- The term "silent walking," or walking without music or distractions, has become increasingly popular online.
- Many TikTokers have made videos praising the concept, although it's been met with equal criticism.
The internet has become a place of quirky rebrands of everyday lifestyle habits. This year has already seen fads like "hot girl walk" (a walk that makes a person feel more confident) and "soft hiking" (walking strenuous terrain at a gentle pace) blow up.
The newest fascination on TikTok is "silent walking," where people intentionally walk quietly, without their phones or other distractions, to get in a positive headspace. The trend has been met with equal support and backlash, as some are criticizing the lifestyle influencers promoting it as trying to reinvent a basic concept.
In the past, "silent walks" have been a way to honor dignified workers or someone who has died. TikTok's version of the trend, which has gained popularity this year, means to stroll outside and tune into natural soundscapes by unplugging earbuds and putting away technology. It also brings to mind the recently popular internet trend of "dopamine detoxing," which seeks to reduce digital stimulation.
@dearmedia Who’s gonna start silent walking ♀️ #silentwalk #hotgirlwalk #healthandwellness #naturewalk #theblondefiles #drwillcole #podcastclips ♬ original sound - Dear Media
"I feel like when I walk in silence, my senses are on high alert. I smell everything, I hear everything, I am seeing everything, and it's so grounding for me," Arielle Lorre, a NYC influencer who helped popularize the "silent walk" trend, said during her podcast "The Blonde Files" in April. "I know the hot girl walk had its moment. I'm trying to make the silent walk girl, or guy, or whatever, a thing."
Lorre, who didn't respond to Insider's request for comment, appears to be one of the earliest adopters of the phrase on TikTok, using it in a clip as far back as January 2023.
The trend was further popularized by the lifestyle influencer Mady Maio, who made a video in June claiming she had accidentally started a "movement" of fellow silent saunterers. She said she discovered silent walking for herself after her nutritionist recommended she go on 30-minute walks every day, and her boyfriend challenged her to walk without distractions like music.
"The first two minutes are mayhem — your mind is racing, you're going to have anxiety," Maio said in the clip, which has been viewed nearly half a million times. "But something happens after two minutes, where your brain just gets into this flow state, and everything is quiet."
@madymaio #stitch with @KENZIEELIZABETH WE’RE SILENT WALKING ALL SUMMER, BABE #walkinggirls #girlswhowalk #meditativewalk #intentionalwalk ♬ original sound - Mady Maio
The TikToker said silent walks have given her "clarity" on issues she "had always been looking for."
While numerous TikTokers have made videos expressing delight at the concept of silent walking, there has also been a torrent of backlash from others who are vexed that people think they can "invent" a new form of walking just by gussying it up with fresh terminology.
Detractors in Maio's comment section quickly pointed out that this type of exercise has been a thing forever — it's called "walking," as some people noted, which naturally allows one's brain to process thoughts without distractions. "You invented the idea of thinking! Amazing!" one person quipped.
"So just going for a walk like we all did in the 90s???" another commenter said. Insider has also reached out to Maio for comment.
Some TikTokers are even making videos to try to take the trend down."I shit you not, they think they just invented going out for a walk with no phone, no screens, just to clear your head," a fellow influencer, @endthestruggeltogether, said in a recent video about the fad. "We've been doing that fucker for 40 years, but all of a sudden, they've just invented it."
@endthestruggletogether Generation zee appear to have invented something called silent walking, which means going out to clear your head for a walk without any phones gadgets or headphones on something is Gen X as I’ve been doing for 40 years. Come on guys go to speed #endthestruggle #genx #genz ♬ original sound - End the struggle
Critics say terms like "silent walks" are more of a sign that people like to "rebrand" more than they are introducing new ideas.
"I don't understand this; what is the obsession with these people who constantly need to rebrand things that we've had since the dawn of fucking time?" the comedian Pinky Patel said in a clip from last week with over 200,000 views. "Now we're rebranding walks… you know what quiet walks are, quiet walks are walks in the suburbs."
Another TikToker, @muzzlesandnursing, made a video mocking silent walkers and said, "These kids have cracked the code. They have found the benefits of walking."
"No, that's what we did before we had Walkmans and we were walking to the school bus," he continued. "What? Where are we? Have they not heard of mall walkers?"
The comments on these critical videos are packed with people similarly confused at how anyone could try to pass off walking without music as a new phenomenon.
Still, some viewers are optimistic about the trend: "I think it's a good thing… they are learning," one person wrote on @endthestruggletogether's video.