10 Things the Internet Obsessed Over in 2016

By Isabelle Garreaud on December 13, 2016

Another year, another bundle of memes we overused. Last year, the memes were a bit more lighthearted but after the disaster of 2016, it shouldn’t surprise you that this year’s were a bit darker.

In fact, this year was considered so awful that it became its own meme. It is finally coming to an end so let’s look back at the memes and viral content that made us laugh (well, maybe except one).

1. Damn Daniel

Damn internet, back at it with the obsessing over nonsense videos. If your name is Daniel, you probably had a tough year and avoided wearing anything that resembled white Vans. Damn Daniel became a sensation after Twitter user @Josholzz (Josh Holz) posted a collection of videos of him commenting on his friend Daniel Lara’s outfits in an amusing voice. Yup, that is pretty much all it was and yet, the internet went crazy for it.

The best was when he said, “Damn, Daniel! Back at it again with the white Vans!”

People loved it so much, they made their own versions of the phrase and it even got its own Snapchat filter at one point! This short video provides hope to those who think viral content is now dead since Vine is no longer a thing because it was originally posted on Twitter!

Twitter/@Josholzz

2. Arthur’s fist

You probably remember growing up with this ’90s show and this year, it became popular again thanks to a Twitter post. Twitter user @AlmostJT thought the screencap of Arthur’s fist from an old episode was relatable AF and posted about it. Soon, everyone was using the picture to show their Internet anger over something.

We had 17 years to make a joke out of Arthur’s fist. That’ right, this screencap is from an episode in 1999. I guess if you are ever watching an old cartoon episode, see if anything can be turned into a reaction meme!

Twitter/@kingfee901

3. Conceited’s pursed lips

Here is another reaction that the Internet was obsessed about and honestly, it is the perfect petty duck-face! Did you know that this is actually the face of the rapper Conceited who made this face during a rap battle? I don’t know why but that makes it 10x funnier!

This was pretty much everyone’s face when 2016 was like, “don’t worry, I can fix this!”

Knowyourmeme.com

4. White House memes

Barack Obama and Joe Biden will be leaving the White House in January but, at least, we will always have their memes! The internet was always obsessed with the bromance between these two but as the election wore on, our Vice President was turned into a practical jokester.

After Trump was elected, a whole lot of memes like this one popped up where Joe wanted to prank Trump and Obama had to tell him no. I wonder if Obama just sits in his oval office laughing at what the Internet is doing to his legacy.

Twitter/@TeethonTeeth

5. Gavin, the kid

I bet some of you are going, “Oh, he has a name!” This kid has been popping up all over social media for months as a reaction meme but it took me forever to figure out what his name actually is. Gavin is like the most recognizable kid on the internet at the moment. HE HAS SO MANY FACES!

This 5-year-old became famous thanks to his Uncle, the Vine star Nick Mastodon, who kept shoving a camera in his nephew’s face. There is a Gavin face for every situation and is basically the new Chloe (BTW, that was three years ago). I wonder what this kid is going to think when he is older and realizes his face is plastered everywhere on the Internet.

Twitter/@GavMemes 

6. Water bottle flip

You know something did well on the Internet when there is a Wikipedia page about it and it gets banned in schools. The water bottle flip challenge had everyone trying to flip a water bottle in the air so it would land straight up, which is actually a lot harder than it seems.

Water bottle flipping became popular when a teenager at a high school in North Carolina did the act during his school talent show. The video went viral for the kid’s weird talent (and the students’ wild reaction) and soon everyone was trying to be cool like him.

Remember when people used to get excited about throwing a paper ball in a trash can?

Twitter

7. Dicks out for Harambe

This time it wasn’t a dress that divided our nation but rather the death of an animal. On May 28th, a four-year-old boy managed to fall into the enclosure of a 17-year-old western lowland gorilla named Harambe at the Cincinnati Zoo and the whole thing was caught on camera because, you know, it’s 2016. As a result, Harambe had to be shot and killed so they could safely rescue the boy.

This caused an outrage all over the country as people were pissed at Cincinnati Zoo for killing an innocent gorilla. Soon, the hatred was directed towards the mother of the boy and thousands of commenters demanded that she pay for being a bad parent. Many believed his death was unjustified and Harambe basically became the mascot for 2016. #JusticeforHarambe #RIPHarambe

The Internet, once again, didn’t let something go and soon Harambe became a meme. Enter the photoshop kings. What really went viral was when Twitter user @sexualjumanji uploaded a picture of himself holding a fake gun with the caption, “We comin with them dicks out to avenge harambe!!!” Cue everyone to start chanting “dicks out for Harambe.”

Twitter/@HarambeDepot

8. Michael Phelps’ Olympic face

Move over Mckayla Maroney, Michael Phelps is the new Olympic meme king! The Rio Olympics had a lot going on with scandals here and there (cough cough, Ryan Lochte) and the gold medalist summed it up with the perfect face!

Apparently, he was in the zone right before his 200-meter butterfly semi-finals but everyone thought he was glaring at his rival Chad Le Clos. Either way, it was funny AF and the Internet loved making a meme out of him!

Twitter/@AJVoelpelCG

9. Me-to-me Kermit

The screencap of Kermit and his evil self is from the 2012 “Muppets Most Wanted” film, but it recently became a meme because, I mean, we always have a Kermit meme. Twitter user Anya made a joke out of it about stealing fluffy dogs and then it went viral, becoming a meme of its own.

It is basically 2016 version of the age old “devil and angel on your shoulders” meme. Except the devil is more like your inner conscious telling you to do something stupid because #YOLO.

Twitter/@aaannnnyyyyaaaa

10. 2016 was a meme of its own

2016 was just so awful that all we can really do at this point is laugh until we cry. Making fun of this year became a meme because how else were we supposed to cope with it? Some were related to the election, some to deaths (including Harambe, of course), and some were just summing it up in total.

Happy to say, this year is finally coming to an end. Let’s hope that maybe 2017 memes will be about how great it is.

Instagram/sarahandersencomics

Now, the real question is: What is in store for next year? What will become the new Vine? 

Feature image source: Twitter/@TheGavinMemes

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