While idly browsing the Web diligently scouring the Internet for important news this morning, I made the mistake of clicking a link which would make me quiver with dread. What could possibly be so frightening? Photo proof that Internet memes are taking over the real world.
The photo in question was uploaded to Imgur — the photo-hosting service of choice for Reddit users — and pointed out by a commenter on the popular link-sharing site.
In the image, we see a bored-looking bespectacled redhead who is holding up a sign proclaiming "I left the ocean. It's too current." Yes, that's right — it's a real-life version of "Hipster Ariel."
The "Hipster Ariel" meme has been making its way around the Internet since about the beginning of 2011, according to trend-tracking site KnowYourMeme. The basic idea is to poke fun of the contemporary hipster subculture by using macro images — photos with superimposed captions — of an altered version of Disney's Ariel.
Even though it's suggested that the photo of real-life "Hipster Ariel" was taken during ACen, an anime and manga convention, it is still slightly unnerving to see that this particular meme has crossed into the real world. After all, what other — far less innocent memes — might follow in its path?
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Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook.
