Called ‘The Shoe Theory’ on Tiktok, Gen-Z thinks this new ‘curse’ could mean your relationship is headed for the end.
While some of us may be struggling to keep up with the advent of new trends on Tiktok on the daily, let’s not forget that it’s a vibrant, thriving community of its own – one which is currently being plagued by a ‘curse’ that could very well mean your relationship is headed for doom.
Folks, we give you: the ‘Shoe Theory’. With over six billion views on Tiktok, the theory takes from the old belief that gifting your loved ones shoes is bad luck. According to accounts from a lot of people, Gen-Z believes it’s true – and no shoe or variant thereof will make you escape the curse.
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One Tiktok user claimed she believed the curse because she brought her partner Lightning McQueen crocs as a gift. “I bought my [boyfriend] the Lightning McQueen Crocs for Christmas this year, and he broke up with me three weeks after I bought them and a month before Christmas. It’s a curse.” she said.
We don’t know whether she was being serious about the crocs, to be fair, but sorry if she was. Other users, however, claimed that you don’t even have to buy the pair of shoes for the curse to take effect – just the mention is enough.
One user claimed that she told her boyfriend she would give him Jordans for Christmas – by the time the holiday rolled around, they were over. Others claimed that the theory doesn’t just apply to romantic relationships, recalling instances of losing friendships over shoes.
https://www.tiktok.com/@yrfavetaurus/video/7174597041392454958?referer_url=www.news.com.au%2Flifestyle%2Frelationships%2Fits-a-curse-gen-z-losing-their-minds-over-shoe-theory%2Fnews-story%2F67e02522a88181b32793e3248059848f&refer=embed&embed_source=70846777%2C120811592%2C120810756%3Bnull%3Bembed_blank&referer_video_id=7174597041392454958
This isn’t the only wild trend to have taken over Tiktok in recent days, although we’d certainly take this one over those. Recently, experts warned against following Tiktok diet trends after the ‘Lion Diet’ took off. Posited as a ‘cure-all’ trend, the ‘Lion Diet’ consisted of eating only salt, water, and meat for 30 days.
Medical experts, however, claimed that there was no scientific evidence that claimed the diet actually worked, and warned that prolonged exposure to it could cause serious nutritional deficiencies in the body.
Earlier this year, authorities, medical professionals, and cancer survivors also called out the controversial #SunBurntChallenge on Tiktok, wherein people would resort to tanning beds to get a natural sun-kissed glow. Cancer survivors warned that the use of such sun-beds – which are commercially banned in Australia – could increase the risk of melanoma exponentially.
For more on this topic, follow the Internet Culture Observer.
