What is the viral ‘I met my younger self for a coffee’ TikTok trend – and who is doing it?
It feels like there’s a new TikTok trend every five minutes, and ‘I met my younger self for a coffee’ is the latest.
Over the last few days, there’s been a seemingly never-ending supply of people taking part in the trend and looking back at how far they’ve come over the years. The most popular videos in the trend have amassed huge numbers of views and likes, with one from TikTok user @earthtoapryl getting over two million views in the space of four days.
It’s one of the more wholesome trends to come out of the video-sharing platform, complete with audio from the track ‘Sweet Heat Lightning’ by folk singer-songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov, but a lot of people are wondering what it all means.
What is the viral ‘I met my younger self for a coffee’ TikTok trend?
To take part in the trend, TikTokers share an up-to-date photo or video of themselves with text overlaid. The text captures a conversation they imagine they’d have if they met up for a coffee date with a younger version of themselves.
@earthtoapryl this trend has me wrecked. growing up is such a funny, beautiful thing! @Jennae Cecelia Poetry
#coffee #growingup #poem #poetrytok
The text usually begins with them both arriving, with something like, “We both arrived 15 minutes early” or “I was on time, she was half an hour late.”
It then goes on to the food and drink order, before a deeper chat begins. The older version offers wisdom, guidance and reassurance to the younger version – if the latter says they’re dealing with a breakup, for example, the former might say they’re happily living with their partner. If the latter is struggling with school or university stress, the former might discuss their career progression.
Check out some more videos here:
@mahammalek brb crying
@kay_caputo It’s a long read, but it’s so important to me to remember how far I’ve come. This trend brings me to tears every time
#oldme #newme #metforcoffee #oldself #oldselfvsnewself
@nicolsecretaccount Maddy knew who she was from a young age.
@zoethefreerangehuman i love this trend sry i had to get a little emo
#myyoungerself @Jennae Cecelia Poetry
Who’s taking part?
The trend seems to be most popular among people in their 20s and 30s, looking back at their time as a teenager or young adult. For some, it seems to be a chance to reflect after a major life event like becoming a parent or getting engaged or married, while for others it’s a way to look back after going through mental or physical health worries.
The videos are getting a lot of love on TikTok, too, with the comments full of people sending encouragement and well-wishes and even saying they’d been brought to tears by some of the coffee date conversations.
To make an ‘I met my younger self for a coffee’ TikTok yourself, simply get a recent photo or video of yourself and set it to ‘Sweet Heat Lightning’. Then, consider who you are now and how you compare to previous versions of yourself, and get writing.
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Adam England
NME
