Internet Culture, Memes & References
Meme Culture Basics
What is a Meme?
- An idea, behavior, or image that spreads rapidly online
- Often humorous, satirical, or relatable
- Can be images, videos, phrases, or formats
- "Going viral" = spreading rapidly across the internet
Classic Memes Everyone Knows
| Meme | Description | How It's Used |
|---|---|---|
| Distracted Boyfriend | Guy looking at another girl | Choosing something new over current thing |
| This Is Fine (dog in fire) | Dog sitting calmly in burning room | Pretending everything's OK when it's not |
| Drake Hotline Bling | Drake rejecting/approving | Comparing two options |
| Surprised Pikachu | Pikachu with shocked face | Obvious consequence happened, fake surprise |
| Woman Yelling at Cat | Woman arguing, confused cat at table | Two conflicting perspectives |
| Expanding Brain | Brain getting bigger with each idea | Increasingly absurd/galaxy brain takes |
| Change My Mind | Guy at table with sign | Presenting a controversial opinion |
| Stonks | Misspelled "stocks" with 3D man | When something goes well (or ironically badly) |
| They're the Same Picture | The Office: "they're the same picture" | Two things that look/are the same |
| Is This a Butterfly? | Anime character misidentifying butterfly | Misidentifying something obviously |
| Gru's Plan | Gru presents plan, last step backfires | Plan gone wrong |
| Spider-Man Pointing | Two Spider-Men pointing at each other | Two things that are the same |
Current/Recent Meme Formats
- "POV:" — Point of View setup
- "Nobody: / Me:" format
- "Tell me you're X without telling me you're X"
- "It's giving..." — describing the vibe
- "Understood the assignment"
- "Main character energy"
- "That's not how this works"
- "Bro really said..." — disbelief
- "I did not have [X] on my bingo card" — unexpected event
- "The math isn't mathing" — something doesn't add up
- "Caught in 4K" — caught with clear evidence
Internet Culture Vocabulary
| Term | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| viral | バズる | That video went viral overnight. |
| trending | トレンド入り | Taylor Swift is trending on X. |
| troll | 荒らし | Don't feed the trolls. |
| lurker | 見る専 | I'm just a lurker on Reddit. |
| shitpost | くだらない投稿 | He's just shitposting. |
| clickbait | クリックベイト | That headline is total clickbait. |
| ratio | リプの方がいいね多い | He got ratioed hard. (返信の方が元ツイートよりいいね多い = 批判されている) |
| doomscrolling | 悪いニュースを延々と見る | I need to stop doomscrolling. |
| parasocial relationship | 一方的な親近感 | Fans have parasocial relationships with creators. |
| stan | 熱狂的ファン (Eminem "Stan") | She's a Taylor Swift stan. |
| cancel / cancelled | キャンセル(社会的制裁) | He got cancelled for his comments. |
| cancel culture | キャンセルカルチャー | Cancel culture is a controversial topic. |
| copypasta | コピペされるテキスト | That response is a copypasta. |
| easter egg | 隠し要素 | There's an easter egg in the movie. |
| IRL | In Real Life (現実世界で) | Have you met her IRL? |
| NSFW | Not Safe For Work (職場閲覧注意) | That link is NSFW. |
| AFK | Away From Keyboard | I'm AFK for a bit. |
| bot | ボット(自動投稿) | Is this account a bot? |
| algorithm | アルゴリズム | The TikTok algorithm knows me too well. |
| influencer | インフルエンサー | She's a fashion influencer. |
| content creator | コンテンツクリエイター | He's a full-time content creator. |
| subscriber | 登録者 | "Like and subscribe!" |
| streamer | ストリーマー | He's a Twitch streamer. |
| collab | コラボ | They did a collab video. |
| clout | 影響力/注目 | He's doing it for the clout. |
| cringe | 恥ずかしい/痛い | That video was so cringe. |
| wholesome | 心温まる | That's so wholesome! |
Reddit Culture
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| subreddit (r/) | テーマ別コミュニティ |
| OP | Original Poster (投稿者) |
| upvote / downvote | 賛成/反対 |
| karma | ポイント(upvoteで増える) |
| AMA | Ask Me Anything (何でも聞いて) |
| TIL | Today I Learned (今日知ったこと) |
| ELI5 | Explain Like I'm 5 (簡単に説明して) |
| AITA | Am I The Asshole? (私が悪い?) |
| TIFU | Today I F***ed Up (今日やらかした) |
| OOTL | Out Of The Loop (事情を知らない) |
Popular Subreddits
- r/AskReddit — open-ended questions
- r/todayilearned — interesting facts
- r/memes — meme sharing
- r/news — news discussion
- r/explainlikeimfive — simple explanations
- r/AITA — moral judgment scenarios
YouTube Culture
Common Phrases
- "Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe!"
- "Hit that notification bell!"
- "Without further ado..." (前置きなしに)
- "Let me know in the comments"
- "This video is sponsored by..."
- "Today we're going to..."
- "Link in the description"
Types of Content
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| vlog | Video blog (日常記録) |
| haul | Shopping haul (買ったもの紹介) |
| unboxing | 開封動画 |
| reaction video | リアクション動画 |
| tier list | ランキング表 |
| mukbang | 大食い動画 |
| ASMR | 音フェチ動画 |
| true crime | 実際の犯罪のドキュメンタリー |
| video essay | 長尺の分析/解説動画 |
| shorts | 短い縦動画 |
Gaming Culture
Common Gaming Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| GG | Good Game (お疲れ様) |
| noob / newb | 初心者 |
| nerf | 弱体化する |
| buff | 強化する |
| OP (overpowered) | 強すぎる |
| lag | 遅延 |
| AFK | 離席中 |
| grind | 繰り返し作業で稼ぐ |
| rage quit | 怒ってやめる |
| clutch | 劣勢からの逆転 |
| carry | 一人でチームを勝たせる |
| meta | 最強戦略 |
| RNG | Random Number Generator (運ゲー) |
| speedrun | 最速クリア |
| lore | 世界設定 |
| DLC | Downloadable Content (追加コンテンツ) |
| pay-to-win | 課金で有利になる |
| sandbox | 自由探索型ゲーム |
Cultural References in Everyday English
Star Wars
- "May the Force be with you" = Good luck
- "The dark side" = the tempting but wrong path
- "I am your father" = dramatic revelation
- "These aren't the droids you're looking for" = This isn't what you want
Marvel / Superhero
- "With great power comes great responsibility" — Spider-Man
- "I am inevitable" / "I am Iron Man" — Avengers
- "Avengers, assemble!" — call to action
- "Origin story" = someone's background/start
Harry Potter
- "Muggle" = non-magical person (used for outsiders)
- "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" = avoiding saying something
- "Hogwarts house" = personality type (Gryffindor, Slytherin, etc.)
- "Sorting hat" = categorizing people
The Office (US)
- "That's what she said" — Michael Scott's catchphrase
- "I declare bankruptcy!" — you can't just say it
- "Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica" — Dwight impression
- "Dunder Mifflin" — any boring office