Scrolling through your Instagram feed in the last 24 hours has most likely prompted some questions about the phrase “Until Tomorrow.” The fad features Instagram users posting one or more embarrassing pictures of themselves without any context except for this phrase, now tagged in over 1 million posts on the site. 

This trend erupted after many teens—who are at home practicing social distancing after the outbreak of COVID-19—have been spending their new free time on social media. Like many Instagram challenges such as the “Long Run” challenge, where you spend the entire year taking a picture of yourself and posting it every day, and “#throwbackthursday,” where you post a picture of yourself from the past, the “Until Tomorrow” challenge is pretty simple. The task is to post an embarrassing picture of yourself from the past and keep the post up for 24 hours or “until tomorrow” with no context except for the phrase itself. If another user likes the photo, the poster messages the user who liked the photo and challenges them to participate. The challenge is open for everyone to participate and introduced many to the more casual side of social media. 

Manual Student Reactions:

“In this time of high stress and cancellations, it is nice to come together and share laughs instead of complaints or frustration. Seeing everyone’s pictures and videos reminded me of all the hilarious people I am lucky to know and I thought it was a nice unifying moment for young people. It was a risk but a reward for all!” Ella Cullen (12, HSU) said.

“I like the trend because it kind of reminds you how to ‘live life on the edge’ even while stuck in self-quarantine. I guess it lets you be bold with your friends from home,” Safwa Gopang (11, MST) said.

“I think the challenge is cute. I like the idea of posting awkward or embarrassing pictures on your main account because it really shows people a different side of you and your life,” Tera Harris (11, YPAS) said.

“I’m not sure what the trend is really about, but I know that we’re supposed to post goofy pictures of ourselves that we wouldn’t normally post. I’ve gotten a great laugh out of a few of them and it’s a great way to lighten the quarantine,” Meredith Thomas (11, YPAS) said.

“I thought it was fun to see everyone’s baby pictures and see pictures that people wouldn’t usually post because they aren’t like the usual Instagram pictures,” Chloe Drago (10, HSU) said.

“With all that’s happening around the world with the pandemic, I thought it was fun and I really enjoyed seeing everyone’s posts down my timeline. Plus, it wasn’t just a specific group of people it was literally everyone, which I also thought was pretty cool,” Masara Mtangi (11, J&C) said.

“I liked it at first. It was nice to see all my friends get together. If not in person, then virtually, and have a laugh. Then, after scrolling through a lot of the same posts, I wanted to see something different,” Warren Vannort (11, MST) said.

“As a contributor to the movement, I can say that it is utterly blending with and toning to the prevailing context of our world…movements like “Until Tomorrow,” among others, shed light onto the shared humanity and human dignity that is embedded in all of us, humankind,” Luka Johnson (11, HSU) said.