On TikTok, "Mouse Moments" Are The New Way To Self-Soothe

Even the most extroverted people can appreciate a quiet moment to themselves. And for introverts (cough cough, me), those quiet moments make all the difference when it comes to unwinding after a long day or prepping yourself for any social obligations you have on the agenda. On TikTok, that “me-time” has been given a new name, and “little mouse moments” are the new way to ground yourself.

You have likely seen the “mouse moment” trend on TikTok if you’re chronically scrolling your FYP, but perhaps you didn’t know that the trend had a name. It’s clear that people love oversharing about the minute parts of their day on the app and posting their mouse moments has been a way to connect to all of the other people who like taking time to themselves. The hashtag #mousemoment has 94.1 million views on the app and started making its rounds in September 2022.

The trend was inspired by an episode of Creature Comforts, a claymation series by the creators of Wallace & Gromit. In one episode, called “Feeding Time,” a scene features a little mouse quietly enjoying chocolate candy by itself. The original audio of the mouse chewing was mixed with the instrumental song “New Home” by Austin Farwell to create the sound typically paired with TikTok users sharing their little mouse moments.

These moments often include people enjoying a meal or a small snack by themselves in a peaceful, mindful instance. Although the sound might make you feel melancholic, mouse moments do not have to be. They’re simply a time when you are enjoying your own company and not thinking about anything else besides the delicious snack you’re eating.

“Life is made up of mouse moments,” wrote user @katiesbell in a video that shows them snacking in their car. During a chaotic lifestyle, stopping to appreciate a mouse moment is a great way to feel in tune with yourself. User @filipajackson posted a video with the popular audio that said “Eating my kids’ leftovers during nap time and realized I was having a mouse moment.”

For some people, their mouse moments do come from times in their life when they feel left out or lonely, like @idkjaanet who shared a mouse moment after moving to a different country or @marinasworld.x who posted their mouse moment from a new job where they hadn’t made friends yet. But even the loneliest of #mousemoments are never done alone — the hundreds of videos using the hashtag are proof of that.

So, the next time you have a treat at the end of a busy day or find yourself staring off into the distance while taking a bite, just know that you’re having your little mouse moment. We all have them, and what would life really be without them?