Underwhelmed TikTok users say the 2024 solar eclipse was mid
Underwhelmed TikTok users say the 2024 solar eclipse was mid
The social media reviews are in—and they’re less than impressive.
BY Sarah Bregel
An astonishing number of Americans got to view Monday’s solar eclipse, not just because of its massive path of totality across the U.S., but because April 8, 2024, had millions of people ditching work and pulling their kids out of school to catch the rare astronomical event.
Now, the reviews are in: The eclipse was extraordinary, miraculous, and some would say life-changing. It had some people getting down on one knee to pop the question; some repenting; and others just partying in the streets. However, there’s one sector of the internet where the reviews were largely just . . . kind of meh.
That place, of course, is TikTok.
Given that the Great American Eclipse was the first of its kind to occur in the time of TikTok, it was unquestionable that users would use the platform to document the experience. And so they did—hilariously, sometimes with a hint of confusion, and sometimes with references to the Twilight book series.
In a video with nearly 50,000 likes, user Madison Humphrey shared her viewing experience, which she called “the weirdest experience ever.” Her commentary ranges from genuine perplexity (“It’s legit getting dark out!”) to fear (“No, I’m scared. Oh my gosh, it’s happening!”). In the end, she seemed let down: “Wait, is it over? That was all?”
Other videos poked fun at all the fuss being made over the event. User BryGuyFerreira shared his “eclipse day at the office” video, in which he expressed utter disinterest. “Oh there’s an eclipse? We’re not children,” he quips before concluding, calling the spectacle “anticlimactic.”
Another user, meanwhile, quipped that the eclipse was being called a once-in-a-lifetime-event . . . “but then they keep having eclipses happening,” with several in the last few years alone. “I don’t know who’s head of PR for eclipses, but they’re doing a good job,” she concludes.
Twilight jokes also had a moment. “Is that the eclipse?” one user asks before being handed a pair of glasses to put on. When he does, he sees not the moon covering the sun—but the book titled Eclipse, which is part of the Twilight series.
Other users couldn’t resist the opportunity to draw relationship comparisons. “If your man looks at the solar eclipse when he’s not supposed to, how do you expect him not to look at other girls?” one user joked.
Some users even poked fun at having subpar glasses that were clearly not ISO-certified: “But is it slushie certified?” one user asks. And some shared an important warning about not wearing glasses at all. In a painful-to-watch video, a user with bloodshot eyes said that he looked at the last solar eclipse without glasses, and ended up wearing eye patches and in some pretty serious pain.
While 2024’s total solar eclipse will largely be remembered as an incredible experience by those who got the chance to view it, it wouldn’t be a 2024 event without TikTok discourse. And while the reviews ranged from funny to worrisome, overall one thing seemed clear: TikTokkers demonstrated that while they’re definitely going to create content, they’re still a tough crowd to impress.
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