Men: When was the last time you thought about the Roman Empire? When was the last time someone asked you that exact question?
A few weeks ago while scrolling through my TikTok I saw a woman text her male friends asking how frequently they thought about the Roman Empire. The answers were comically often. In search of an amusing response, I asked a few of my guy friends this question.
Apparently, the rest of the internet felt the same curiosity I did, because the trend blew up overnight. Videos on TikTok tagged with #romanempire have collected a whopping 1.7 billion views, and celebrities including Kira Cosarin, Ryan Reynolds and the women of The View all participated in their own way.
But why are we so fixated on this? Sure, it’s a little weird how often men think about Ancient Rome considering it was so 2000 years ago, but what exactly has carried this craze so far?
This trend is an example of my favorite internet phenomenon: an inoffensive, original, specific and semi-universal conversation starter.
It makes sense that a kind of obsession with this question would be sparked- it’s the perfect icebreaker. It’s not the average small talk, yet many have seen it online and developed their own opinion to contribute. Even if someone hasn’t seen it, the nature of the question offers some non-political, unconventional and engaging discourse.
The internet has given us countless readily discussable topics, such as The Dress or TikTok’s doors and wheels debate. Celebrity gossip is a major one of these talking points.
I was working a shift at a coffee shop when Taylor Swift was seen at the Chiefs-Bears game (eating chicken strips with ketchup and seemingly ranch), and I brought it up to a few customers. We dove into the gossip for 20 minutes, which would never have happened had I just asked ‘How’s your Sunday going?’
The Roman Empire aspect specifically has brought more examples to light: people are now labeling a specific topic or event, typically one that has been popularized by the internet, ‘their Roman Empire.’ (Mine is the 2019 camp-themed MET Gala.)
Topics like this make it so easy to converse with new friends, classmates and even strangers, and I am so thrilled every time a new, perfect icebreaker takes the internet by storm.
