Selfie Kid: Superbowl 52 births February’s first wholesome meme

Many South Africans may not think of American Football as a valid sport (I mean, we have rugby after all), but we most certainly recognise a good meme when we see one.

Dubbed #SelfieKid by Twitter, a 13-year-old boy looking completely nonplussed after taking a selfie with Justin Timberlake mid-Superbowl performance, may just be the meme we needed to kick off the month. Buh-bye Ugandan Knuckles.

Reddit’s MemeEconomy sub — basically the Dow Jones of the meme world (without the financial volatility) — announced a screenshot of the kid as an excellent format for investment Sunday. But later, its value dropped after “imminent normification“. And judging by its sudden popularity across social media, we’d say that its firmly in the internet zeitgeist this week.

Over on Twitter, while the Philadelphia Eagles was handing its game of the century to the New England Patriots, #SelfieKid began trending across the United States.

Users quickly took screenshots of the kid, whose real name is Ryan McKenna, and placed it alongside another frame portraying what, in their minds, he was doing on his phone.

pic.twitter.com/7tucdQili6

— Rahul Kothari (@rahulk013) February 5, 2018

pic.twitter.com/BMhFwEjFZq

— Neeraj K. Agrawal (@NeerajKA) February 5, 2018

What #selfiekid was really doing pic.twitter.com/zemd7k1XIZ

— flamin hot cheetos (@baylorfit) February 5, 2018

Even Left Shark, Superbowl 49’s favourite meme.

You vs. The Guy She Tells You Not To Worry About#SelfieKid #LeftShark pic.twitter.com/atPAW41i5L

— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) February 5, 2018

But what was he actually doing on his phone? McKenna was reportedly recording a video when the selfie opportunity arose.

“I just thought to myself, ‘I’ll never get this opportunity again in my whole life’. I just went for it,” he told a Minneapolis reporter.

We don’t expect this meme to become as legendary as Left Shark, but this little kid does represent the person in all of us. That person who would rather be on Instagram than sing along to a Timberlake song.

Feature image: screenshot, Rahul Kothari (@rahulk013) via Twitter