Sitting back in class and scrolling through social media, students find new trends that will eventually die out. Social media continues to turn small things into something bigger, such as the Chicago rat imprint on the sidewalk. 

  The Chicago rat hole is a hole shaped like a rat in the sidewalk of the Roscoe Village neighborhood in Chicago. The rat hole has existed for decades but recently became popular. Social media users have dedicated their time to visit this rat imprint and leave gifts, But why? People are wasting their money on something small that won’t matter in a few weeks.  

  Fads like this become popular for a brief period of time, then fade away. Trending content begins on Instagram and mostly TikTok. For example, the “corn kid” meme went viral for months until bigger brands began to get in on the meme and it died out. 

  Along with memes, there is a rapidly growing fashion community. Streetwear and Y2K aesthetics have consumed the social media community. 

  While trends are valuable to retail companies and the entertainment world, social media users have a different perspective. They want to keep these trends and memes within the platform. 

  Some social media trends can be effective, but when it comes to spending money on something ridiculous or dangerous, the trend is no longer worth getting attention, such as the tide pod trend that went around in early 2018. Teens were biting on liquid detergent pods which resulted in the death of a few teens.   

 The world of social media changes in a heartbeat, and it’s all about in with the new and out with the old.  The rat hole is a trend that is overhyped and it is very confusing to even explain why it became a trend.