X memes for Y teens
November 6, 2021 7:40 AM Subscribe
Where did the “[adjective] memes for [other adjective] teens” template (for shitposting or other online groups) originate? I looked at the NUMTOT Wikipedia article but it didn’t really answer my question.
So: when/where/how did this pattern achieve memetic success? Was NUMTOT the first or was it already a Thing when they chose their name? And, I think part of the appeal of this naming pattern is the feeling that it’s riffing off of some hamfisted “for the kids” media titles of the past—is it an homage to any specific retro media or does it just have that aesthetic?
So: when/where/how did this pattern achieve memetic success? Was NUMTOT the first or was it already a Thing when they chose their name? And, I think part of the appeal of this naming pattern is the feeling that it’s riffing off of some hamfisted “for the kids” media titles of the past—is it an homage to any specific retro media or does it just have that aesthetic?
Best answer: "The earliest known iterations comes from the Facebook group "Dank Memes for Edgy Teens," a Facebook meme page, which launched on May 20th, 2015."
posted by MonkeyToes at 8:07 AM on November 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by MonkeyToes at 8:07 AM on November 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
Regarding the aesthetic, I wondered if everyday rhymes or near rhymes for teens would jog my memory, but while some of those would be hilarious and some have been tried and some like 'jeans for teens' probably exist too, I suspect the n-gram viewer for 'for teens' shows a likely story--'for teens' peaked in 2007, making it amusingly retro by 2015.
posted by Wobbuffet at 8:31 AM on November 6, 2021
posted by Wobbuffet at 8:31 AM on November 6, 2021
I’m not remembering the specifics, but wasn’t there a scandal where a couple of high school seniors admitted to Harvard had their admission offers withdrawn because of their (racist? Sexist?) postings in a group with this name format?
posted by LizardBreath at 9:21 AM on November 6, 2021
posted by LizardBreath at 9:21 AM on November 6, 2021
Know Your Meme gives as the origin a Facebook meme page called Dank Memes for Edgy Teens started in 2015. Knowing KYM there's a possibility of an earlier usage, but that one passes the sniff test for where the culture was at at the time.
posted by jy4m at 11:12 AM on November 6, 2021
posted by jy4m at 11:12 AM on November 6, 2021
I couldn't swear to it, but I think the 'adjective noun for adjective teens/tweens/kids' thing has to go back decades and decades- 90s? 80s? Farther?
posted by wotsac at 5:14 PM on November 6, 2021
posted by wotsac at 5:14 PM on November 6, 2021
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posted by rivenwanderer at 7:42 AM on November 6, 2021