Top 10 social trends of 2022

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Here are the top 5 social trends of 2022
Social trends of 2022

Social trends have always been one of the highlights in the social space. Certainly, there has never been a shortage of trending topics across all social media platforms, and this year is no exception.

With over 50 million social media users in the country, different trends emerge every minute of the day, ranging from funny ones to controversial ones, raunchy ones, and those capable of toppling relationships and businesses.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 social trends in Nigeria that gained massive attention this year.

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Buga Challenge

Here are the top 5 social trends of 2022

Kizz Daniel and Tekno probably never saw this coming, but their hit song, Buga, arrived with a bang. Kizz Daniel posted a video on TikTok while dancing to the song, and it was turned into a challenge that quickly travelled across other social media platforms.

The dance step is executed by proudly lifting the shoulders after bending low in tune with the beats. This captures the meaning of Buga, which means to “show off’, in this case, your success or achievements unapologetically.

People from around the world have hopped on this challenge. It became popular at every party, social gathering and political rally in Nigeria.

Some politicians, including Liberia President George Weah, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, NFF President Amaju Pinnick, Reverend Kukah and Tobi Amusan, joined the challenge.

If you hosted a party this year and your DJ did not play the Buga song, you should probably seek a refund.

Kelly Bhadie’s viral video

This social trend challenge has sparked numerous debates in the space. The trend began when a TikTok video of a young Togolese girl, Kelly Bhadie, twisting and shaking her waist went viral.

She became the talk of the town on social media, as several guys shared her videos with flirtatious comments. However, this sparked a challenge among other Nigerian female content creators on TikTok and other social media platforms as they attempted to recreate the exact dance. with the same audio. and for some, in similar outfits.

Following this social trend, there were a lot of discussions online, especially among women who defended the content creators who the men had tackled for even attempting to mimic Kelly’s video.

Some perceived Nigerian men’s attention to the videos as unnecessary and her videos as overhyped. In defence of men, they compared the situation to the Kupe Boys trend and how Nigerian women reacted at the time.

Whatever the case, it was a social media trend that lingered for a moment and a conversational topic that, for a while, dominated social space.

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The Shettima Challenge

Have you ever thought of wearing a suit with gym shoes? It looks comfy tho.

Here are the top 5 social trends of 2022

This social trend caused quite a hilarious moment in the social space. It started after the APC Vice presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima, wore gym shoes on his loose-fitting suit to the Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association.

It might not have been part of the fashion trends these days, but it inspired many Nigerians who took up the challenge to recreate the look.

It became a viral challenge in the social space, and one Twitter user even offered prize money to the best people who recreated the VP’s candidate outfit.

Many individuals jumped on this trend challenge, including Charlie Boy. What do you think? How do you wear your suit?

‘Carry me dey go my husband house’

Before this year ends, Jehovah carry me dey go my husband house.

This is one social trend that caused massive discussion across many social platforms. It all started with a viral video of a church gathering where women in the video were seen singing and clapping to the song, “carry me dey go, baba carry me dey go my husband house”.

From skits to religious arguments to feminism discussion. the words from that viral video have become a comedic prayer for many people for their wants.

Businesses and companies e.g. Expertnaire, jumped on the trend, asking Jehovah for their own needs.

What is your prayer? Where would you like Jehovah to carry you next year?

“Shey you dey whine me ni”

This has become a popular slang among Nigerians even to this day, and it all started after the music video found its way into the social space. At first, there was confusion, especially as the song is a gospel song like, shey you dey whine me ni.

But, the song became sensational, particularly for its infusion of the Nigerian pidgin language, tone, style, and song flow. It just seemed to resonate with many Nigerians and even became a recurring song in the ears of many.

The song grew in popularity, and celebrities joined the league of people who got addicted to the song. The song became the go-to sound for content creators, especially on TikTok, and became a trend.

While this was a new social trend, it was also an opportunity for the creator, Austin Emmanuel, to gain enough recognition for his work. Because of his viral video’s attention, he was contacted by TG Omori, who created a new music video for him.

Ku lo sa challenge

@colorsxstudios

Revisit the now legendary A COLORS SHOW performance of ‘KU LO SA’ by Nigerian Afrobeats artist Oxlade. (@oxladeofficial) #colorsxstudios #acolorshow #colors #oxlade #kulosa

♬ KU LO SA – A COLORS SHOW – Oxlade

Another major challenge that shook the social space was the Ku lo sa dance. Oxlade’s performance of the song for A Colours Show sparked conversation in the social space, and many people started to recreate it. How did Oxlade dance routine for the song’s performance become a viral social trend? The internet is sometimes really unpredictable.

This dance challenge has more hand movements that some people have tagged sexual, but that did not stop netizens from partaking in it. Ku lo sa, and the dance grew in popularity, extending outside Nigeria as many celebrities, including Wizkid, took part in the challenge.

To spice it up, the challenge earned itself a Ku lo sa effect filter on TikTok with an Oxlade tattoo and a recreation of the original performance background.

The challenge has gained massive support and encouragement across all social media platforms.

What if Nigeria hosted the World Cup?

But what if Nigeria hosted the World Cup? How would it be? Naija Nation asked this question on Twitter following the completion of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and Nigerians used the opportunity to joke about the sorry state of the country’s infrastructure.

We cannot deny that Qatar did a great job hosting the 2022 World cup, but would Nigeria have done it better? Well, this became a social trend.

Many Nigerians took to the social space to sarcastically predict the situations of things if they ever hosted the world cup, and boy, it was hilarious. The fun thing about this trend is that it infused the regular happenings in everyday life of a Nigerian.

The trend spread across the social media space. Some netizens jokingly predicted top players’ reactions to certain everyday situations that happen in Nigeria.

Do you think Nigeria is capable of hosting the World Cup?

Ijo laba laba challenge

Ijo laba laba… Gimme your hand and shoulder… Kosi isoro get up… Blessing for your head top…

@crayway

Our dance! Our movement!! Our anthem!!! 🦋🦋🦋#ILL #crayon

♬ Ijo (Laba Laba) – Crayon

Mavins Record came with a mega-hit this 2022 and Crayon’s song, Ijo laba laba is one of those hit songs. The song has gained massive support from the social space. Everything gives a different aura, from the beat to the lyrics to the music flow.

To complement this fantastic song, the artiste, Crayon has created a dance step that became a viral social media challenge. The steps, more like gestures, give a physical interpretation of the song’s lyrics.

Many social content creators have recreated this dance step, and many fans joined the trending challenge.

Precious challenge

If you missed any social challenge for this year, this particular social trend can’t be missed. The #PreciousChallenge was inspired by Duncan Laurence and Fletcher’s 2020 song, “Arcade.”

It was remixed by a TikToker, Bada Agnes after she sang the song in an overdramatic Igbo accent.

The sound was mastered and mixed by another TikTok creator, DJ Ogoh Precious, who infused his name into the sound and viola! the TikTok community loved the mix.

This sound became a sought-after sound for many content creators on TikTok, as they used the sound to recreate relatable Nigerian moments of people taking an L in one form or the other.

The challenge spread across other social media platforms and became one of the year’s most hilarious challenges.

Cough dance challenge

Just when we thought Kizz Daniel was done with creating trends in the social space with his song, Buga, he released another banger, Cough.

The dance routine is one of the easiest, and social content creators hopped on the trend embracing the dance and appreciating the song.

Celebrities like Brother Shaggi and Sabinus and others, like the case of German footballers with their Nigerian counterparts, also partook in the viral dance challenge.

We know that other social trends happened in the space, but these ten trended for days and across different social media platforms. Which was your favourite trend of the year?


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