It might be easy to understand what “oating” is — but the why is a little more difficult.The new trend, which has been going viral on TikTok, has Gen Zers hiding large containers of oats from their friends.If someone finds the oats by accident, according to the trend, they have to dump the container on their head.The trend has become incredibly popular, with videos using the #oated hashtag racking up more than 12 million views .TikTok users have started going to extreme lengths to trick their friends.
Some have hidden the oats inside ovens, backpacks and even the trunk of a car.It’s clear that some oating videos are staged, while others seem to capture a real, full-on prank.Unlike “icing,” which involves chugging a way too sweet alcoholic drink while your friends yell at you, oating feels much more lighthearted.There’s some kind of strange camaraderie to the whole thing, with TikTokers jokingly yelling things like “Get oated!” and “Ah, which one of y’all oated me?”