TikTok’s Dream Worlds Thrived in a Nightmare Year

On August 15 of this year, 6 million people visited Quincy's Tavern, a steampunk-inspired venue with bottles and beers lining the walls and yellow lighting behind the bar. This would be too many customers for a regular, brick-and-mortar bar to deal with, but luckily Quincy's Tavern exists in an intangible realm between two worlds. There is a growing population and a map. A place where you could step into a fantasy tavern, a childhood dream, or your favorite book or film with a flick of your thumb.

Many TikTok trends over the past year have offered a form of escape because of economic pressures. Over 14 billion people have watched videos about "shifting," a practice in which people believe they can "shift" into other realities. These videos allow viewers to soar through " places you've visited in your dreams"

No one could refer to it as mundane. It is an alternative to reality, like many other aesthetic "-cores" that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic and have only become more popular ever since.

Quincy, who is based in Arizona and asked WIRED not to reveal his full name for privacy reasons, says that a fantasy tavern is a place where zombies can hide. It is a place where you can rest before you get back to your adventures.

Quincy welcomed viewers in the August video with the words, "Hello there traveler, welcome back to Quincy's Tavern." With a tea towel thrown over his shoulder, he leans into the camera to make the viewer feel like they are at his bar. He said it was normal to be cautious and to be careful in new situations. People in the comment section thank Quincy for his words of comfort.

Quincy says that providing content that is calming, encouraging, or just aesthetically pleasing is one of his favorites. The patrons of Quincy's Tavern are ages 18 to 35, and they often say they find the online bar a "safe space" and a "peaceful moment amongst the chaos."

A 25-year-old media and communications master's student at Malm University in Sweden published her first-year thesis, " 'You have to start romanticizing your life': A Textual Analysis of the Cottagecore aesthetic's Representation of '" Jonsson looked at the cottagecore content where people imagined an alternative to capitalism through images and videos.