TikTok trends have worked their way out of digital spaces and now take up space in offline worlds.

From the ‘tomato girl’ trend to ‘vanilla girl’ and ‘girl dinner’, social media's role in influencing everything from fashion and beauty to lifestyle and food choices has never been clearer.

A consequence of shortening trend cycles makes it hard to keep up with what is going on deep in the trenches of TikTok hashtags and For You pages, but many young people who peruse digital environments are starting to think about the trends they engage with a little differently.

The #MeCore trend has emerged as a powerful catalyst in elevating Gen Z self-expression, epitomizing a cultural shift that celebrates individuality, authenticity and genuine connection over superficial ideals.

Videos relating to the #MeCore hashtag on TikTok have over 640 million views for good reason.

#MeCore acts as a remedy to the tyranny of aspirational content often found online – appealing to the extremely online Gen Zers who spend four or more hours on social media every single day.

By featuring snippets of pop-culture misbehaviour, out-of-context freakouts, or private moments of weakness caught on camera to the soundtracks of Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen and other pop hits from the noughties, #MeCore helps to encourage expression in a way that feels natural for Gen Z.

While #MeCore is largely girl-coded, a male equivalent may be the Sigma Grindset memes that put words into Patrick Bateman’s mouth or the musclebound hunks that demonstrate a false pride around awkward behaviour.

With men also reshaping their online self-expression and challenging societal expectations of how they're expected to behave in digital environments, this is fostering a culture that blends humour and critical commentary.

So, as main character energy levels up, and trends get weirder, nicher and a bit more personal, what does this mean for how people creatively express themselves?

We know users are turning to platforms like TikTok for creative self-expression – with 62% of TikTok's European users creating something inspired by what they saw on the platform – so it makes sense that this is where younger cohorts are going to converse, connect and self-express.

And with Gen Zers harnessing trends like #MeCore and main character energy to tell others what they think and how they feel, crafting online personas that prioritize individuality and a sense of protagonism takes centre stage in digital culture's evolving landscape.