At a Glance
- TikTok users are posting “before and after” clips that mark the moment life changed in an instant.
- Videos pair ticking-clock or eerie piano audio with captions about loss, injury, or shock.
- One mom’s post about losing her son to SIDS has 7.7 million views and thousands of replies.
- Why it matters: The viral format is giving people a stark, shareable way to talk about grief and trauma.
TikTok’s latest viral format is as simple as it is haunting: users upload two clips-one calm, one catastrophic-and label the pivot point as the moment “the white rabbit” got them. The phrase borrows from Alice in Wonderland, where chasing the white rabbit plunges Alice into chaos. On TikTok, that chaos is real-life trauma caught on camera.
How the Trend Works
Videos open on an everyday scene: a smiling selfie, a scenic view, a child playing. A quick cut jumps to the aftermath-tears, hospital lights, a funeral program. The soundtrack is almost always the same: a ticking clock or a sparse piano melody that builds tension. Captions timestamp the shift (“4 days before the white rabbit got us”) and invite viewers to witness the fracture.
Key elements repeat across posts:
- Ticking-clock or eerie piano audio
- Caption counting down hours or days “before”
- Sudden cut to injury, death, or disaster
- Comment threads full of “white rabbit got me too”
Personal Stories Going Viral
One of the most-viewed clips comes from a mother who lost her infant son to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The first frame shows the baby giggling in a bouncer. The second is a silent shot of a tiny white casket. “4 days before the white rabbit got us,” the text reads. The caption adds: “Will never stop talking about you🤍 #sidsawareness.”
The video has 7.7 million views and counting. Commenters flood the post with their own grief:
- “I should not have looked up what white rabbit meant🥺”
- “White rabbit got me too🥺🥺🥺🥺” followed by a photo of a late child
Another traveler posted a selfie from Tokyo’s neon-lit streets. “24 hours before the white rabbit got me in Tokyo,” she wrote. The next frame shows a blood-spattered pillow and a swollen eye. In the caption she explains she slipped, slammed her face into a sharp headboard, and rode an ambulance to the ER at 4:30 a.m. for stitches. “Solo traveling is incredible until the white rabbit catches up to you,” she added. Commenters asked if she was healing; she replied she was home resting.
Why Users Embrace the Format
The white rabbit trope gives trauma a shareable shape. By packaging pain into a standardized template, creators can disclose loss without needing to script fresh language. Viewers, in turn, find solidarity in the comment sections-each “white rabbit got me too” acts as a digital condolence card.
According to News Of Losangeles‘s review of dozens of posts, reactions cluster into three groups:
- Sympathy: heart emojis, prayers, shared tears
- Commiseration: users posting their own “before and after”
- Curiosity: newcomers asking “what does white rabbit mean?”
## The Range of Stories
While SIDS and travel accidents rack up millions of views, lighter mishaps appear as well. One creator contrasted a glowing pregnancy test with a follow-up clip of a negative result, captioning it “1 week before the white rabbit.” Another juxtaposed a wedding-day smile with divorce papers, writing “3 years before the white rabbit.” The format flexes to fit any abrupt reversal.
Still, the dominant tone is grief. Scrolling the sound tag reveals a cascade of hospital bracelets, funeral flowers, and RIP tattoos. The ticking audio serves as a metronome for collective heartbreak.
Platform Dynamics
TikTok’s algorithm rewards emotional engagement. Videos that prompt comments, shares, and replays move faster into “For You” feeds. The white rabbit structure is engineered for that loop: viewers rewatch to parse the cut point, then comment with support or their own stories, signaling the algorithm to push the clip further.
Data from News Of Losangeles shows the sound tag has been used in more than 50,000 videos in under two weeks, amassing north of 300 million cumulative views. Early adopters gained followers in the tens of thousands overnight, incentivizing more users to mine their private tragedies for content.
Ethical Questions
Critics argue the format risks turning grief into clout. When a single post can yield brand deals and media interviews, the line between catharsis and commodification blurs. Yet many creators say the platform gave them the only space where their pain felt seen.
One mom who lost her teenage daughter to a car crash told News Of Losangeles, “I can talk about her without explaining every detail. People just know.” The comment section became a support group she didn’t have to leave her bedroom to attend.
Key Takeaways
- The white rabbit trend compresses life-altering moments into a 15-second punch.
- A standardized audio-visual template makes traumatic disclosure frictionless.
- Viral reach offers community, but also raises questions about privacy versus publicity.
- With 7.7 million views on a single SIDS post, the format shows no sign of slowing.
