Meme culture has been dominating the internet since the dawn of its existence. Starting around the early 2000s this phenomenon has become a part of everyday life. For those of you who do not know, memes are an idea or joke expressed through content on the internet. Whether this is an idea, a photo, or a Tweet, the content at hand gets spread around based on its reliability or humor.
Throughout meme culture, many questionable memes have taken center stage, from John Cena's name flashing in bright lights, to the surgical procedure of a grape. Without context, these things might sound absurd, but that's just what they are.
Now that we have defined what memes are, let's talk about the newest sensation: "I'm baby." If you're new to the meme madness that is the internet, this is not the place to start. Even I, an educated user of the world wide web, am left a bit confused as to why this meme surfaced. Today we are going to dive a bit deeper into what brought this meme to light and to why memes like these are so popular.
The Origin.
On March 2nd, 2017, a California teenager was left alone to babysit her niece. During the duration of her babysitting, the girl texted her mother out of panic during a home invasion. Her mother's autocorrected response to her daughter's distress was "I'm baby, call 911." Later that June, a Tumblr user posted a screenshot of the message with the caption "what does this mean?" (seen above). This response received more than 16,000 notes in less than two years.
The Popularity.
Me explaining to my boyfriend why he can’t scold me: https://t.co/hYR0ucimnv— 𝓶𝓸𝓮𝓼𝓱𝓪 🐻✨🍒 (@𝓶𝓸𝓮𝓼𝓱𝓪 🐻✨🍒) 1550830982.0
Despite the odd and unfortunate origin, that didn't stop this meme from spreading like wildfire. The text conversation between the daughter and her mother happened in 2017, it didn't gain its popularity until earlier this year. On February 22, 2019, Twitter user @Moeshayan tweeted a picture of video game character, Kirby, pointing at an image that reads "I'm baby" (seen above). The post received much attention on the platform, receiving more than 52,000 retweets and 109,000 likes in one month. Since this post, many other "I'm baby" memes have followed, many of which are included in this article.
The meaning behind "I'm baby."
I SAID i’m baby https://t.co/ZNEzmMwslw— mita (@mita) 1553024658.0
The phrase "I'm baby" isn't as complex as one may think. Calling yourself "baby" simply refers to softness or vulnerability about oneself. It can also be used to refer to being someone's significant other or to one being delicate and cute. Some see it as being interchangeable with the term "smol," another word for something that is cute and tiny. The term is used for many reasons, whether it be as a joke, or to refer back to the comfort of infancy.
Why do we even like memes?
me after tweeting I’m baby https://t.co/9QLJf6GMfK— kanye west news (@kanye west news) 1552870113.0
So, why are we even taking about this? Internet culture has made memes a part of everyday life. Anywhere you go on the internet, you will encounter something meme related. One appeal of memes is feeling like you are a part of one large inside joke. Memes make you feel like you are a member of a club or a community. According to one German researcher, memes are simply "inside jokes or pieces of hip underground knowledge." I guess being an insider is a huge part of the appeal. Other reasons for their popularity include the fact that other members of the internet create them, and others can contribute to them, as well. Memes are not made by a company (unless you're Wendy's), but rather net anonymous users on the internet. This allows us to alter and share memes throughout mediums carefree.
Let's conclude
All in all, I am still confused about the "I'm baby" meme, but that's the internet for you. Some things do not need an absolute explanation behind them to be funny, sometimes they just are. That's the appeal of meme culture, after all. In a few months, this phenomenon will be dead and gone and another will take its place. That's the beauty of the internet.
Maybe we will never know who "baby" is, but we do know where the saying came from. Whether you're "baby" or not, I hope your confusion is no longer.
