By Isobel van Hagen
Fellow, Culture
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The latest "where are you sitting" meme trend forces Twitter users to relive high school — in a sense — by making people choose where to sit in the cafeteria. The viral meme mimics a Mean Girls approach to lunch-table cliques, and delineates each table with a different choice. The meme has spread to various subculture fandoms and asks which table you'd most like to sit at based on your preferences.
The meme is pretty simple. To create it, all you need is a picture of multiple tables and then decide on your chosen subject matter (the more controversial, the better). The meme seems to have gained so much attention because it works for fans of both niche and wide-ranging interests.
This type of meme has completely taken over Twitter in the past week and not just "stan" Twitter — ranging from favorite characters, favorite songs, and favorite TV episodes. Film Twitter, music Twitter and all the various Twitter subcultures have jumped in on it.
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From Disney channel TV shows to Taylor Swift singles, the versatile meme works for all and it's leaving a lot of people torn when choosing their lunchtime companions.
The meme appeared across the board for all kinds of music fans — more mainstream music fans, like Abba-listeners used the meme, as well as fans with so-called "indie" taste:
Some users even took the meme literally:
The game began with stan Twitter accounts in late July 2019, according to KnowYourMeme.com — a site that documents various internet phenomena. It said the meme later progressed to broader categories like fashion and mainstream subjects.
On July 30th, Twitter user @journalsfire posted one of the earliest known cafeteria table edits and asked, "Where are you sitting?" The tables were label with various Justin Bieber songs. The tweet gained over 100 likes in a week.
The next day, On July 31, @miniesjen used the same image on another K-Pop variation of the meme, asking "PJMERS WHERE YALL SITTING?" which gained over 5,000 likes and 700 retweets in six days. August 2 is when the meme really caught on and went viral across the platform.
Complex's Pigeons & Planes dreamed up the cafeteria scenario on August 6 with MF Doom, Cardi B and Michael Cera, among other celebrities, including Beyonce, Chance the Rapper and Drake.
Some music fans had trouble making the decision about where to sit: one user tweeted, "If you aren't at number 1, there's something wrong," while another said, "I'm pushing tables 1 and 2 together, and intermittently running over to table 7."
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