The Brief: "I'm baby" is a ubiquitous catch-all phrase that can refer to any connotation of the term "baby."

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DEEP DIVE

The simple phrase “I’m baby” has become a viral meme, but what on earth does it mean?

By saying “I’m baby,” someone may be referring to how they are small, someone’s significant other, cute, or in other ways like an infant. It is semi-synonymous to smol.

The meme has caught on and is particularly popular on Twitter. Its popularity may be due to how it amusingly sounds like how an actual baby would identify themself, or because people are longing to return to the comfort of infancy. It is often used as a caption for cute selfies or thirst traps.

Origins

The meme originated from a news story about a teenage girl hiding from a home invader with her four-year-old niece. A picture associated with the story shows a text exchange between the 14-year-old girl and her mother. Part of it reads “I’m baby/call 911.” Those texts appear have been sent by the girl’s mother and “I’m baby” appears to be a typo. This screenshot was taken out of context distributed along with jokes and memes about a baby sending cryptic text messages.

Then, this image was included in a nonsensical internet ad campaign, giving the meme an additional layer of random humor.

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im baby

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Memes

The phrase has since spread to many contexts and is often used as a sort of inside-joke for those who are amused by it or who recognize the meme.