Every day, there’s a new TikTok trend – yesterday it was Bird Theory, before that Group 7, and now everyone’s talking about “the rabbit got me,” but you’re probably wondering what it actually means and why everyone’s suddenly talking about chasing rabbits instead of birds.
So, what does the ‘rabbit got me’ TikTok trend mean?
@tallulahmetcalfe3
Basically, when someone says “the rabbit got me,” they’re talking about a big, life-changing moment that came out of nowhere. It’s a reference to Alice in Wonderland and the famous white rabbit. You know, the one who’s always running around with a pocket watch, saying “I’m late! I’m late!” and dragging Alice into a totally new world.
On TikTok, people are using the phrase to mark the moments right before something major happens in their lives. It’s often something they didn’t see coming. This could be anything from heartbreak, losing a loved one, or a tough twist of fate, to even unexpectedly positive changes that shake things up.
For example, one TikTok creator shared clips of her birthday celebration, captioned “Me before the rabbit got me.” She explained that shortly after her happy moment, her life changed dramatically due to heartbreak. Another user posted about her life a week before a big divorce, noting that although it was painful, it eventually led to growth and new opportunities.
The rabbit is actually a metaphor
@alycia.bryannn Since everyone wants context, I had my white coat ceremony and, 48 hours later, I was involved in a car accident while driving home from school. As a result, I suffered three broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. One of the broken bones was my ulna on my dominant arm, which required surgery. Consequently, I had to medically withdraw from school just 48 hours after achieving one of my greatest accomplishments. #rabbit #allroadsleadtorome#caraccident #nurse
The rabbit in these videos is more than just a character; it’s a metaphor for time, change, and unpredictability. According to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland symbolises time and losing track of it, as well as the pressure of a fast-paced world, and on TikTok, it seems to carry the same meaning for many people.
Just like Alice’s world was turned upside down when she chased the rabbit, the trend captures the feeling of being swept into events you can’t control. Some even see it as a reminder that life moves fast, and sometimes time runs out for the people or moments we love.
In short, the “rabbit got me” trend is a way for people on TikTok to pause and reflect on life-altering moments, whether they were sad, confusing, or even a little magical. It’s part storytelling, part nostalgia, and part metaphor for just how quickly life can change.
So, the next time you see someone say “the rabbit got me,” think of it as a shorthand for “life just flipped upside down, and here’s how I survived it.”
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