Curious About The “Turbulence” TikTok Trend? It’s NSFW

If you’ve spent enough time on TikTok to have seen a “Turbulence” video, you probably already know what the acronym NSFW means: not safe for work.

That’s your fair warning. While there’s no overt nudity or sex in so-called Turbulence TikTok content, it’s implied — and if you’re easily grossed out, you may not want to read any further.

Turbulence videos first appeared on the app in 2021 and went viral almost immediately. The subject isn’t quite as popular now, but you’re still likely to come across it sooner or later if you enjoy watching trending or challenge vids.

Ready? Here it comes.

“Turbulence” on TikTok

A few years ago, a TikTok user named Just Jo was doing a live stream on the app and offering his take on a different trending topic, doing his version of a popular dance while standing in profile. In other words, you could only see a side view of his body from the waist up.

All of a sudden, he began shouting “A whole bunch of turbulence!” accompanied by what seemed to be slapping noises. As it turned out, the noise was supposedly generated when his genitalia, swinging back and forth, slapped against his thighs.

There was no way to tell what was really causing the “slapping” noise, but the audience loved it — and “turbulence” caught on as a TikTok trend. Just Jo became known as the “turbulence guy” and continued to post follow-up vids, demonstrating how fast he could perform the act, explaining how to do it, and creating other variations you probably can’t imagine.

Since there’s no accounting for taste (or what other people think is funny), lots of other TikTok users have been creating their own turbulence videos ever since.

There’s good news, though. None of Just Jo’s videos (or those posted by others) show the slapping noise being generated. After all, that type of content would violate TikTok’s terms and conditions.

In fact, since the content is always shot from the waist up, there’s no way to know whether any of the videos actually involved naked users and their genitalia. Someone else may simply be standing next to the TikTok user, clapping their hands. We can only hope.