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Johannesburg’s Mall of Africa has been trending and not for the reasons one might assume. This last weekend, the mall in Midrand was flooded with high schoolers who turned it into the city's next party spot.
Malls have been notoriously known for giving high school kids a space to socialise. In my day, we would go to Montecasino where we would tell our parents that we would watch a movie, and instead, chill with friends outside or walk around the casino precinct, looking to make connections with other kids until our parents would call us to tell us they were outside to collect us.
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It seems like it is one of our country's new-age rites of passage. We were the skrr skrr generation, and now, we have finally met a new generation found in the daring Luh Twizzy.
While both terms are used to describe urban kids, usually found in the north or Braamfontein, skrr skrrs take on more of an all-encompassing aesthetic that’s somewhat wavy and carefree. Luh Twizzys take a darker twist with more of a toxic f**k boy energy, hair over their eyes in pictures and a hard rock aesthetic with inspirations from the 2000s mall rat era, grunge and the Marilyn Manson aesthetic.
@tylerxmenz Because when did i get so old ?? #fyp#foryoupage #luhtwizzy #video #awareness #montecasino #monte #fyp ? original sound - Twinklingtfairy
The term seems to have been inspired by the social media app TikTok in something called the Luh Twizzy challenge. The challenge stipulates that teenagers storm a mall and cause absolute chaos for the customers at the mall.
@stfu.simba What happened at Mall of Africa / MOA , on 25 March 2023 Luh Twizzy #SAMA28#luhtwizzy#twizzy#yeat#goth#viral? Out thë way - Yeat
Phillip Ralehlaka wrote "If you have a teenager, it’s time you pay serious attention to them and their lifestyle. After yesterday’s Mall of Africa incident, my son who happened to be there with his mom and sister, gave me a brief description about this Luh Twizzy. They pic.twitter.com/nSTfWv9oDm
— MDN NEWS (@MDNnewss) March 26, 2023
I think the luh twïzzy era is about to come to an end after what happened yesterday..#justice4anele ????????? pic.twitter.com/2P31XHi2dO
— go.crxi_ashl3y2x (@go_crxi) March 26, 2023
These 2 #luhtwizzy kids were fighting over a girl pic.twitter.com/XuS2vfwZQk
— go.crxi_ashl3y2x (@go_crxi) March 27, 2023
Mall of Africa confirmed the chaos in a statement, but denied the alleged death of a teenager, saying:
The Luh Twizzy movement is a growing phenomenon in South Africa, and Mall of Africa’s incident wasn’t the first, and definitely won't be the last we see of the Luh Twizzys.
@vvs.fuseg Luh twizzys what have yall done#montecasino#luhtwizzy#southafrica#nobitcches#huns#fyp#nyash? Safa Saphel' Isizwe - S'busiso Ngema
I'll be the first to say that the Luh Twizzys have definitely proven to be quite a menacing bunch. However, there is something quite phenomenal about their ability to band together for one common goal and their commitment to their very own subculture.
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If the goal is to catch our attention, the 2000s are definitely succeeding and if their power could be used for more positive change, then our country's future might be secure in the hands of generation alpha.
