The global pandemic has changed many things for us. Life as we knew it was not the same anymore. From the way we breathe to the videos we watch, the world felt like a new place. Suddenly, everything we once knew became redundant. And amidst the chaos, social media usage shot up.

During the initial months, when life was starting to feel like a colossal challenge in itself, people turned to ‘social media challenges’ as a source of distraction from all the bad news going around.

Since social distancing became a norm, we’re not surprised that internet usage in India had spiked by 50 times in March as revealed in a study by research firm Nielsen. 

There were more significant problems, though. From front-line workers risking their lives to the socio-economic troubles, there seemed no end. And probably, people’s coping mechanisms kicked in.

We tried everything, from baking banana bread till there were no baking supplies left, to drawing a pumpkin on Instagram to share with friends, it was a weird time. 

We don’t know if this tangibly helped us, but it sure announced the desperate need for people to stay connected. So today, we’re looking back at all viral and ridiculous (or not) ‘challenges’ that got us through a time to remember, for better or for worse. 

From fitness tasks to a cooking frenzy, it was all fair game. WHO launched #safehands challenge to promote hand-hygiene. They filled a void of unproductivity created during that seemingly endless period. 

The See 10 Do 10 Challange

“See 10 Do 10” challenge involved sharing a video of yourself doing 10 pushups and tagging friends to carry forward the exercise.

The fitness ante was upped with the “handstand t-shirt challenge” that required doing a handstand against the wall while wearing a teeshirt– seems somewhat ridiculous but that’s the point, I guess. 

This helped people be active or, at the very least, make them feel like part of something. Celebrities like Justin Bieber and actor Tom Holland were game. Taking care of boredom and calories at one go — rather smart, we’d say. 

The Makeup Brush Challange

For those who craved creativity during quarantine, the “Makeup Brush Challenge” satisfied their urge. It involved creating a compilation of people doing makeup looks with their friends, edited in a manner that led the same makeup brush to pass from one frame to another. The idea behind most of these challenges inspired productivity. 

The Who’s More Likely To Challange 

These activities encouraged bonding by creating interactive sessions, like “who’s more likely to” where siblings or parents often came together to answer a bunch of questions about each other.

Controversial subjects like “who’s your favourite child” probably sparked tensions, in case there weren’t enough feuds happening while spending family-time.

Pets were given a special place amidst all this with challenges meant for them – pet owners were seen boogying with their furry companions. They shared cute dance videos throughout the lockdown.

Guess the Gibberish

Tik Tok and Instagram can widely be credited for coming up with new templates almost daily. Filters like “Guess the Gibberish” took Instagram by storm, which, when activated, would display a random string of words on the screen that, when said out loud, actually sounded like a proper phrase or a name. For example, “mere ores elf free” is just the gibberish-y way of spelling “mirror selfie.” (Say it out loud, you’ll know.) 

Ah, the Food Stuff

Stay at home trends didn’t spare food & beverage either. With everyone eager to try their hand at making the “dalgona coffee,” some indulged in baking cakes. (All hail Hype Culture!)

It was hard to scroll past our feeds during the initial days without getting tempted to try our hand at cooking.

Countless other tasks, activities, and contests took place on social media during the lockdown, and they were an exciting reflection of the connection people craved.

Most continue to pick up new skills even today, thanks to the prolonged WFH. Old friends are actively reaching out to each other, and our feeds during the time were lit up with smiles as opposed to mere Doomscrolling. It was hard to stay motivated and find positivity. Still, in their own way, these social media challenges definitely helped us all.

Though all that was happening around us was unprecedented, the peculiar virtual world got everyone to come to terms with the new normal.