“Side Eye” on TikTok: It Means What You Think, And More

Not all terms commonly seen on TikTok are mysterious.

For example, you’re probably familiar with what it means to give someone the “side eye.” Looking at someone from the corners of your eyes is generally understood to express disappointment, doubt, skepticism, or disapproval.

The “side eye” has been a popular emoji on social media platforms for quite a while, too.

It’s often used in a straightforward manner to convey a negative judgment about someone else’s post, but can also be meant humorously to imply reactions like “I know you don’t believe that” or “nice try, but that wasn’t funny.” Some even add the emoji to their own posts to make the point that they’re not really being serious.

You’ll often see TikTok users posting a side eye emoji in the comment sections of TikTok posts, or physically giving someone (or another video in a Duet) an exaggerated side eye look. It’s not uncommon for someone to underscore the message, either, by using the hashtag #sideeye.

That’s the only “meaning” of side eye on TikTok, but there’s another reason that side eyes have trended on the app for years.

TikTok Side Eye Challenges

Several related viral challenges have emerged on TikTok in the 2020s.

The Side Eye Color Challenge

This one dates to 2021, when users began creating TikTok videos set to the song “After Dark” by Mr. Kitty. They would shoot their eyes up close, and with each beat of the music, shift to a side eye.

Why? Supposedly, the different angle caused some people’s eyes to look like they’d changed color during the side eye. It was nothing more than the effect of light hitting the iris at a different angle, but users were fascinated by the difference between their normal eye color and their “side eye color.”

The Bombastic Side Eye Challenge

A TikTok user started this trend in January 2023, posting a video with an original sound saying “sad eyes, side eyes” in different voice tones. It was sampled and used in hundreds of thousands of other posts, with each creator doing a “pronounced” side eye glance along with a slow head turn and raised eyebrows.

The challenge was dubbed “bombastic side eye” after one challenge participant recorded a new version of the sound that said “bombastic side eye, criminal offensive side eye.” That viral trend took over, as the video received nearly 10 million views and inspired 144,000 copycat posts in a month. Versions in other languages followed and received millions of views.

There’s no significance to either of these challenges, of course; it’s hard to explain why any trend gains traction. However, the appearance of viral side eye videos cemented the “importance” of side eye reactions on TikTok, and the continued use of side eye vids, memes, hashtags, and emojis on the app is almost impossible to avoid.