- There's a recent meme that assures parents their kids don't have a secret relationship.
- Instead, they're probably looking at pictures of celebrities.
- The meme taps into the deep loneliness of fandom.
- It originated from South Korean boy band fans and spread to more mainstream fandom communities.
It's normal for parents to worry about their kids. We live in an age when they have 24/7 access to almost anyone in the world with a glowing rectangle that seems to be in their hands at all times. There's a lot that can go wrong.
It's fine, too, to worry about your kids having a secret boyfriend and girlfriend when they're texting and laughing on their phones. What could be more terrifying for a parent?
A recent meme assures parents that they have nothing to stress over. It could be something else — probably a GIF of a celebrity, or a funny video.
The meme recently caught fire with a tweet about Taylor Swift — which was then replicated for other celebrities.
dear parents,
— hannah! 🏳️🌈 (@loveisasecrett) June 4, 2018
just because your child is smiling at their phone doesn't mean they have a boyfriend/girlfriend. maybe they're just looking at high quality photos of taylor swift
Dear parents,
— dawn misses loki☀️ (@twhftloki) June 6, 2018
just because your child is smiling at their phone doesn't mean they have a boyfriend/girlfriend. Maybe they're just looking at HD photos of Tom Hiddleston.
Dear parents,
— triv (@bedroomflicker) June 6, 2018
just because your child is smiling at their phone doesn't mean they have a boyfriend/girlfriend. Maybe they're just looking at pictures of a legend called Niall Horan
dear parents,
— ❦ (@greenIight) June 7, 2018
just because your child is smiling at their phone doesn't mean they have a boyfriend / girlfriend. maybe they're just looking at a low quality gif of ariana grande saying “and what about it?”
Its a good meme. It gets at a few different universal feelings: The FOMO of someone else having a relationship you don't know about; the acknowledgement that you are, in fact, alone; and participating in a fandom to try to fill that hollow feeling.
The meme, in fact, is older than those tweets from June. The earlier examples on Twitter are from March and reference South Korean pop bands.
Dear Parents,
— rene ◡̈ (@bomhyunism) March 16, 2018
Just because your child is smiling at their phone doesn’t mean they’re texting their boyfriend or girlfriend, maybe they’re just watching Golden Child Snapshots Season 1 Episode 28 on loop.
dear parents,
— n loves jinsoul and bts (@tenseuls) March 17, 2018
just because your child is smiling at their phone doesn’t mean they’re texting their bf/gf, maybe they’re just watching Around you MV by Hyunjin from LOOΠΔ
Dear parents
— sar (@siyeonips) March 17, 2018
just because your child is smiling at their phone, doesn’t mean they’re texting someone they like. They're probably listening to NEO GOT MY BACK CULTURE THINGS TECH TECH ON MY MIND
Dear parents,
— godjinie on ig (@godjinnie) March 17, 2018
just because your child is smiling at their phone, doesn’t mean they’re texting someone they like. They're probably looking at 180125 yoongi pics pic.twitter.com/3F54TlOk3k
The meme had another, more popular cycle a month late, still centered on Korean boy bands.
dear parents,
— aske 석진 (@outrotear) April 19, 2018
just because your child is smiling fondly at their phone doesn’t mean they have a bf or gf, maybe they’re just watching the let go performance of bts wearing black see through clothes
dear parents,
— ً (@bangtan) April 21, 2018
just because your child is smiling fondly at their phone doesn’t mean they have a bf or gf, maybe they’re just watching the fancam of taekook dance the tango infront of thousands of people cause they’re in love and it’s what they deserve.
In June, it really kicked into high gear. That's when it hit the more mainstream fandom communities, for people who love celebrities like Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande. The anime fandom community also seems to like it a lot.
Dear parents,
— Momo ✨ (@CreationalMomo) June 12, 2018
Just because your child is smiling at their phone doesn’t mean they have a boyfriend/girlfriend. Maybe they’re just looking at pictures of Momo Yaoyorozu pic.twitter.com/lAjHLnfobe
Dear parents,
— Uraraka (@ImUravity) June 12, 2018
Just because your child is smiling at their phone doesn’t mean they have a boyfriend/girlfriend. Maybe they’re just looking at pictures of their BNHA Wiafu’s. pic.twitter.com/bK6nKWghwG
Dear parents,
— Carlos (@SomeKirbyFan) June 12, 2018
Just because your child is smiling at their phone doesn't mean they have a boyfriend/girlfriend. Maybe they're just looking at pics of Ms. Chalice pic.twitter.com/mR4Tkmzx7m
dear parents,
— lea ⚓ (@damnhyIand) June 12, 2018
just because your child is smiling at their phone doesn't mean they have a boyfriend / girlfriend. maybe they're just looking at pictures of maia mitchell. pic.twitter.com/ohuB9CHEgs
Dear parents.
— sofia🇻🇪 (@buckyromanian) June 12, 2018
Just because your child is smiling at their phone doesn't mean they have a boyfriend/girlfriend. Maybe they’re just looking at the Tom Holland Lip Sync Battle Performance. pic.twitter.com/P5oVRgYVMv
dear parents,
— best of dua lipa (@dualipafeels) June 12, 2018
just because your child is smiling at their phone doesn't mean they have a boyfriend or a girlfriend. maybe they're just looking at @dualipa’s smile. pic.twitter.com/Swla0dbcdu
dear parents,
— jerry (@stylestruIy) June 12, 2018
just because your child is smiling at their phone doesn't mean they have a boyfriend/girlfriend. maybe they're just looking at a compilation of ryan gosling screaming pic.twitter.com/1BiAh9rF12
And then it got weird and became about Waluigi for some reason?
dear parents,
— mochi (@deathofdin) June 12, 2018
just because your child is smiling at their phone doesn’t mean that they have a girlfriend/boyfriend. maybe they are looking at pictures of waluigi pic.twitter.com/1m4wTecOoW
Today, finally, the meme made its way around the world and ended up not far from where it started: North Korea.
Dear parents,
— joseph :D (@sleepatlast) June 12, 2018
Just because your child is looking at their phone and smiling doesn't mean they have a girlfriend or boyfriend. They may just be looking at a picture of Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un pic.twitter.com/OYL7FAbJss
So parents, don't worry. Your kids aren't dating anyone. They're just looking at pictures of Kim Jong-Un.
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