From Stock to Meme

Source: Getty Images

Origins and original context:

• Original name given to the photograph was “Disloyal Man Walking With His Girlfriend and Looking Amazed at Another Seductive Girl”
• Part of a series of eight images
• It was a staged photo (stock image)
• It was never intended to be a meme

Trends in the development of the meme:

• First became popular among Brazilian twitter users @chinisalada and @AlbertoLage
• Later, it started gaining popularity among college meme pages on Facebook
• The first use of the meme by an English speaking twitter user had a political message, however, as the meme continued to develop it became less political and more relatable

Source: @UlbrichtUltra, Twiter

• Developed primarily through users of Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and Reddit
• Users label the three people in the photo
• Common themes of this meme include heartbreak, jealousy and lust
• The meme continued to further develop after Twitter users began to realize there was more than one image of those three people
• They then began to create similar memes using similar topics, but with different pictures out of the set of eight images of those three people

Source: @shitshowdotinfo, Twitter