What is the Until Tomorrow trend on Instagram and why is literally everyone doing it?

Instagram trends are taking over your feed at the moment, no matter who you are, and the Until Tomorrow trend is everywhere. Lockdown has got people so bored that they don’t care how cool they look on social media anymore, and we’ve all reverted to our year seven selves forwarding chain mail in fear of a girl with long hair appearing in our mirror at night.

First it was the loo roll challenge, then push ups, then baby pics, then drunk videos, and now it’s the most widely permeating “Until Tomorrow” trend. Even the coolest people with the most curated feeds are doing it, which is actually a nice way of breaking down the barriers of everyone’s eternally flawless Insta personas. I’m just waiting on Kylie Jenner now, to be honest.

What is the trend?

It goes a little like this: You see a friend post an embarrassing picture of themselves, and you like it – unbeknownst to you that you are falling into a trap. Then you immediately get a message from said friend saying something along the lines of: “You liked my post so you have to post an embarrassing picture of yourself, for the caption you’re only allowed to write Until Tomorrow and you can only tag me. You must send this message to everyone that likes your picture. The picture must stay posted for 24 hours. Good luck and don’t spoil the trend!”

Then you have to follow those instructions and keep your embarrassing pic up for 24 hours. In reality it’s genius, because no one would do the challenge if they had to keep the picture up indefinitely.

The trend doesn’t have any moral, or donation purpose. It doesn’t have any purpose at all, to be honest. It’s genuinely just for fun. You might wonder why it has become so widespread, if it has no good deed or moral behind it, and people aren’t using it for virtue signalling purposes like usual – but people are apparently just so bored that they’re going wild for it.

Where did it come from?

Some are saying that the trend originated on TikTok, with the #untiltomorrow hashtag raking in a cool 8.1 million views. Most of the videos are taking the piss of the challenge or people confused about the amount of Instagrams with that caption. But the challenge originated on Instagram, where it has taken off most prominently. Much like those year seven chain mails, no one has any idea who started it and created the resulting Instagram pandemic within a pandemic.

Have any celebrities done it?

The trouble with celebrity examples, and honestly any examples, of this particular challenge is that they all get deleted after 24 hours. Some have kept theirs up in a remarkable display of bravery, including the Premier League official Instagram account. Truly a participator in the trend that no one saw coming.

Have you taken part in the trend or seen some truly awful pictures your mates have posted? DM them to @thetab_ on Instagram if you think they’re worthy.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Good News Column: Britney Spears’ iconic run and homes for all the homeless

• There are 11 lockdown personalities and I’m about to tell you which one you are

• Quiz: Tell us how you play The Sims and we’ll tell you how much of a psychopath you are