FOR a long time, the internet has been known to be a cesspool of negativity. It’s a place where many spend numerous hours of their day, and it’s no surprise that seeing such depressing content daily has a negative effect on those who consume it. 

In 2021, it was even found that almost 24 percent of teenagers that used the internet saw a negative effect tied to social media. Rates of depression in teens and young adults also started to rise given the popularity of the internet and social media.

The broadness and allowance for anonymity on the net greatly help in contributing to this depressing energy; posting negative comments online for no reason, starting arguments with people instead of holding healthy discussions, and of course, posting dark, “edgy” jokes that no one’s allowed to get mad at because hey, that’s comedy! – all of these and more have been the focal point of social media for the past few years.

So when the term “hopecore” started spreading on TikTok with over 428 million views for the hashtag, I couldn’t help but feel warmth fill my chest. When the phrase “to be loved is to be changed,” started making its rounds on Twitter, I found myself celebrating the fact that slowly, we’re starting to form a new Internet culture: one that celebrates love, optimism, and uniqueness with open arms. 

What then is this new genre of content that we should be ushering into our lives?

Defining ‘hopecore’ 

“Hopecore,” according to Team Happy Place, is a genre of content that’s known for having images and messages of positivity; often it’ll have cute animals, or people celebrating major milestones in their life. 

Hopecore content is a stark contrast to the self-deprecating memes people have grown to associate with the internet; instead of focusing on thoughts of self-loathing, hopecore focuses on a person’s right to feel good and to feel loved instead.

Jared, a highschooler who makes hopecore content on TikTok, said that he discovered the concept through the same site, and it’s characterized by nice, wholesome, uplifting photos that make people’s day better.

“Some of the slideshows have motivational quotes or pictures, and could change someone’s view on the world for the better,” he said.

There have been many variations of “hopecore” since the term first started getting popular; this slideshow of hopecore photos, for example, has managed to garner over 110, 000 likes. It includes positive memes that tell you that “you are your only limit,” and that you shouldn’t focus on things you can’t control, among other uplifting messages.

Perhaps one of the most popular hopecore videos found on TikTok is one that celebrates the victories of various people: celebrities screaming in happiness as they accept awards or win championships, with a crowd of screaming fans there to support them in their triumphs.

There’s even a Filipino-centered one on TikTok, too. This video with over 500,000 views celebrates the wins of Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, Miss Universe Catriona Gray, and many more notable Filipinos that have been able to make their country proud.

Overall, the main goal of hopecore is simple: as seen in the name, it aims to bring hope to all that it reaches. 

Be mindful of online consumption

When people mindlessly scroll through the internet for hours upon hours, it’s hard to keep track of whether the content they see makes them feel mostly good or bad. 

In an article published by writer and blogger Patrick Whatman in 2022, it was found that within the past five years, social media has only grown to become more negative. Despite this, it was also stated in the article that the usage of the words “love,” “happy,” and “good” outweighed “hate,” “sad,” and “bad.” Even here, it can be seen that there is always hope. 

Positive media psychologist Sophie H. Janicke has also discussed how the media have the potential to spread goodness on an extremely large scale. And given that media has great effects on both people’s mental and physical health, it’s easy to see that many of us should not only be happy about the return of positive media, but we should also make a habit of going out of our way to consume it.

At the end of the day, what we look at on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or other social media platforms is our decision. But given the amount of time that we spend on the internet, these things are bound to become a part of us in one way or another.

Why not choose hope?

Jared prefers to create and consume uplifting content because of the positive effect it has. 

He is a fan of it because it’s a “very different type of trend we see on social media,” he said.

“[It’s] a trend that can change people’s lives for the better, and make people realize how good life truly is, and [that] they shouldn’t listen to negativity. Hopecore can make people truly happy. [It’s] a safe place for most people on the Internet, more so on TikTok,” he said. 

He noted that when he started posting hopecore content on TikTok, he also started receiving thousands of comments telling him that his content helped to change people’s lives for the better, bringing a ray of sunshine to those going through tough times.

It also helped to change other people’s outlook of others on life, which he found to be extremely important given that a large portion of his audience consisted of teens and young adults. 

Whether you choose to look at hateful content online, or whether you would prefer to see positive, uplifting posts of Ke Huy Quan winning an Oscar, or tweets that celebrate the beauty of the world, is something that’s entirely up to you. 

But in my view, I don’t think this choice will be a hard one to make.