Reaction Memes: Harmless or Political Aggravators?
Everyone now a-days uses reaction memes. People react to a lot of things online and on social media. Their cousin having their first baby, a new recipe someone tried, or a funny joke someone posted. Memes can be used to convey so many different ways to speaking while only using one image. Reaction memes in particular can be used to say an entire sentence or even a paragraph in just one stand alone image. The image “side eyeing Chloe” is one of the most well known reaction memes or images of all time. Chloe has been seen on billboards, on celebrity social media, and even on television.
Reaction memes have become a staple on the internet. Reaction memes have been around for a very long time, for at least over a decade. They are used to convey emotions and used in different forums all around the internet, in texting, and in messaging. There are millions of reaction images and GIFs floating around the internet currently. Side Eyeing Chloe being one of them. She is one of the most popular yet also the one of most well known of all time.
Chloe has been taking the internet by storm since 2013. Chloe is a 2 year old little girl with lots of personality. She and her sister were surprised by their mom with a trip to Disneyland instead of going to school one day. Her sister was ecstatic, crying with happiness and joy while Chloe seemed to think a different way. When their mom panned the camera over to Chloe, she gave her infamous little side eye. And an internet wave of reaction memes exploded. Chloe has been used to react to many different things all over the internet and all over the world. Some of those posts are completely innocent, while others are not.
The Side Eyeing Chloe image has taken on multiple different meanings. The original meaning being a reaction to something that someone is suspicious of or does not fully understand. It has morphed into a reaction image that can mean incredulous suspicion or even disgust. The disgust coming from her phyiscal facial expression in the photo depicted above. The photo has been edited multiple times to change the caption and people have also photoshopped her face onto different images to change the meaning of the original photo. For example, the photo below is a sticker of Chloe with the caption “Can u Not”. There are many examples of how the Chloe meme has morphed and changed to fit the user’s needs.
Reaction images can often be the cause of many issues on the internet and its forums, most notably, Facebook. Reaction images tend to be popular on Facebook to react to people’s posts, photos, and questions. For example, people posting their opinions on Facebook is very popular right now. The United States is in a political uproar since the election in November of 2020. Politics and political debates are all over Facebook. Almost everyone has reacted or posted about their specific political views on Facebook. Reaction memes play right into politics.
Reaction memes have completed changed the way we talk about politics on the internet. When posting on social media, poltiical discussions can get quite heated. People say things that they do not mean when talking about controversial topics. A reaction image such as Chloe can completely change a conversation — or even shut it down.
The circulation of this image is what changes the meaning of Chloe and takes it to another level. The image started out as an innocent photo. A hilarious still from a cute video that circulated on Youtube from years ago. The image has found its way to all sorts of different platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and other niche forums from all corners of the internet.
Side Eyeing Chloe started as something harmless and has turned into something that can cause political discourse in society today. When having a political conversation on Facebook, Side Eyeing Chloe is often seen. Responding to a post that someone does not agree with is now much easier and can have a huge impact on the political conversations people are having.
For example, someone discussing gun regulation on their private Facebook page could seem innocent. When someone with differing opinions, using the Side Eye Chloe reaction meme can completely change the conversation. Instead of someone explaining their views such as their support or denying gun regulation and having a conversation, someone can use Chloe to completely shut down the conversation but also share how someone is feeling with just one image in the comment section.
Using a reaction image can often result in discourse on someone’s post. Sometimes it could even shut down the conversation. Shutting down a conversation and making sure that the back and forth and nuances of the conversation is not helpful when trying to share an opinion. This could cause issues when spreading information that may be important or meaningful to someone, not matter where they fall on the political spectrum.
The Side Eyeing Chloe meme is even exploding today. People have been wondering what Chloe, the once 2 year old in 2013 is up today. She has made multiple statements about how her reaction image has impacted her life and her family and how her new found fame has changed her life. Chloe, her sister, and her parents have been to Google headquarters to speak about the viral videos and images. She has signed autographs and even has her picture from the video on elevator doors in a huge building. She is a happy little girl filled with personality and sass.
This images meaning has competely changed. The original image was innocent and funny and both of the children are still the same way. Unfortunately, this innocent and funny video changed meanings that does not represent what the original artifact has shown. This proves that anyone can produce a simple image and completely change the meaning to the opposite of what it was used for when the image went viral. Political discourse can change the meaning of any image, even an image of a young girl just reacting to her big sister’s tears of joy when finding out they were going to Disneyland and not school one day in 2013.
