What is ‘The Great Lock In’? Inside Gen Z’s end-of

Summer is drawing to a close, back-to-school season is here, and it’s the final sprint toward 2026. Cue “The Great Lock In of 2025.”

In mid-August, social media started buzzing with posts about “The Great Lock In.” As the name suggests, it’s built around the Gen Z slang for fully committing or hyperfocusing on a task, goal, or activity. From now until the end of the year, the idea is to “lock in” and to get your life in order and your goals checked off before 2026.

It is upon us ladies and gentlemen #fyp #xyzbca #real

According to the Know Your Meme website, the trend began with creator @shmeat27, who last month posted NBA highlights captioned: “The type energy we bringing to the great lock in aug-oct 2025.” That video has nearly a quarter of a million views and has since inspired a wav