Lately, there’s this weird narrative going around on TikTok about people “being chained up all the time” or something. It’s confusing — for you, probably, and definitely for me too.
Users are making TikToks where they talk about boys being “chained up” but it literally makes zero sense. Apparently, it’s a common thing that boys go through in life.
I did some serious research to find out about this awful plight that has come to light, and left with maybe less answers than I started with.
Another voice enforces the point, saying “this is valid”, and that “they can never be free”.
I did some serious research to find out about this awful plight that has come to light, and left with maybe less answers than I started with.
What does ‘being chained up all the time’ mean on TikTok?
The viral clip is actually a bit outdated, being shared in 2023 from a Slushy Noobz Youtube video, where they are live streaming a game on Fortnite. In the video, called “Fortnite Fashion Show?”, Hamzah and Martin ask a kid to tell them about the outfit he’s wearing in the game.
After a short pause, he tells them: “My first one is a thing that boys have to go through, being chained up all the time or something.” Another kid in the game replies “What?”, while Hamzah says “This is valid.”
How did it spread?
@slushyloverz i have trouble being chained up all the time too
#fyp #foryou #foryoupage #thatmartinkid #slushynoobz #hamzahthefantastic #fornite
Well for a start, it’s insane. In 2024, the clip was reposted to TikTok, gaining a few thousand likes in the year. It was posted again in January this year, and gained even more traction when it was posted with an animation of characters from the anime Hunter x Hunter.
Over summer, TikToker @imcommingperiod posted a video with the viral “I grieve different” sound referencing the “boys being chained up all the time”. It has over 5million views, and started a bit of a trend.
@imcommingperiod giving chained
Obviously people were pretty confused, and even with the context of the original sound clip – it made zero sense. Some mothers are even using the trend to point out the juxtaposition of never knowing what their son will have to through in life “being chained up all the time” according to TikTok.
Others have used it to compare their universal problems, such as menstruation, to those that boys experience – like being chained up, which obviously isn’t a common experience.
@supersecretjelly
So what does it mean?
Honestly, we don’t know. It’s a weird reference one kid made and it became a meme because it’s a niche, unrelatable joke.
I asked my male friends for their input, and I was told “it’s a secret, you just wouldn’t get it.”
Poor boys.
Featured image via TikTok @henry_grey_earls @slimshadyscoochie @zeneiacc
