The Brief: A teenager who took a selfie with Justin Timberlake during the 2018 Super Bowl halftime show turned into a viral meme.
DEEP DIVE
Thirteen-year-old Ryan McKenna didn’t expect to dance with and then snap a selfie with pop star Justin Timberlake, but when he did, and when it was broadcast on live TV, he immediately became a meme. Known as Super Bowl Selfie Kid, Ryan’s image went viral, and he even appeared as a guest on Ellen and Good Morning America. The most popular version of this meme shows McKenna looking at his phone, and then a screenshot of a phone with Google searches like “who is Justin Timberlake?”
— Rahul Kothari (@rahulk013) February 5, 2018
— Midoca (@Midocamusic) February 5, 2018
#SelfieKid pic.twitter.com/Ji9ikykdHo
— 🄳🅈🄻🄰🄽 (@gibbetha) February 5, 2018