What Is the Distracted Boyfriend Meme? Origin, Spread, And Why It Went Viral
The Distracted Boyfriend meme has become one of the most iconic internet sensations of the 21st century. It features a stock photo of a man walking down the street with his girlfriend, glancing back at another woman with an expression of infatuation.
His girlfriend looks on with a disapproving, puzzled expression, making the image an instant visual metaphor for distraction, disloyalty, or misplaced attention. This meme format, which plays on the universal experience of being distracted by something more alluring, has taken the internet by storm.
But how did it go viral, and why does it still reign supreme in meme culture?
What Is the Distracted Boyfriend Meme?
The Distracted Boyfriend meme is one of the internet’s most iconic and widely recognized viral memes. It features a stock photo of a man walking down the street with his girlfriend while eyeing another woman passing by. His girlfriend, noticing his gaze, looks disapprovingly at him. This image has been humorously captioned thousands of times to represent a variety of situations where someone is distracted by something new or more appealing, often to the detriment of what they should be paying attention to.
Origin of the Distracted Boyfriend Meme
The Distracted Boyfriend meme originated from a stock photo taken by Spanish photographer Antonio Guillem. On November 1, 2015, the photo was uploaded to the stock photo database iStock with the description “Disloyal man with his girlfriend looking at another girl.” This initial image would go on to become one of the most recognizable and widely shared memes on the internet.
Source: istockphoto.com
The first known use of the image as a meme occurred on January 30, 2017, when a Turkish Facebook group shared a version of the photo with captions identifying the man as Phil Collins, while the girlfriend was labeled as pop music and the other woman as prog music. This meme format received traction due to its humorous representation of the classic debate between pop and progressive rock music.
Source: Prog Düşmanlarına Verilen Müthiş Cevaplar
The meme was further popularized by the “Siyasettin” political meme page (known for producing political memes) whose version of the “Distracted Boyfriend” meme also appeared around the same time, further contributing to its viral spread.
Why Is the “Distracted Boyfriend” Meme So Popular?
The meme’s viral spread truly took off after February 23, 2017, when Instagram user @_dekhbai_ posted a captioned version of the image reading, “Tag That Friend Who Falls in Love Every Month.” This post gained over 28,500 likes in seven months, marking one of the first times the meme became widely popular on Instagram.
On August 19, 2017, Twitter user @n1m161 shared a variation that depicted the boyfriend staring at “socialism” while “capitalism” looked on. This playful political commentary helped the meme expand beyond its original context of relationships and broadened its appeal to social and political discourse.
Then, on August 21, 2017, Redditor danikger posted a version of the meme in which the boyfriend was distracted by the 2017 solar eclipse, while “scientific evidence supporting the dangers of staring at the sun” looked on. This clever take on the meme gained over 31,200 upvotes on /r/me_irl, further solidifying its status as a cultural phenomenon. In the subsequent days, the meme was posted on other subreddits like /r/MemeEconomy, sparking an even wider spread.
Source: SteW-
By March 2018, the Distracted Boyfriend meme had become so influential that Slate cited it as one of the most prominent examples in the rise of the Object Labeling trend in memes during the late 2010s.
As the meme continued to grow in popularity, it reached new heights, inspiring various adaptations and creative reinterpretations. On December 29, 2022, Rainbolt posted a video on Instagram, showing the exact location where the photograph was taken in Girona, Spain, specifically on Carrer Nou, 31. This video, which featured the meme’s real-world setting, quickly garnered over 533,000 likes in just three weeks, proving the enduring impact of this viral meme.
Source: georainbolt
The Meme’s Evolution
As the meme spread, it started to evolve into various forms:
- Pop Culture Parodies: Many people used the meme to comment on current events, trends, or fandoms.
- Political Commentary: The meme was adapted to depict how politicians or governments prioritize certain issues over others.
- Everyday Life: People often used the meme to show how they might abandon their responsibilities in favor of something more appealing, like choosing social media over work or procrastination over productivity.
Source: leyawn
The Legacy of the Distracted Boyfriend Meme
The Distracted Boyfriend meme continues to be widely used even years after its creation, illustrating its staying power and adaptability. It’s used in meme compilations, in humorous commentary about daily life, and as a quick and relatable visual metaphor. It has cemented itself as a staple of internet humor, appearing across meme collections, social media, and even discussions about internet culture.
The meme’s simplicity, universal relatability, and open-ended nature ensure that it remains relevant, with fresh iterations regularly popping up in various forms of creative expression.
Conclusion
The Distracted Boyfriend meme is one of the most iconic and adaptable memes to ever hit the internet. What began as a stock photo intended for use in commercial imagery transformed into a symbol of distraction, infidelity, and even political commentary.
Over the years, it has evolved and been reinterpreted, maintaining its relevance through clever memes and adaptations. Its enduring popularity is a testament to the power of internet culture, where even the simplest image can take on a life of its own, sparking conversations and laughs across the globe.
