The biggest buzzwords and social media trends of 2024

'Thank you, Beyoncé'

Pop royalty Beyoncé suddenly received an outpour of gratitude in October this year, when the most trivial online posts would be filled with “Thank you, Beyoncé” comments. Even celebrities like Denise Laurel jumped on the trend.

The phrase began from a bizarre conspiracy theory about Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z: They allegedly hold so much power in the industry that terrible things happen to those who dare misalign with them. While these theories have existed for years, they were recently brought to light again after their friend and collaborator Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested in September for alleged sexual abuse.

Other viral theories claim that artists who win awards over Beyoncé, like Adele and Lizzo, thank her in their acceptance speeches to protect themselves. 

Online users quickly made fun of these convoluted theories. They thanked Beyoncé for random occasions like after sneezing or during a class presentation, shutting down years of conspiracies in the funniest way possible. So don’t forget to thank Beyoncé for one of the most iconic online memes this year.

Anik-anik

It’s pretty ironic that we spent this year debating what constitutes “anik-anik” when it literally means “anu-ano.”

“Anik-anik” has always been a colloquial term (“anek-anek” being its earlier version), but it gained popularity initially among artists who draw on a distinctly Filipino kind of maximalism in their work. They are often inspired by local ephemera and take pride in collecting tiny knickknacks that usually get thrown away but hold sentimental value to them. 

Other earlier microtrends like Sonny Angels and friendship bracelets helped propel “anik-anik,” but it wasn’t until the Labubu craze that it completed its ascent into the mainstream. 

It’s hard to explain the exact mass appeal of Labubu dolls. Perhaps it started with BLACKPINK’s Lisa sporting a Labubu plushie as a bag charm, then Filipino celebrities like Marian Rivera and Ruffa Gutierrez also jumped on the trend. In November, Pop Mart, the toymaker behind Labubu and other collectibles, opened a pop-up store in Manila.

While there’s nothing wrong with collecting Labubu, many users pointed out that it’s not exactly “anik-anik”—that the term should encompass meaningful trinkets collected over time, not toys bought en masse. “(You) can spend thousands of money for (your) trinkets but it’s not the anik-anik that genuinely expresses creativity,” posted one X user.

'Very demure, very mindful'

“You see how I do my make-up for work?” asks content creator Jools Lebron. “Very demure, very mindful.”

Thus began the phrase that would take over our social media feeds and personal vocabularies for weeks.

Lebron was offering advice about looking presentable in the workplace. “The way I came to the interview is the way I go to the job,” she says. It would soon evolve to have a life of its own: The original video got almost 55 million views, with the sound used in over 100,000 TikTok videos. This doesn’t include variations made by other creators and Lebron herself—she also coined “demuretsey,” a portmanteau of “demure” and “cutesy.”

Because it emerged alongside other trends like “trad wives,” it can be easy to dismiss “very demure, very mindful” as just another way of policing women’s behavior. But the creator herself explained that it is ​​"obviously a joke." For instance, Lebron also used the phrase to “come out of (her) weekend depression in a demure manner,” giving herself grace for taking a break while still maintaining a sense of accountability. 

'Eyyy'

When life gets tough, there’s only one thing left to do: Eyyy ka muna, eyyy.

The girls of BINI have sparked trends all year, but BINI member Sheena Catacutan’s habit of saying “Eyyy” with its corresponding hand gesture has spread like wildfire. 

It started with Sheena’s verse in the girl group’s hit song Salamin, Salamin, where she sings, “Ayokong maniwala,” and asks fans to fill in the backing vocals for, “Ayokong maniwala, eyyy.” She has since played around with this part of the performance and habitually used “eyyy” in online posts and live shows.

This grew into “Eyyy ka muna” during a meet and greet, when an emotional fan told Sheena, “Gagraduate na ‘ko ng college, naiiyak ako.” In response, the BINI member said, “Naiiyak ka? Eyyy ka muna, eyyy!” 

Sheena has been known for her comedic timing and funny one-liners, so fans shared the video and quickly adopted her response. It became a way to comfort oneself during moments of upset. “‘Ready ka na ba pumasok (ulit)?’ Eyyy ka muna eyyy,” posted one X user.

The BINI member has since explained the encounter, recalling the emotional fan at the meet and greet. “Ayoko na umiiyak ‘yung mga tao, so sabi ko, ‘Eyyy ka muna, eyyy.’”

Instagram/Messenger Notes

If we can’t “eyy” our way out of our problems anymore, maybe we should just accept it and say, “It is what is it.”

In 2023, Meta rolled out Notes for Messenger and Instagram, where users can share short text updates that will disappear after 24 hours. Filipinos used the feature this year to put their own spin on famous inspiring quotes. “Keep up the good work” became “Give up the good work,” and “Do your best and God will do the rest” turned to “Do your best and God will make you rest.” 

Filipinos getting English phrases “wrong” has been a recurring theme in our comedy for decades, and this new iteration reveals something particularly enlightening about our culture. While motivational quotes are well and good, humor will always be our preferred method of coping. As another Notes meme goes, "Let the pain you endured this year teach you how to Dougie."

'Maybe This Time' dance

In 2014, Sarah Geronimo recorded a cover of Michael Martin Murphey’s Maybe This Time for her film of the same name with Coco Martin. Ten years later, the song would reenter the charts.

This is thanks to one Ralp Xyrel, who first did the snappy, slightly angry dance to the song’s emotional bridge. The original TikTok video has reached almost 70 million views.

The mismatched choreography, sold by the OA delivery and the dancer’s completely straight face, made the dance an instant replicable hit. Celebrities like Nianna Gurrero, Ranz Kyle, Carlos Yulo, and Chloe San Jose posted their own covers. Sarah Geronimo even did the dance herself during her Tuna Festival performance in General Santos in September.

Asoka makeup challenge

The “Asoka” challenge that blew up last May took makeup transformations to a whole new level. Inspired by the 2001 Hindi movie of the same name, makeup artist Sita Suwarnadwipa used San Sanana, a prominent song featured in the film, to showcase an Indian bridal makeup look. 

Creators from Southeast Asia and beyond soon joined in, flaunting bold makeup, intricate gold jewelry, and elegant bridal wear. Andrea Brillantes, Zeinab Harake, and Donnalyn Bartolome are among the Filipino celebrities who donned the Indian bridal look. Ivana Alawi localized the challenge and wore a Filipiniana, switching the music to Angeline Quinto’s Piliin Mo ang Pilipinas. Marian Rivera took it further and transformed into her iconic role Marimar.

Vice Ganda, meanwhile, took the trend as a chance to amplify a patriotic message. Also using Piliin Mo ang Pilipinas, the comedian’s video begins as the usual Asoka challenge before it thrusts the now made-up Vice into a congested EDSA, the controversial resort in Bohol’s Chocolate Hills, and even the West Philippine Sea. The video ends with Vice Ganda waving the Philippine flag. “Kahit mahirap kang ipaglaban, pipiliin pa rin kita, Pilipinas,” the caption reads.

'Suspect, suspect'

Imagine this: You’re a suspect on the run from a cop, and they’re trying to alert their fellow officers of your description—except the cop knows you too well, including quirks you may not know about yourself.

That’s the gist of the "running suspect" trend, where couples and friends take turns running from the camera while the other pretends to be the cop delivering savage digs. It might begin with physical descriptions, similar to how real cops do it with fleeing subjects: “Suspect has hair styled like a 14-year-old boy,” says one viral video with almost 3 million likes.

This eventually evolved to include roasts beyond appearance, from dating history to embarrassing habits. “Suspect, nagchachat lang sa GC ‘pag ‘di sila okay ng siyota niya,” says another video with over 800,000 likes. Another goes, “Suspect, alam na nag-cheat, nag-stay pa rin (kasi) mahal daw niya.” The running “suspect” often gets caught off-guard by the remarks, halting their run to burst into laughter.

Budots

Sherwin Tuna, most known as DJ Love, is standing by a jeepney. At the back of his neon green shirt are the words, “And if I die, play Budots at my funeral.”

The shoot by photographer Khristiandt captures the state of Budots now: an undeniable part of Filipino identity pioneered by its creator, Davao native DJ Love. 

Before it was an Indigenous EDM subgenre, Budots was a distinctive, low-squat dance often performed with international music. DJ Love, then an internet cafe manager, created his own tracks to complement the dance.

Budots has been gradually spreading nationwide since its invention in 2009. It wasn’t until the virality of the track Emergency Budots by DJ Johnrey Masbate that the subgenre gained global recognition. DJ Johnrey's remix of Miami Sound Machine’s Dr. Beat has been used in over half a million videos on TikTok alone. Author and content creator Hank Green even attempted to join the trend, saying in a video, “It looks so easy, (but) it’s really hard… I’m too old.”

Moo Deng

2024’s coolest It Girl? A baby pygmy hippo from Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo. Moo Deng, with her pink cheeks and cute, potato-like build, enamored fans around the world, causing lines to build up at her home zoo before it even opens. With a name that literally means “bouncy pork,” who could resist?

Aside from her adorable appearance, fans love seeing her playfully navigate the world as a newborn: sleeping, screaming, bouncing around, and even biting her caretakers. She has since starred in memes, shirts, pillows, among many other things. A little animated hippo even appears when you search “Moo Deng” on Google.

Her worldwide popularity must come as a relief to the Khao Kheow Open Zoo, which was reportedly struggling after the pandemic. Moo Deng’s species is also endangered, with only 2,000-3,000 left in the wild. The influx of visitors, along with merchandise sales bearing the hippo’s likeness, helps the zoo implement its breeder programs to help save these endangered species. Cute and helpful? Moo Deng really is the people’s princess.

'Shiminet'

In August, Vice President Sara Duterte attended the congressional hearing on the proposed 2025 budget for her office. “Shiminet” directly answered any questions, but she did give rise to a new meme.

During the hearing, House Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas of Gabriela asked for the timelines of the Office of the Vice President (OVP)’s use of confidential funds. “These are public funds,” began Brosas. “Everyone has the right to know about these. It’s a matter of public interest. We are asking for transparency and accountability.”

In response, Duterte said, “She may not like my answer. She may not like how I answer. She may not like the content of my answer, but I am answering.” Online, users pointed out that she pronounced “she may not” as “shiminet.”

The word came to symbolize the OVP’s alleged misuse of public funds. “Shiminet like my answer because ‘shinimot’ ko ang pera ng bayan,” reads one Facebook post by Hera Mandigma. On X, Jumel Bornilla gave the word a dictionary definition: “Not answering questions properly, and then getting upset because your answer wasn't well-received, especially since you didn't really answer the question.”

However, other users also discouraged the use of the word as it can appear to mock Duterte’s accent, and thus may be discriminatory to Filipinos who speak different languages.

'Hindi ko na po maalala, Your Honor'

This time last year, the rest of the Philippines didn’t know or care much about who the mayor of Bamban, Tarlac was. Now, we know her entire life story—or at least the story she claims to have.

In April, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) looked into then-Mayor Alice Guo over her possible links to a recently raided POGO hub in Tarlac. Senate hearings led by Senator Risa Hontiveros revealed that Guo’s birth certificate was only registered when she was already 17 years old. The senator questioned Guo’s Filipino citizenship and probed her on her supposed childhood in the Philippines. 

It is in these hearings, during questions about her early life, that Guo repeatedly answered, “Hindi ko na po maalala, Your Honor,” conveniently forgetting vital details that could explain anomalies in her story.

Filipinos created memes and skits poking fun at Guo’s last-ditch attempts to evade further investigation, using her now-infamous line to answer similarly difficult questions. “Saan ba napunta sweldo mo?” asks one Facebook post. Let our response be: “Hindi ko na po maalala, Your Honor.”