The Main Piece:

Ya so there’s Netflix and Chill which is the big basic term that went around for so long about hooking up and just hook up culture. And there’s always like a new thing with that, with Netflix and Chill, like when Disney Plus came out it turned into Disney Plus and thrust and then during quarantine it became quarantine and chill. And, I don’t remember how it originated, but I remembered just seeing like all the memes and stuff. I think the first one I saw was on Twitter. This one basketball player messaged this model “wyd” and then she responded and quoted it with “quarantine and chill?” I think that’s the first place I saw it. And then from there there’s just like all these memes about it. There’s this one meme going around about this girl and this guy and it just became popular during quarantine where this guy will text this girl and then she’ll say something back. And then, there’s a lot now that don’t have to do with quarantine, but there were a lot that had to do with quarantine . Just stupid stuff like that. 

Background: My informant is a Junior in college. She is also a major in communications and prides herself on being well connected and up to date with what’s happening online. Here she expands on some of the Covid-19 memes and sayings that have taken over social media and pop culture during this time.

Context: This conversation was happening casually at night with the group I’m quarantining with. We had just spent a good hour engrossed in our phones, consuming said content, when we decided to start sharing with each other. I asked this individual what her take was on certain memes of our time and she shared what she felt to be one of the more prominent examples.

My thoughts: It’s important to not gloss over what my informant said in terms of content changing. She stated that quarantine and chill has evolved from Netflix and Chill, but it has also involved from there, and I believe that’s super important. The idea that the masses are taking their quarantine inspired memes, and then revamping them once again to fit other relatable areas of life. In this specific pandemic, such a concept feels like a nod to what the world was like just months ago, as well as a longing for a restoration of that period. Once again, during this time people are finding creative ways to express all their emotions including lust, boredom, and fear through memes that in some way have become one of our strongest ways to stay in touch while on lockdown.