The sofa of everyone's dreams, alternatives to Covid vaccines, nootropics changing routines

The Moments Matrix is a fortnightly guide to the cultural moments driving clicks and conversations across the internet. Find out what’s going viral, here to stay covering mainstream and niche topics.

Photo: The Social Intelligence Lab

Question about the monarchy Discussions and debates about whether the monarchy is still an institution that benefits the UK and whether the many ceremonies to celebrate the Queen are warranted. Data source: Twitter Source: Listen+Learn ResearchRumoured China Coup Xi Jinping is trending amid rumors that he may be under house arrest amidst a coup. Speculation swirled as mass flight cancelations occurred, and military vehicles processed through Bejing. Nothing is substantiated, and official sources claim that a coup is unlikely to have occurred. But something is going down, and people are talking... Data source: TikTok Source: ViralMomentRamping up the World Cup The World Cup is still months away, but attention is beginning to ramp up to the competition in Qatar. Articles are coming in waves at the moment, but expect to see a steady increase in the weeks to come. Data source: Media Source: NewsWhip

Inflation, inflation, inflation Coverage about inflation is actually inflationary, with a 17% increase in media interest and a 23% increase in public interest in the last three months compared to the previous three-month period. Data source: Media Source: NewsWhipRoe vs. Wade ruling Since June 24th, when the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe vs. Wade, there has been a huge wave of coverage on abortion, with more than 489k articles written and 61 million engagements to those stories. This peaked in the week after the ruling, but there are still thousands of articles and hundreds of thousands of engagements per day. Data source: Media Source: NewsWhipQuiet quitting Quiet quitting was a trend that emerged on TikTok to describe not going above and beyond at work. It began to move into mainstream reporting at the beginning of August, and has maintained a steady place in the zeitgeist since then, with more than a million engagements to the coverage. Data source: Media Source: NewsWhipSober curious #sober has 3.8B views on TikTok, and it is growing rapidly. Gen Z is teaching society to stow away the alcohol, and they are building a supportive TikTok community sharing tips and tricks for staying sober. Hundreds of functional adaptogenic drinks and tinctures are the healthy alternative to drinking, and these offer a wide variety of alternative vibes. Data source: TikTok Source: ViralMoment

If I was a... Social media users are increasingly making artful collages, and video collages let users dream and connect emotions to imagery. Users share if they were a color, a season, a holiday, and they share photo collages of the results. Data source: TikTok Source: ViralMomentCostco cloud couch The internet is going wild for the Costco Cloud Couch. The modular couch of *dreams* has been almost impossible to find, as TikTok created high demand for the OG cloud couch, as well as its dupes. The couch can be configured to make the perfect space to Netflix and whatever. Those who have it show it off, and for those who cant find it, #cloudcouchdupe has over 400M views. Data source: TikTok Source: ViralMomentIt's corn When I put butter on it, everything changed! The Corn Kid video changed our life - if you've missed it because you live under a rock, it is an interview of the most joyful kid you've ever seen, celebrating how excellent and wonderful corn can be! Everyone has taken applied the audio to their videos, showing off the things that light them up. This trend is all about joy, and celebrating the excellent things in life. Data source: TikTok Source: ViralMomentMergers and acquisitions From the Twitter sale (fail) to Activision Blizzard and Microsoft, or JetBlue and Spirit, M&A conversations are setting the internet alight - and not in a good way! Data source: Social data, Google, web traffic Source: Nichefire

At home remedies The at-home remedies to address symptoms of Covid 19 or identify alternatives to getting the vaccine. Ingredients, like vitamin C, vitamin D, Zinc, and others, trend like wildfire in certain communities. Data source: Social data, Google, web traffic Source: NichefireNootropics Nootropics are shaking up mental health in a move from focus and memory to depression and anxiety. Conversations show alternatives for anti-depressant medication (such as 5-HTP and Lion's Mane). Data source: Social data, web traffic, search Source: NichefireGreenwashing vs. ESG Over the past 3 years, interest relating to ESG topics has risen prominently - particularly relating to sustainability and climate change. As ESG continues to grow, expectations for companies to follow more sustainable practices and investments will intensify but if they're not authentic the greenwashing backlash can cause a major crisis. Data source: Social media, Google Source: Nichefire