A trend making rounds online has TikTok viewers wondering if the moment they’re experiencing is actually happening or if it’s just a glitch in the matrix.
The latest viral trend—which stems from an old Reddit post shared online over 10 years ago—challenges viewers’ perception of reality and time. Users describe specific memories or moments, ending the description with “the lamp looks weird,” suggesting that the moment is actually not happening at all.
While the Reddit story itself has been on the internet for years, the trend has sparked new iterations of the concept on TikTok, with some of the videos earning millions of views online.
Here’s everything to know about the surreal trend that’s taken over TikTok.
Where did the ‘Lamp Looks Weird’ TikTok trend originate?
A stock image of a boy staring at curtains.
Universal Education/Universal Images Group via Getty
The “lamp looks weird” trend originated from an old Reddit post by an anonymous user who experienced a lifetime of memories in a span of a few moments after sustaining a head injury.
In the story, the user shared that he “lived a different life” while he was lying unconscious on the ground after his injury. He detailed vivid memories of meeting and dating a woman for two years before getting married, and they had a son and daughter together.
He then recalled sitting on the couch when he “noticed that the perspective of the lamp was odd” and ended up staring at it for three days straight before he realized “the last 10 years of my life are not real.”
After the realization, the user described waking up in pain from the injury before he was taken to the hospital. He then shared that he grieved “the loss of my wife and children and dealing with the knowledge that they never existed” and ended up never seeing them in his dreams after that.
The original post was reshared on Reddit over 10 years ago, three years after the original comment was made.
What is the meaning of the ‘Lamp Looks Weird’ trend on TikTok?
The Reddit story gained traction online when it was initially posted a decade ago, but it’s found a new life on TikTok.
One user posted a video of her boyfriend playing with her “daughter” and referenced the Reddit user’s story in the overlay text that read, “when my boyfriend is still playing with our daughter every night but then the lamp starts to look weird.”
Another user opened up about “finally not feeling so anxious” and “actually (having) the motivation to hang out with the people I love” before she spots the odd-looking lamp in the corner of the room, suggesting her perception of that moment is not reality.
Some other users have used the trend to immerse themselves in nostalgic memories of their past or describe their grief. For example, one TikTok user described waking up on Christmas morning with her parents and siblings “waiting to open presents” while “wearing matching pj’s” before realizing the moment isn’t actually happening.
One other TikTok user — whose video earned over one million views online — used the trend to commemorate her late best friend and included snippets of her from a previous birthday party. The user wrote, “I’m at one of my best friends birthday dinner. Towards the end, she tells me that she was worried about her upcoming doctor appointment.”
“She went to her doctor’s appointment and everything was great,” she continued. “But the lamp starts to look weird.”
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