Some of us grew up with the magical world of Harry Potter. We read all the books, saw all the movies, and watched those conspiracy theories on YouTube. But we were generally seen as ‘dorky’ or ‘nerdy’. Nevertheless, we kept being obsessed with the fandom.

In fact, Haley Fuller, a student at Northwestern University, told ‘The Daily Northwestern’ that Harry Potter is “a cultural mainstay.”

But as we grew older, the relevancy of Harry Potter and his wizarding world began to dim. Harry Potter was seen as something that should be kept in secret. Almost like a guilty pleasure. However, that quickly changed. Just last month, I would have never considered a seven movie marathon with my friends. But somehow, J.K. Rowling’s complex world has made it back into the spotlight. Go on any social media platform, and you’ll surely find a Potter reference. But why?

In the beginning, it started with the coming of fall. As written in the books, students went back to Hogwarts in September, and naturally, manufacturers began to create more Harry Potter-inspired products. Anything from socks to full-sized Quidditch brooms have flooded the markets of the world. But this year had a special marketing tactic behind them. Since the vast majority of customers would be inside their homes, connected to the internet, corporations decided to try a virtual marketing method. Advertisements started to show up before YouTube videos and slowly made their way to the social media platforms, like TikTok.

The vast majority of Gen Z and a considerate amount of millennials dominate the new social media platform called ‘TikTok’. Having Musical.ly integrated, this platform encourages the youth to make videos and have fun. With all the ups and downs that the platform has gone through, people have been consistent in being themselves online. Cue in the Harry Potter fanatics. It started when users created ‘edits’, videos with catchy music that contained pictures or videos of someone or something, of Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter’s archnemesis. 

More and more users started to bring in different POV’s (Point of View) in which they assimilated Hogwarts students during the times of Harry Potter at Hogwarts. For example, millions of users are now infatuated with characters such as Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood, Draco Malfoy, the Weasley twins, and even Professor Snape. This led to an increase of popularity among the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. People began to post themselves making butterbeer, or learning and reciting certain scenes from the films, and even taking graded Hogwarts courses online. Thus, we now have lunatics, like me, who are about to start their seven movie marathon during the weekend.

Graphic courtesy of WIZARDINGWORLD.COM