Category Archives: culture

“Y U NO UNDERSTAND? Do u even meme, bro??” The Spread of Internet Memes

 

Since 2005 when I first became an internet gal, I’ve noticed how much internet trends and memes have taken over our culture; from the good ol’ “Hamster Dance” trend of 1999, through the “Peanut Butter Jelly Time” dance of 2001, past the “Over 9000!!” videos of 2006, and to the current various captioned images. These memes have gotten to the point where they have leaked off of the internet and seeped into our everyday lives. (Just look around UMW and you’re bound to see a few internet references.)

This has impacted me over the years because, having grown up with these trends, they’ve effected the way I speak, and who I tend to make friends with. Back in high school, you could differentiate a sports jock from an internet nerd simply from the vocabulary they used. For example, I saw a guy sitting by himself during lunch time (which could also indicate that they could be in the internet geek category because they tend to not talk much or be totally anti-social) and I decided to go over and sit next to him. I asked what he was reading an he told me; my response was “Hm, interesting. Has anyone really been far even as decided to use and even go and want to do more like?” He looked up from his book and gave me the proper response: “If anyone had been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like, what look to go more like would they even decide to use?”. This may seem like useless gibberish to a normal person, but this was in fact a meme of 2009 that started on a 4chan board and had spread onto different internet community blogs. It honestly shocked me that he not only knew what I was referencing, but he knew the actual response to it! Can you say best friends instantly?? Now I tried saying a simple meme to a cheerleader who was picking on me. She told me that I was in her chair (which wasn’t even hers anyway) and I responded with “UMADBRO?” She didn’t understand the reference and she told me not to call her my bro.

So now that these trends are being spread everywhere at rapid fire, and more people are starting to jump on social media sites, individuals are starting to understand them and they’re becoming mainstream. References are being used on posters, billboards, news sites, and television. This is cool and all, but the hidden hipster side of me gets a bit peeved when she walks by a girl with a Troll Face shirt on and she tells me that she doesn’t know what the face is; Yes, this has happened. Even my mom tries to be “hip” by asking me “Do you even lift, Amber??” I just facepalm….

Side note, check out this youtube network called Animeme that animates the different internet memes; Insanity wolf, Idiot nerd girl, various rage faces, Mafia baby, ect. (hint: I voice nearly all the females in the series)