What is Balkan rage? TikTokers mock popular search terms and trends

TikTok’s Balkan rage has users creating their own algorithm on the platform by copying and pasting popular search terms in their videos.

TikTok’s Balkan rage trend originated from the Balkan female rage fad, where women from southeastern Europe expressed how common it is for them to become angry.

Balkan regions include countries in the Balkan Peninsula like Albania, Bosnia, Greece, Bulgaria, and some parts of Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia.

Women from these areas first took to TikTok in 2022 to express their anger or annoyance. TikToker Gabbie introduced the Balkan female rage trend that year when she shared how she’d “put Balkan men in their place.”

From there, TikTokers gradually started the Balkan rage trend, where they expressed their anger over popular trends and search terms, essentially mocking their relevance.

Balkan rage has increasingly become popular since September 2024 and continues to trend on TikTok as a copypasta meme, meaning users across the platform copy and paste the same set of words to make them become more common and to boost their own views.

Terms and trends that TikTokers mock during their Balkan rage videos include still water, adrenaline, those who know, and even one of this year’s biggest rising stars, Hawk Tuah.

TikToker ‘cookieslayer_227’ went viral for his Balkan rage depiction. As he painted the image of him “nonchalantly sitting in class,” the TikToker listed the few things that are likely to come across his mind.

“I’m in the thick of it, more like I’m getting sick of it,” he wrote as a way to mock KSI’s new song ‘Thick Of It.’ In the video’s caption, the TikToker hashtagged various search terms like Hawk Tuah, still water, mango, and more. 

TikToker ‘natus.fcb’ used the copypasta method in his Balkan rage video where he copied and pasted the associated set of trending words.

He also expressed how excited he was that professional soccer player, Luka Modrić, was from Croatia, meaning he was a strong Balkan rage candidate.

“Wait guys… if Luka Modrić is Croatian… and Croatia is in the Balkans… this means that Luka Modrić can BALKAN RAGE,” the TikToker wrote. 

As the Balkan rage trend continues to go viral on TikTok, so does the Balkan breakfast, which is a popular Balkan meal similar to a charcuterie assortment.