TikTok Users Are Flexing Their Glow-ups by Showing How Well They've Aged
Published Dec. 3 2020, 2:24 p.m. ET
Getting involved in a TikTok trend is *the* thing to do these days if you want to go viral. Or, at the very least, get a little attention and traction among the millions of users on the platform. So when users started Benjamin Buttoning on TikTok, it became a whole thing that plenty of others jumped on the chance to do themselves.
But for the uninformed, or those who just can't keep up with the newest trends that pop up from day to day, they might be wondering exactly what Benjamin Buttoning is. The name stems from the 2008 Brad Pitt movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, in which he plays a character who ages backward. So when he’s younger, he looks like an old man and as he ages, his outward appearance is that of an increasingly younger man.
Benjamin Buttoning on TikTok is a subtle way to show how well users have aged.
It’s an easy enough trend to do if you have some old photos of yourself looking a little worse for wear back in the day. Of course, you have to have had some kind of glow up for it to work, and some of the results from users are striking. Users have been finding old photos of themselves where they’re younger in years but somehow look older than they are now.
Whether it’s because some of the 80s and 90s fashion and hair trends didn't do us all many favors or the users' choices weren't great, some of the results are uncanny. There’s even a TikTok user who somehow looked older when she was 30 than she does in her late 40s. Again, hair, makeup, and fashion choices make a world of difference. But it’s still a well-deserved trend.
Here's how to do the Benjamin Button trend on TikTok.
All you have to do is find an old photo of yourself and use the ‘green screen’ filter on TikTok to add the photo and show the difference in your appearance from your younger years to how you look in the video today. The results work best if you had a significant glow up and, as a result, look younger now than you did at, say, 13 or 14 years old.
Who are the top TikTok creators?
TikTok trends have less to do with who created them originally and more to do with the traction they gain as they get more and more popular. Eventually, TikTok celebrities jump on the bandwagon of these individual trends and help catapult them even further and, because of trends, followers, and likes, there are tons of internet celebrities who are famous because of this app.
Some of the top TikTok creators of 2020 are Noah Beck, a member of the Sway House, and Addison Rae, who branched off TikTok to do other projects, but has remained one of the biggest influencers on TikTok. But to be fair, the TikTok content creator houses are one of the other ways TikTok stars are born. And Bella Poarch, who has more than 40 million followers on TikTok alone, is another huge star in 2020.
Charli D'Amelio, however, remains TikTok’s biggest star, with more than 100 million followers and fame that stretches across multiple social media platforms. Thanks to these creators and trends like something as seemingly random as Benjamin Buttoning, TikTok is constantly churning out new content to keep up with.
