something you have not had much experience with previously. However, when hobbies take off on TikTok, all too often, they lead to overconsumption and waste, all for something you will forget about within weeks. From rave outfits to the food trends that take over TikTok on a weekly basis, it is becoming increasingly difficult to tell where you end and your social media persona begins.
On top of it all, the trends continue by borrowing elements from cultures around the world, but as they grow in size, people forget where they came from. Matcha went from a Japanese ritual and ceremony that centered around patience and restraint to a neon green shorthand for wellness and consumption. Social media influencers are a part of that marketing by touting health benefits and overall wellness, as compared to drinks like coffee. The craze makes it too easy to forget the cultural background of the drink.
Similarly, ube, a Filipino purple yam, also went viral on social media People became obsessed with using ube in ice cream, bread and lattes. The problem appears when the food is not being represented authentically. It becomes gentrified and more palatable for a western audience, and as a result, it shifts away from authenticity and changes how people understand the ingredient and diminishes its cultural background.
There are multiple social media users expressing their frustration at the gentrification and westernization of their cultural foods. A video posted by TikTok user @saerijane in 2025 features her sarcastically saying “We’re going to try Sarah Johnson’s spicy cabbage salad” while opening a tupperware of kimchi, a traditional Korean side dish. Another video by TikTok user @adivreactions is captioned as follows:
“White people’s ability to colonize and gentrify foods from other cultures that have existed for centuries is wild to me, I just stumbled upon ‘brothy rice’ that people are calling viral, which is basically variations of Asian, Latino and black foods. y’all did this with spa water, oxtail, tini’s Mac n cheese the list goes on. please stop!”
Food sharing across cultures can be done in a very positive way, but only if it is done with proper context and respect. Giving proper credit to its origins can help appreciation become appropriation. Without that effort, trends reduce these cultural foods to an aesthetic.
It is not whimsical to buy an entirely new outfit off of Shein because you want to be #cottagecore. It is not #hobbymaxing to buy more arts and crafts supplies every time you see the hobby of the week making its rounds on TikTok. TikTok popularity is to be capitalized and consumed.
Matcha and jade bangles are not another trend of the week; you do not need to copy KATSEYE’s Megan and her jade bangle. A “neck scarf” is a dupatta, a piece of traditional Indian clothing, and the popular styles of streetwear have roots in the African American community.
About the Author
