Emma Aviv '24
Copy Editor
We live in a society full of instant gratification and short attention spans. It seems way too easy to scroll on social media and watch three hours worth of funny 15 second clips, yet sometimes it’s too hard to sit down and watch a 20 minute YouTube video.
There is a trend sweeping over TikTok of mobile game playthroughs and movie/TV clips. However, this trend is not new. We saw something very similar last year with the “Subway Surfers”/Reddit story trend. But this particular craze offers a different kind of captivation.
Many shows are often associated with this trend: “South Park,” “Family Guy,” “Young Sheldon,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Dance Moms” and many more. Those who love this trend sometimes restrict these shows to simply their “For You” pages, while others make time to start watching the show on their own. The two most notable being “Family Guy” and “South Park.”
These shows are rivaling adult comedies which have been around since the late 90s. They are known for having controversial jokes and satirizing current events. But is it worth opening on Hulu or HBO Max? Why not keep it to the little clips above a slime ASMR video?
These videos can be extremely entertaining, however they also come with a catch: the more you are exposed to them the harder it gets to watch episodes at full length (especially without some other entertainment like a mobile game).
Cynea Casidsid ’23 even said, “I don’t know if I could watch ‘Family Guy’ without a slime video anymore.”
I definitely fell victim to watching “South Park” in my free time, but I have to do it while playing a game, like “Subway Surfers”, or else I will not be able to focus on the actual show.
This could be considered unhealthy, but many people find satisfaction in this sort of entertainment. At this point, many find themselves watching entire movies or episodes on TikTok, but when would they watch it otherwise? It can be incredibly relaxing to watch a short clip of a random movie or show paired with a soap-cutting video. You won’t catch me literally cutting my own soap if I watch “Family Guy”on my TV at home, but you bet I will be watching .
Veronica Leidy ’24 said, “I really like watching the ‘South Park’ clips but I especially don’t like how they always mess up the gameplay.” I can’t help but agree with that one. The quality of both videos are extremely important to the viewing experience.
Others, however, really seem to enjoy the ASMR more than the video clips. Junior Janelle Andrada said, “I love them, they are so fun. I really like the slime but I don’t care for the show as much.” But if she had to choose a favorite show from this trend it would be “Dance Moms.”
Many seem to have a love-hate relationship with this show and game mashup. Casidsid says that whenever she sees these TikToks she is “intoxicated by them.”
This trend is truly addicting and probably here to stay. It has evolved from storytelling to show-watching and slowly grows in popularity each time a new show is spotted with a mobile game playthrough. After all, I could tell you the entire plot of “Young Sheldon” and I’ve never even watched it.