If you haven't seen it, here’s the most popular meme of the month.
The video series is exactly what it looks like -- high school sophomore, Josh Holz, filmed his friend, a freshman named Daniel Lara, every day in class, walking up to him and saying, “Damn, Daniel,” and things like, “Back at it again with the white Vans.”
How did something so simple become such a popular meme, and so quickly? With how fast things go viral today, it’s hard to say, but the short version is that Holz started putting Lara on Snapchat every day, and people loved it. The boys were even on the "Ellen DeGeneres" show to talk about their experiences going viral. Even before they got the attention of America’s favorite daytime talk show host, large brands such as Clorox, Axe and Denny’s started using the meme in their advertisements. It’s been made into a “trap remix.”
Needless to say,“Damn, Daniel” is everywhere.
I adore this meme. Why? First, because it’s so innocent. One friend wanted to put another friend on his Snapchat story to be funny and cute, and social media around the nation fell in love with it. How much more harmless can a meme get?
Also, once you get past the sheer adorability of the situation, it’s interesting to think about what it means for our generation and society in general that memes like this are so common. The popularity of memes like “Damn, Daniel” is unquestioned. If anything, people might note how fast the videos and the jokes have spread, but for the most part we’re just sharing the memes and laughing. That’s what Internet memes are there for, after all: for everyone to see them and have a lighthearted giggle for a few minutes before we head back to our lives.
The fact that memes like this have not only become so ingrained in us as a society but are also a readily available source of (albeit small) happiness says something truly positive about modern technology. This may sound silly to people who feel that technology hinders human connection, but I get the feeling that the common sharing of hilarious Internet memes like “Damn, Daniel” brings people together. The political neutrality and humor of this series of videos, as well as others like it, is the kind of thing that brings society together today. This is in contrast to the way that people might have gathered around the TV to watch monumental events like the moon landing in the 1960's. Sure, we still bond over major events in 2016, but now there’s a way to connect over something pure, entertaining, and less politically charged on a daily basis: the Internet meme.
The best example of a culturally connecting meme so far has been “Damn, Daniel”, and I think that’s why it became so popular. The videos are so ridiculously simple that it’s either funny or outrageous to watch them and see how far they went in terms of cultural significance, and this meme lacks most of the harmful aspects of memes such as Alex from Target.
Everyone’s opinion on “Damn, Daniel” is different, but what’s important to note is that it made an impact, even if that impact was just making a large part of the country smile, in an extremely short time. This is a testament to the new way people connect, particularly people in the generation of Millennials. Besides, just imagine what this did for the sales of white Vans.
