Hashtags felt dated and cringeworthy – so why are influencers still using them?

TikTok’s algorithm treats hashtags as an important signal in determining what shows up in its main feed. For anyone hoping to get rich off viral videos, then, the incentive to append hashtags, corny or not, is strong. — Dreamstime/TNS

Internet fads tend to have a distinct life cycle. First, the embrace by early adopters and tastemakers, particularly the young. Next, an explosion of popularity leading to inescapable ubiquity. Finally, death by overexposure and a wretched zombie afterlife of continued usage by parents and the terminally uncool.

Not long ago, hashtags were firmly on that trajectory. Born as a way to make social media content searchable and then recruited as a cheeky form of commentary, they quickly became a signifier of trying too hard. Wrapping up that status update with a paragraph-long wall of #blesseds and #forthewins? You might as well hoist a skateboard and ask, “How do you do, fellow kids?”