PHOENIX — Like any good millennial, I love a good meme. It’s a short, simple, often funny way of conveying a message that is unique to the 2010s. As the decade comes to a close we celebrated this condensed form of communication by crowning the top meme of the 2010s with the help of you, our 12 News audience.
Through a bracket competition on Twitter the meme that features Kermit the Frog drinking tea, otherwise known as the "That's none of my business" meme, was picked as the meme that defines the 2010s.
Kermit beat seven other memes, including the Bed Intruder Song, ermaghad, Chrissy Teigen's cry face, confused math lady, MoCkInG SpOnGeBoB, blinking guy and distracted boyfriend. Below is the process I used to pick the top eight of the decade that we had 12 News viewers vote on.
So, to narrow down the top memes between 2010 and 2019 I turned to a source that has helped shape the way news and pop culture is delivered in the 2010s, Buzzfeed. The site compiled a very helpful list of the “100 Memes That Went Viral and Defined the 2010s”.
If it didn't happen on Reddit or YouTube, I didn't see it. So I went through the top 100 list and picked the eight memes that stood out to me as being the most recognizable. These are memes that have lasted the test of time, or at least the decade, and whose meanings were instantly recognizable to me even if it has been a few years since I last saw it being used.
Yes, there are many, many other viral memes out there, even ones that didn’t make Buzzfeed’s list.
So don't @ me. This isn’t about your favorite meme, it’s about determining the top meme of the decade. Meaning, the most ubiquitous, the most representative of the 2010s, the one that has the potential to withstand another decade.
Here are the top eight memes of the 2010s to be debated:
Ermahgerd
That’s none of my business
Chrissy Teigen’s cry face
Confused math lady
Mocking SpongeBob
Blinking guy
Distracted boyfriend