Whimsical. Around a year ago, this word (and all its variations) sprouted roots on the internet. It somehow blossomed amidst the backdrop of heightened global seriousness, with people using it to share creative projects and spontaneous endeavours. It was not long before brands latched on, and the word started popping up in adverts, in TikTok influencers’ videos, and other promotional content. ‘Whimsical’ became just another marketing instrument, encouraging consumers to be ‘spontaneous,’ and it did end up pushing them to buy unneeded clutter.
A year on, it seems that the internet still can’t leave this word behind. A similar phenomenon occurred in 2024, when suddenly everything was ‘demure.’ The origin of this particular word trend was a little easier to pinpoint. TikTok creator Jules Lebron posted a video saying “You see how I do my makeup for work? Very mindful, very demure.” People enjoyed the playful tone, and the audio went viral overnight. Before long, everyone (online and in person) was describing each other’s style, attitude and appearance as ‘demure.’ But then, once again, the phrase began to trickle into the marketing offices of major brands. Duolingo, for instance, capitalised on the video by posting a video on Tiktok of their mascot doing things in a demure way.
It’s easy to understand, therefore, why people begin to develop a loathing for these kinds of Internet words. It’s like being a child and speaking a secret language with your friend, and then suddenly having a parent figure it out. Once it’s everywhere, it’s just not cool anymore.
And all this isn’t to say that there is anything objectively wrong with describing something as ‘whimsical.’ Sometimes, it is the perfect word to suggest spontaneity and light-heartedness. Particularly amongst a younger generation, with a precarious economy and difficult job market, people are more open to making drastic life decisions ‘on a whim.’ Such as moving to Thailand, or even moving back home, or quitting their office jobs to backpack around Europe. Whimsicality encompasses both that idea of feigned light-heartedness as well as impulsivity – which is perhaps why it remains so popular online.
And really, is there anything wrong with these ‘word trends?’ Or to put it in Internet talk, ‘is it really that deep?’ It depends, of course, on the word. There is the risk, when such words take off, that people begin to use them without full awareness of their meaning and origin. Of course, whimsy doesn’t have a particularly troublesome origin. However, many people who casually use the Internet slang terms ‘mogging,’ ‘looksmaxxing’ and ‘aura’ may be surprised to discover that they actually all sprout from manosphere culture. Though their current use remains mostly harmless, it is always important to understand the weight any word could carry or has previously carried. It will be interesting to see which of these words we carry into 2027.
What’s more, repetitive use of similar words risks removing originality from our writing. We are already battling the repetitive prose of AI generated sentences, which favour certain words. Many LLMs (Large Language Models) favour specific phrasing, and it doesn’t take long for their overuse to infiltrate into human writing. This is where the danger lies. If we cannot even find the time to independently search for the correct word, we collectively end up adopting generic meaningless expressions, with all of our writing starting to crumble into the same sloppy prose. The last thing we need is the human race losing originality by all favouring the use of the same popular online words in our vernacular, rather than profiting off the vast and fruitful diversity of language beyond our screens.
Poets, writers and academics of the 21st century are facing issues that seem entirely unique. They must avoid excessive use of internet phrases, and they must also ensure that their writing is nuanced enough to not read like a machine. Perhaps, more authors will begin to write in abstract ways, to further distance their work from sounding like it was written by AI. No machine, for instance, would be capable of copying the genius or absurdity of one of Borges’ or Italo Calvino’s short stories. They are human to their core.
And what will this mean for teenagers in the UK, now that Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced a social media ban? Perhaps we will see less of these internet words both online and in real-world dialogue. This said, it is worth noting that slang has of course been around for decades, long before social media took over most of our daily lives. It is an important part of any language. But the recent crossover between repetitive machine dialogue and unvaried online human dialogue is unprecedented, and questions remain as to what it will mean for writing, speech and journalism going forward. And if 2026 finally sees the back end of ‘whimsical,’ surely a new word will soon spring forward, repeating the process.