Entertainment in 2022 became a negotiation. The video was used to find the real-life experience. A restaurant went viral on TikTok, leading to three-hour queues. A hiking trail gained fame via a stunning drone shot, resulting in over-tourism. The video was the trailer, the map, and the review all in one. But crucially, the goal was still to be there. The "main character" trend, where people filmed themselves walking through the city with cinematic music, was an attempt to aestheticize and validate the analog world through a digital lens. Yet, to romanticize the video lifestyle of 2022 is to ignore its psychological toll. The pressure to "document" every moment led to a crisis of presence. Concerts were viewed through a grid of held-up phones; vacations were planned around "content opportunities." The line between a spontaneous memory and a calculated post dissolved.
This era saw the rise of the "video essayist" as the new public intellectual. Creators like Jenny Nicholson, Contrapoints, and Hbomberguy commanded audiences larger than many cable news shows, using video to dissect consumerism, identity, and the failures of late-stage capitalism—all while ostensibly talking about theme parks, makeup tutorials, or video games. The lifestyle takeaway was clear: intellectual curiosity and deep-dive analysis were rebranded as leisure activities. Watching a three-hour critique of a single Star Wars movie was not a waste of time; it was a hobby. xxnx 2022
Simultaneously, the "silent vlog" emerged as a counterpoint to the frantic energy of TikTok. Creators like Nyangsoop and haegreendal produced wordless, cinematic recordings of their daily routines—making coffee, walking in the rain, tending to plants. These videos were lifestyle as ambient music. They were not about teaching or entertaining in a traditional sense, but about offering atmosphere . In a world of information overload, the most valuable entertainment was the permission to be still, delivered through the moving image. 2022 was also the year the promise of the metaverse—fully digital, immersive life—collided with a desperate human need for physical connection. Mark Zuckerberg’s awkward, legless avatar became a symbol of the sterile future everyone claimed to want but no one actually enjoyed. Meanwhile, the most viral videos of the year were often of real crowds: the chaotic energy of a Bad Bunny concert, the electric tension of a World Cup match (controversies and all), or the joyous release of people dancing at a street festival. Entertainment in 2022 became a negotiation
