While technically released in 2018, Among Us became the definitive college game of Fall 2020. It was cheap, ran on a laptop, and required social deduction. Friends would hop on a Zoom call, screen share, and scream "Red is sus!" for hours. It simulated the paranoia and betrayal of real-life social drama.
Looking back, what was ? It was a masterclass in adaptation. It was WAP played through a tinny laptop speaker during a study break. It was falling in love with a person you only saw through a 720p webcam. It was the shared terror of an un-muted mic and the shared joy of a perfectly timed reaction GIF.
Gaming became the primary way to stay social while distanced.
While TikTok had been growing, it exploded in popularity among college students during the pandemic. TikTok captured the attention of Gen Z with 2.3 billion downloads by mid-2021. college gangbang 7 20 21 lolly cumshotp1909 min top
To understand is to understand a sociological pressure valve. Deprived of in-person connection, Gen Z students turned to niche apps, hyper-specific memes, and communal streaming rituals to survive. This was the year of the "nobody:" speak, the year of the milk crate challenge, and the year that a 17th-century sea shanty became a Billboard hit.
Self-deprecating humor about the state of the world, online learning, and future uncertainty became a common coping mechanism. 6. The Return of In-Person Activity (Late 2021)
Many students retreated to "comfort watches," leading to massive spikes in viewership for older sitcoms like The Office , New Girl , and Grey’s Anatomy . While technically released in 2018, Among Us became
Students shared their realities of online classes, dorm room organization, and the academic struggle, creating a niche of relatable content.
Several major releases dominated student discourse and social media feeds:
TikTok’s algorithm fueled massive music trends. Standardized dance challenges to tracks like Megan Thee Stallion’s "Savage" and Doja Cat’s "Say So" provided a creative outlet for students trapped in small dorms or childhood bedrooms. The era also saw the rise of collaborative content creation, where users utilized the "Duet" and "Stitch" features to build global, crowdsourced jokes and musical harmonies, such as the viral Sea Shanty craze. 2. Streaming Wars and Shared Cultural Moments It simulated the paranoia and betrayal of real-life
: Many students emerged as college influencers , with brands like Victoria's Secret PINK and Princess Polly using student brand ambassadors to generate consumer-focused content. 2. Gaming as the New Social Hub
While already growing, exploded in popularity during the 2020–2021 pandemic, with downloads reaching approximately 2.3 billion globally. For college students, it became a central hub for documenting daily life, learning, and managing stress.
: This multiplayer deduction game became an absolute juggernaut in Fall 2020. Its simple mechanics and heavy reliance on communication made it the perfect game for college friend groups, clubs, and even professors looking to bond with students.