Scrolling In The Deep is a weekly column that defines internet slang you need to know to operate online. It runs on Wednesdays in the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter—but only our most dedicated readers get it.
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Every week, we publish our “Main Character of the Week” column, where one of our editors breaks down the internet’s latest character to go viral. Whether that’s due to some TikTok drama, an embarrassing faux pas, or even being involved in a major nationally reported incident, eg. Luigi Mangione.
However, in 2025, it seems there’s one Main Character that middle schoolers are idolizing and don’t want to let go of––and he didn’t even become popular in this decade. It’s Jeff Bliss, the “friggin’ packets” guy.
Who is Jeff Bliss?
It wasn’t until this year that middle schoolers learned about one of the internet’s favorite heroes from the yesteryears of the 2010s. Jeff Bliss is the subject of a 2013 YouTube video uploaded by user James Smith. In it, Bliss, then a high school student, basically “schools” his teacher for handing out packets to students instead of doing any actual teaching. In the viral clip, Bliss has long hair and a relaxed fit as he goes to the front of the classroom to confront his history teacher. This is after she allegedly told him to “quit bitchin.’”
“If you would just get up and teach them instead of just handing them a freakin’ packet, yo,” Bliss tells her. “There are kids in here who don’t learn like that. They need to learn face to face.”
“You got to take this job serious. This is the future of this nation,” Bliss continued before admonishing the teacher further.
Needless to say, the short clip went viral back then, with a million views within just one day. Now, the clip has been discovered by Gen Zalpha, and it seems Bliss’s words struck a chord. Today, you can hear teens hurling the slang at their teachers so often that it leads one to wonder whether today’s teachers are actually deserving of such criticism.
Teachers are tired
Across TikTok, teachers slash content creators are venting about students being unable to stop saying “friggin packet” in class. As is normal in any teaching capacity, packets are helpful and, in some instances, necessary.
However, this doesn’t stop students from using any little excuse to yell “stop with the freakin packets, yo!” at their teachers. Well-known teacher influencer Mr. Lindsay has often commented on this slang and how disruptive it is to have teens use it for no reason. It turns handing out a simple worksheet into in a friggin’ nightmare.
Friggin packet as brainrot
This has lead friggin (or freakin’) packets to enter brainrot territory. While Bliss’s original message may have been powerful and arguably warranted in its own right, today, it’s stripped of its intended meaning.
Instead, teens now use it as a cringy insult like any other viral meme that earns a resurgence. “Friggin packet” ended up being the go-to inspo for parody videos across TikTok. High school and middle schoolers recreate the viral clip, some even combining it with other memes. Some criticizing the trend express how disillusioned they feel that such a “powerful” message back in the day has now been watered down to simple brainrot.
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1) Scrolling in the Deep: I’m gonna hold your hand when I say this…
