The “flex” trend is catching fire among young people in Vietnam. Its popularity is clear with the Facebook group “Flex Till Your Last Breath” gaining over 1.2 million members in just two months. Even more impressive, the group’s membership keeps growing by the hour with no sign of slowing down.
“Flex” is an English slang term widely used by young people and rap fans on social media. According to the Oxford dictionary, “flex” literally means to bend something, but in slang, it means to show off excessively, sometimes in an annoying way.
Besides wondering “What does flex mean?”, many are curious why this trend has become so hot.
Why is the flex trend so popular?
The word “flex” spread through rap music when famous rappers started using it in their songs. Ice Cube was one of the first to use “flex” in his track “It Was A Good Day.” Later, stars like Cardi B, Drake, Travis Scott, and A$AP Rocky helped turn flexing into a global trend.
In Vietnam, the flex trend also started with rappers using the word in their songs. Rapper 16 Typh made “flex” popular after featuring it in his song Don’t Waste My Time during the first season of Rap Vietnam. Recently, with “flex” appearing again on Rap Vietnam season 3, Gen Z fans quickly picked it up and turned it into a viral craze.
Flexing became even more popular thanks to a journalist with a strong social media presence who often posts about their luxurious lifestyle. At first, many netizens found it irritating, but it soon turned into a trend.
The flex trend comes from people’s desire to show off when they achieve something special or stand out. Thanks to young people’s creativity, flexing has evolved beyond bragging or competing. It’s mostly about entertaining with charming, fun posts that spread positive energy.
Participants include not only overseas students, singers, and famous artists but also athletes, masters, and PhDs working abroad. Notable figures include MC Đức Bảo, MC Khánh Vy, Hà Myo (Vietnam’s Outstanding Young Person 2022), Miss Lương Thùy Linh, singer Hoàng Dũng, influencer Nguyễn Lâm Thảo Tâm, and climbers from Đường lên đỉnh Olympia.
Almost anyone can flex about achievements, unique talents, meeting idols, photos with celebrities, billion-dollar bank accounts, impressive academic records, attending prestigious schools, luxury cars, six-pack abs, or even having four knuckles on one finger. Each post often gets thousands to tens of thousands of likes.
Besides the humor, flex posts attract attention with witty and sharp comebacks in the comments. This playful interaction is another reason why many young people love and join the trend.
Many believe that, from a positive perspective, this trend motivates young people to strive, study, and improve themselves to become “the ideal kid.” However, overdoing flexing can also create invisible pressure for those still working hard and haven’t achieved much yet.
