Throwback Thursday (TBT) Explained

With the rise of social media, we are now seeing more trends than ever before. One of the most popular in recent times has been ‘Throwback Thursday’ but what is it and why has it become so popular on a number of different platforms?

What is TBT / Throwback Thursday?

Throwback Thursday

Each and every Thursday, social media users post a certain memory that they want to look back on and they want their friends and followers to see. Whether it looks back at a certain picture, video, or even post/status, users choose something that they want to remember and share with everyone. Often, the hashtag TBT (Throwback Thursday) is used as it helps the pictures gain a little more exposure. Also, it helps users to find all TBT related tweets and posts in one place.

On the whole, people choose to post a whole manner of things including photos from their childhood, an old song that takes them back and will give their friends some memories, screenshots of old posts/tweets, or absolutely anything that represents a certain ‘throwback’.

How Did TBT Start?

Although this term seems fairly new, ‘Throwback Thursday’ is actually over 13 years old and first entered the Urban Dictionary way back in 2003. At the time, it wasn’t being used as widely as today but it still existed. In 2011, the launch of Instagram saw the term become a trend and people have been using it ever since.

Why Is Throwback Thursday So Popular?

With all this in mind, it begs the question – why did it take off and why do millions of people use the hashtag each and every week? In truth, there is no complete answer other than because we like to look back on old memories. Nostalgia plays a huge role here because we love to look back at our childhood, the friends we still have after many years, and the songs, movies, and TV programmes we no longer watch but provide us with memories.

As a whole, social media is all about sharing your life with other people and Throwback Thursday captures this perfectly and it gives everyone an opportunity to learn something new about you and those around you. Although we feign embarrassment when someone posts a childhood picture of us, we secretly love it because it gives everyone a chance to reminisce. The funny thing with Throwback Thursday is that even if no-one ever liked or enjoyed the updates, we would still go ahead and do them every week because they are a personal post. With most other posts, we have other people in mind but Throwback Thursday is a chance to reflect for ourselves.

So there we have it, you know now what Throwback Thursday is, examples of what you can post, how it began and why it has become so popular. Whilst many trends come and go on social media, it looks as though this one is here to stay and why not? Everyone loves it and it gives people a chance to bond and rekindle friendships!