Here’s Why Everyone Is Commenting “Story Time” And “Crop” On TikTok

The latest TikTok trend won’t be all over your For You Page right away, but once you see it, you’ll see it everywhere. People have been commenting the same phrases over and over in the comments section of so many TikTok videos, seemingly for no reason at all. If you’re wondering what “story time” and “crop” comments mean in the TikToks you’ve watched recently, you're not alone. The terms have caused a frenzy among TikTokers who feel left out on the inside joke. To put an end to the confusion, here’s what the terms mean and why you’re seeing them everywhere.

Unlike a dance or viral sound, you’ll need to look in the TikTok comments section to see the trend in play. The two phrases — “crop” and “story time” — flooded the TikTok comments section so quickly as of March 30 that you can't even avoid them, according to users who have turned to Twitter to vent about it taking over. The issue most TikTokers seem to have with the phrases is that that they appear to show up randomly, having nothing to do with the video. The responses pointing out that this new “crop” and “story time” trend in the comments section is “not funny,” which seems to point to the random nature of the current use of the phrases on TikTok.

OK, “story time” and “crop” are everywhere, but what do these terms mean? This Reddit question posted by user jamil2003 on March 30 posed the same query. In the thread, user RJS_Racing shared the top answer decoding the terms, but here’s the TL;DR.

“Story Time” Meaning On TikTok

Have you ever seen a TikTok video and wondered, how did that happen? That is essentially where "story time" comes in. When you see the phrase in a comment, it means viewers are requesting the creator explain the situation behind the TikTok or elaborate on parts of their video. It’s a riff on the original story time videos where creators would begin by saying "story time" to indicate to their viewers that they have a story to tell.

“Crop” Meaning On TikTok

The term "crop" is a little more complicated. To understand what it means in the latest trend, you'll need to be familiar with the TikTok app layout. Each video posted has a follow, like, comment, and share button on the right side of the screen. Plus, the creator's username, caption, sound, and any filters used are on the bottom of the screen. All this takes up a ton of space that can sometimes obstruct the video.

The solution is formatting the video to take account of the app's buttons and resizing it, so it appears smaller on the screen. “Crop” originally popped up in the comments of meme videos, where users wanted creators to repost the video so they could screenshot the meme without the TikTok borders. In the way that any slang term is born, "crop" became an easier way of asking for this niche request.

So, while the terms have actual utility, the reason you’re seeing them all over as of late March/early April seems to be part of a collective trend to use “story time” and “crop” in a random manner. Whether or not you’re here for it, this latest trend means you may need to keep your eyes on the comments section to stay fully up-to-date on all the latest TikTok happenings — or else you might just miss out an a major story time.