The Brief: Around Thanksgiving, memes featuring a family at a dinner table with captions along the lines of "look who decided to come out of their room" surged in popularity online.

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For many, an image of people who appear to be extended family members sitting around a dining table and looking up expectantly captures a relatable experience of being the odd one out at a family gathering or holiday dinner. Near Thanksgiving, 2020, memes featuring this image circulated on Twitter and other social media platforms to represent awkward moments at Thanksgiving dinner. These memes are often paired with the caption “look who decided to come out of their room” to represent a scene where one family member who has been hiding in their bedroom is late to a group meal.

According to a reverse image search, the photo of the family was first posted on the website www.catholicismusa.com in 2014 before it spread to 4chan, Reddit, Tumblr, and then to Twitter in November 2020.

Variations of these memes often add a second image to show who the family is looking at. These include Robert Pattinson in his weird tracksuit photo, horror movie monsters, Anime characters, and a raccoon holding a kitten. Other memes add new captions to convey awkward or inappropriate things that family members may say.

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