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Illustration by Max Fleishman

Dancing badly to your favorite jam is even more fun with the ‘don’t start’ meme

Friend 1 and Friend 2 can't stop you.

 

Jay Hathaway

Internet Culture

Posted on Jul 6, 2016   Updated on May 26, 2021, 12:11 pm CDT

When your favorite song comes on in public, you’re gonna wild out or sing along emotively as the situation dictates. You know it, and your friends—Friend 1 and Friend 2—know it. 

Unfortunately for those friends, you will not be stopped. There’s nothing they can do.

https://twitter.com/SEDRIICK_/status/750154555330072576

https://twitter.com/Beyupdates_/status/748968736724443137

The “Friend 1, Friend 2” meme is on the rise recently as a newer, more internet way of declaring “this is my jam.” The punchline is always a completely ridiculous GIF.

https://twitter.com/unsmokabIe/status/749654995297984512

https://twitter.com/Kingtav_/status/749091190843121664

https://twitter.com/escrotalison/status/750725322132324353

At a time when many meme enthusiasts are mining for deeper levels of irony, “relatable” is stubbornly hanging in there as a form of meme currency. And what’s more relatable than liking a pop song? 

Bad dancing is a way of acknowledging the uncoolness of, ugh, liking stuff, and countering it with the coolness of expressing what you like while giving zero fucks. Who cares if Friend 1 and Friend 2 are embarrassed?

Of course, every meme mutates, and even something this sincere can be co-opted. “Friend 1, Friend 2” is pretty new, but variations are already emerging. Where were you when the Chilcot Report—investigating Britain’s role in the Iraq War—dropped? 

https://twitter.com/scotscotscot/status/750584039476781056

I expect poor, overworked Friend 1 and Friend 2 will soon be put in charge of holding people back from every embarrassing public display of emotion, music-related or not. Good luck with that! 

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*First Published: Jul 6, 2016, 2:52 pm CDT