By Zoe Hohlfeld ‘26, News Staff Writer

Stanley tumblers have recently experienced a huge rise in popularity. Image Courtesy by Alexis Holt for A-Line Magazine. 

Early in the morning on January 3, 2024, thousands of customers across the country waited in lines outside of their local Targets. Some camped out overnight, while others arrived before 5 a.m. When stores opened, customers rushed in, trampling each other in their haste. But why so much excitement?

The answer: for a limited-edition Stanley tumbler, the insulated, colorful water bottle that has gone viral on social media. 

Lately, Stanley tumblers have become almost ubiquitous, showing up on social media feeds, through the halls at school, and elsewhere. 

 But just a few years ago, Stanley was not a household name. This sudden growth in popularity, similar to the rise of other viral trends like VSCO girls in 2019 and fidget spinners even earlier, begs the question: how do trends develop, and why are so many people influenced by them?

Psychology can help explain. Seeing other people use a certain product or behave in a certain way strongly influences our own behavior, as argued by psychologist Robert Cialdini in his bestselling book “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.” That’s why so many advertisers pay celebrities or influencers to promote their products on social media; when we are surrounded by images of other people using a certain product, we are much more likely to buy it ourselves. On TikTok alone, the #StanleyTumbler hashtag has been viewed over a billion times, correlating with an over-10x increase in annual revenue for Stanley since 2019.

Stanley tumblers are far from the first to have experienced a huge rise in popularity like this. Trends and fads have been around for centuries. Psychology Today claims that this is because of our evolution: early humans evolved to prioritize belonging to groups and trusting the majority opinion for safety and survival. Following a crowd helps us define ourselves and navigate a complex world full of interactions with others. 

Social psychology, the study of how we interact with and relate to one another, indicates that we crave a sense of belonging, something that we can gain from participating in popular trends. Social psychologists Henri Tajfel and John Turner offer the idea of the “in group” versus the “out group” to show how following trends relates to our social perception of ourselves: being part of the “in group,” which consists of those who follow trends, is highly desirable. We may even feel a sense of accomplishment by joining trends, further contributing to their spread.

However, following every new trend can have negative effects. Participation is not always cheap. Many Stanley alternatives cost less than half of the price of a Stanley, showing that people are really buying Stanley tumblers for the brand name rather than for an insulated tumbler. Like Stanley, trendy brands are often expensive and it is unrealistic for people to always own the newest, trendiest items. In addition, the mass consumerism generated by constantly purchasing new items damages the environment, with tons of no-longer-trendy items ending up in landfills or gathering dust on shelves after trends pass. We are also attracted to the novelty of the next new trend, which helps to explain why most trends do not last longer than a year or two.

Whether you choose to participate or not, trends and fads are all around us and an integral part of our psychological make-up as humans. High school students are often very aware of current trends, as shown by the popularity of Stanley tumblers and brands like Lululemon around the halls of NA. Even if you do not necessarily need another new water bottle, it can be hard to not feel pulled by whatever the latest hot new item is on TikTok or among your friends. After all, viral trends are just a part of being human.