I joined Tumblr when I was 12 years old. Yes, that’s a very young age to be on that site, and yes, I did develop a very wicked sense of humour because of it. With the early 2000s and 2010s making a comeback in 2020, I thought it would be a fun study break to take a stroll through the weirder moments of the Myspace of our generation.
First off, Alex from Target was absolutely everywhere for a week before disappearing. What happened to him? While he was active on various platforms for a few years after the sudden fame, I couldn’t find anything since 2017 when I looked. It seems that he has left the spotlight. I don’t blame him; some random person took a photo of a 16-year-old bagging groceries, which is definitely creepy.
Next up: who wouldn’t want an extra hour in the ball pit? Dashcon was an iconic fan-organized convention for Tumblr users. With cancelled panels and funding falling through, participants were given an extra hour in the ball pit as a reimbursement. However, the organizers didn’t acknowledge that the ball pit was the size of a grocery store kiddie pool. While there is way too much to discuss here, I highly recommend watching Sarah Z’s YouTube video on the subject. While it is 50 minutes long (perfect for procrastination!), it describes every detail and provides enough entertainment to get your mind off your work.
Of course, we can’t have a Tumblr article without discussing the fandoms of the early 2010s. Superwholock was arguably the most popular (and weirdly powerful) on the platform combining the television shows Supernatural, Doctor Who and Sherlock. While I wasn’t personally a part of this mega-fandom, a post or two always inevitably showed up on my dash. Other popular fandoms that would frequently show up on my dash included Adventure Time, Magcon, Harry Potter, and Dan and Phil. Nearly all fandoms had one thing in common: ships. Fans wanted their idols to be in relationships. Shipping was fine for characters, if sometimes a little intense; however, the ethics blurred once it involved real people. All in all, fandoms were mostly healthy communication over a shared passion, with the occasional user stirring up drama within the group.
It’s nice to enjoy a blast from the past. However, there were some bad, ugly and downright dangerous trends that we cannot forget. Let’s be glad that the cinnamon challenge, Kylie Jenner lip challenge, and the salt and ice challenge are all behind us. As for the upcoming generation, I can promise that you will cringe at your TikToks just as much as we cringe at our old Tumblr posts… and yes, I know I sound super old for saying that!