The Brief: TikTokers are creating parody videos about the app's resident "talking" dog, Bunny, having existential crises.
DEEP DIVE
A Sheepadoodle on TikTok named Bunny has been learning to communicate with her human guardian by pressing buttons that represent and say words like “walk,” “beach,” “poop,” and “love.” As the TikTok account @what_about_bunny documents Bunny’s learning process, viewers are watching her grasp increasingly complex elements of language and communication. This has led to a meme trend on TikTok where creators imagine what it’d look like if Bunny the dog started having an existential crisis or tried to take over the world.
Bunny has over 4.5 million followers on TikTok and has been making the news for her ability to communicate using the English language. As Bunny’s vocabulary expands, she’s started asking hard-hitting questions like “why” her mom loves her. This has inspired TikTokers to create parody videos that show Bunny becoming self-aware, debating ethical questions, getting political, and questioning why the world works the way it does.
@whataboutbunny Make a for this trend so I can watch them all 🥺 #dogsoftiktok #fyp #bunnythedog #existentialcrisis
Bunny’s mom, who runs her TikTok account, is in-on-the fun as she encourages fans to keep making videos and comments on popular ones. In the comments sections of these videos, people often use the dog emoji 🐶 between words to type 🐶 sentences 🐶 as 🐶 if 🐶 Bunny 🐶 were 🐶 saying them 🐶. At the time of writing, videos associated with the hashtag #BunnyTheDog have been viewed over 17 million times.
@tik.tok.tina A chapter in @what_about_bunny ‘s existential crisis that no one is talking about. #bunnythedog #smartdog #trainingdog #crisis 
@dillontrinity no 🐶 pull 🐶 lever 🐶 no 🐶 moral 🐶 responsibility 🐶 #ShowUpShowOff #Animation #bunny #bunnythedog #foryou #fyp #trending #horror
@friendorfaux BUNNY WILL OUTLIVE US ALL. @what_about_bunny #bunnythedog
@cowboyslippy She knows more than we know… #bunny #bunnythedog #foryou #fyp
@danielsouthern Bunny’s first existential crisis: #mentalhealth #bunnythedog #foryou @what_about_bunny
@nick.is.confused @what_about_bunny but with a twist #pov #bunnythedog #scary #WeWinTogether #HalloweenLook #ShowUpShowOff #MyPFP #YouWantMore #horrorchallenge
@darqlizard one day bunny will become too strong.. #dog #MyCostume #bunnythedog #puppy #crustdog #exprESSIEyourself
@nintendonot @what_about_bunny wants to know why these big decisions are being made on her behalf 🐶 #fyp #bunnythedog
@karlomarx bunny is becoming to conscious…too class conscious #marxism #leftist #socialist #bunnythedog #marx