22 Pop Culture Moments That Blew Up on Social Media in 2024

2024 is almost in the books, making it the perfect time to recap the biggest events and pop culture moments that blew up on social media this year.

From Beyoncé going country to Reddit going public, social media had no shortage of events to talk about (and meme about, for that matter). 

As has become an annual year-end tradition, this year the folks at Forekast and Something Great Marketing explored the pop culture events that captivated our hearts, minds, and feeds. 

Thousands of events are added to Forekast.com every year, and the community upvotes the events that they’re most excited about adding to their calendars. At the end of the year, the team at Something Great tallies the top upvoted events and puts them into a 2024 Rewind Report — which I’ve distilled in this article.

This report in Buffer is becoming something of a fun tradition (take a walk down memory lane in 2023’s list here).

This retrospective offers a look back on our shared digital experience, putting into perspective just how much can happen in a year. 2024 has been one for the books — let’s rewind.

Tech happenings

We’re starting to see more futuristic-looking tech in the wild, whether it’s someone trying to back up a Tesla Cybertruck or navigate the Apple Vision Pro at the library. Both, at the time of writing this, still look pretty hilarious. Here are a few of the other notable tech happenings of 2024. 

1. The alien goes public

Reddit made its long-awaited public debut on March 21 of this year, with shares priced at $34. As of writing this, those shares have been upvoted to over $160, with analysts noting that Reddit’s growth is still in its early stages. Pretty impressive. 

2. The crypto bulls are back

We began the year with Bitcoin’s scheduled halving event in April, and finished strong with a crypto surge. Bitcoin finally passed the $100,000 mark, while other notable cryptocurrencies have also seen big runs since the US election. 

3. Record-breaking games

The best-selling game of the year might surprise you. It wasn’t nominated for any major game awards, but it did cause quite a stir on social media among football fans. That’s because 2024 saw the long-awaited return of College Football 25, a game that’s been on hiatus for over a decade. Fans of the game relived their youth with much more exciting gameplay.

Some even made school announcement videos. 

4. Skies are blue

Did a new social media network break through this year? In recent years we’ve seen growth at companies like BeReal and TikTok catch fire. 

For 2024, the growing social media network that most of us have our eyes on is Bluesky, the decentralized text-based network that aims to give users more control of their audience, content, and data. The platform has surpassed 25 million users, growing by 10 million since the US election. 

Bluesky now has over 20M people!! 🎉 We've been adding over a million users per day for the last few days. To celebrate, here are 20 fun facts about Bluesky:

— Jay 🦋 (@jay.bsky.team) November 19, 2024 at 8:22 PM

The small screen

It was a year of both welcoming back and saying goodbye to old friends on the small screen. Let’s start with the former. 

5. Welcome back, Mr. Stewart 

Jon Stewart made his highly anticipated return to The Daily Show this year, sliding back into the host’s chair just in time for a very busy political season. Returning as the host on Monday nights, Stewart’s comeback felt less like a nostalgic throwback and more like a necessary voice as someone who’s never been afraid to say the quiet part out loud. 

6. The Bear returns

Some loved it, some loathed it, and we all got hungry. The Bear season 3 was one of the biggest shows of the year, bringing a more focused, slower-paced season to TV viewers. The season included guest appearances from some of the restaurant world’s most respected names, from Daniel Boulud to René Redzepi, adding authenticity to the culinary narrative.

7. The Penguin waddles back to TV 

We last saw Colin Farrell bring The Penguin to life in 2022’s box office hit The Batman, but he waddled right back into our living rooms this year. Beloved by critics and viewers alike, this was somewhat of a surprise hit for many — think The Sopranos meets Batman. The Penguin offered us a nuanced exploration of ambition, loyalty, and the quest for control in a world where morality is often blurred.  

The show was just nominated for all three Golden Globes it was eligible for, including Best Limited Series, Best Actor in a Limited Series (Colin Farrell), and Best Actress in a Limited Series (Cristin Milioti). 

And now, a few goodbyes on the small screen. 

8. Kicking the curb

We unfortunately had to say goodbye to LD this year, or at least the version of him on Curb. After almost 25 years of questioning everything and anything, Larry David concluded his hit HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm this past April. The finale paid homage to the Seinfeld ending, putting Larry in a courtroom facing the consequences of his neverending social missteps. It was perfect. 

9. The final spin 

Speaking of long runs on the small screen, Pat Sajack retired after more than four decades on the air hosting Wheel of Fortune. Ryan Seacrest succeeded Sajack, and the good news is, the show is still producing epic moments. Like the guy who flubbed this answer: 

Let’s all treat ourselves to a round of sausage in 2025. 

The big screen

10. Oppenheimer blows up 

It blew up social media in 2023, but Oppenheimer wasn’t finished. In 2024 the movie stole the show at the 96th Academy Awards, securing seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor. Despite previous nominations, this was director Christopher Nolan’s first win, cementing his legacy with a cinematic masterpiece. 

@varietymagazine

"Oppenheimer" wins Best Picture at the Oscars.

♬ original sound - Variety

11. Superhero grab bag

Recent years have seen mixed success for the superhero genre, and 2024 was no different. Deadpool & Wolverine brought two anti-heroes played by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman together, breaking records for the highest opening weekend for an R-rated film. It’s grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide. 

On the flipside, Joker: Folie a Deux struggled both critically and commercially. Despite a production budget of $190 million, it garnered only $206 million worldwide, a stark contrast to The Joker’s billion-dollar success. It’s currently sitting at just 32% on Rotten Tomatoes, adding insult to injury. 

At least the memes from the first film are still going strong. 

@hbo No meetings, no emails, no problem. #Joker #JoaquinPhoenix #ArthurFleck #JokerMovie #JokerFolieADeux ♬ original sound - HBO

12. More sequels 

Speaking of sequels, we got ‘em this year. Dune: Part Two grossed over $714 million worldwide, and the film has just secured a nomination for Best Motion Picture–Drama at the Golden Globes. 

Gladiator II revisited Ridley Scott’s epic tale of Ancient Rome, and though the movie didn’t reach the heights of its predecessor, it still made a significant box office impact. And finally, Disney re-entered the conversation with a massive hit. Inside Out 2 gave us all the feels, as both the trailer and behind-the-scenes clips of Ayo Edebiri voicing Envy went viral. 

New music takes over

Though it would be hard to top the concerts that stole the show in 2023, this year had its own musical records, genre-blenders, and new artists. And the Eras Tour did run right through until the end of 2024, so live music was still alive and well. 

13. Summer airwaves

Folk-inspired, TikTok-fueled melodies absolutely dominated the summer airwaves, with Teddy Swims’ Lose Control and Noah Kahan’s Stick Season becoming tracks that most of us can recite by heart at this point.

14. A country resurgence 

Some new names threw their hat, err, more specifically, threw their cowboy hats into the arena in 2024. Two of the biggest new country stars come from outside the genre, with Beyoncé and Post Malone topping the charts. Beyoncé stole headlines by becoming the first Black woman to top the country music charts with her hit single, Texas Hold ‘Em, while Post Malone partnered up with the likes of Morgan Wallen, Blake Shelton, and Luke Combs to release multiple country hits this year. 

15. Streaming history

Once again, 2024’s digital music landscape was led by female powerhouses. Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour propelled her to billionaire status, grossing over $2 billion in ticket sales. Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter also made noise this year, topping the year-end charts. 

This year in sports

An opening ceremony for the ages, repeat champions, and a duo like no other. These were the big trends in sports in 2024. 

16. Back to back

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in a fantastic Super Bowl, securing back-to-back victories and the team’s third championship in five years. This gives them the opportunity to three-peat, something that’s never been done in the NFL. 

And speaking of firsts, for the first time ever, the Super Bowl took place in Las Vegas this year, with Usher leading a stellar half-time show. 

17. Bad drive

It was a wild scene at the 2024 PGA Championship. The world’s number one golfer, Scottie Scheffler, was arrested in the early hours of the morning while heading to the Valhalla Golf Club after being confused by a roadside checkpoint. 

Scheffler was booked and released the same morning, just in time to participate in the tournament. The charges were later dropped, with both parties acknowledging the incident as a big misunderstanding. 

So just in case you thought golf was boring, 2024 thinks not. 

18. Pass the ball, son

In a historic NBA moment, LeBron James and his son, Bronny James, became the first-ever father-son duo to play together. The joint appearance captivated the sporting world, as it was clear this was something special, not just for the James family, but for fans in general. 

19. Jake Paul and Mike Tyson disappoint

2024 saw some incredible marketing, advertising, and promotions, but maybe none quite as good as the leadup to the Jake Paul and Mike Tyson fight. Which made the event all the worse when it turned out to lack any kind of competitive intensity. Nevertheless, Paul vs. Tyson broke all kinds of records for Netflix, underscoring the public’s fascination with influencer/celebrity boxing events. 

The best part of the night? It had to be Tyson’s cheeky interview…

20. An old flame

Maybe the year’s most talked about sports-related event was the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games. The unprecedented ceremony took place along the Seine River, marking the first time in Olympic history that the event was held outside of a stadium. 

A performance from Celine Dion stole the show, who sang publicly for the first time in years, while a banquet scene with performers embodying Greek gods led to all kinds of discourse online. 

The sun and moon

21. Total eclipse of the heart

On April 8, North America experienced a total solar eclipse that Bonnie Tyler would be proud of. The total solar eclipse cast a shadow from Mexico to Canada, with the path of totality spanning over 13 US states. 

22. Under the dome

Speaking of the sun, a heat dome also captured America’s attention on social media this year, with cities across the country experiencing the phenomenon: trapped warm air that led to periods of extreme heat. Las Vegas reached 120°F, and Phoenix endured a record 113 consecutive days of temperatures exceeding 100°F. No thanks. 

Looking ahead to 2024

As we look forward to the next year, there’s plenty to be excited about. From a new season of The Last of Us to Avatar 3, there's so much to anticipate. The Stranger Things final season and Fantastic Four reboot promise to keep us on the edge of our seats.

The anticipation for Super Bowl LVIII, featuring Kendrick Lamar at the halftime show, is already building. The Kansas City Chiefs have a chance to be the first team to ever win three Super Bowls in a row, but who’s counting? And, of course, we’re all curious as to whether we’ll get another Taylor Swift album. Keep your bracelets handy. 

If 2024 taught us anything, it’s that you never know exactly what will be trending tomorrow.

Thanks for the trends, 2024, and cheers to an exciting year ahead in 2025.