Dolly Parton's viral meme has internet buzzing with conversation about social media masquerade
At 74, Dolly Parton is as net savvy as any GenZ or millennial out there. She would have to be net savvy to be able to manage the feat of creating a viral meme that somehow also touches on some interesting discourse around how we portray ourselves on social media — and the different personas we wear for different audiences.
Parton posted a 4-panel image featuring four labels — LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Tinder. Each label is accompanied by an image of Parton to match. LinkedIn is in a fully buttoned-up 'professional' outfit, FaceBook is casual and friendly, Instagram is vintage and Tinder is, well, a Playboy bunny.
Parton captioned the image with 'Get you a woman who can do it all' prompting a flood of comments appreciating the humor in her post which has since received over a million likes.
It didn't take long for the post to go viral and spark the #dollypartonchallenge. Several celebrities including Jennifer Garner, Terry Crews, Kristin Chenoweth, Kerry Washington and comedians Ellen Degeneres and Conan O'Brien all jumped in to share their own versions of the meme.
The official account for Instagram responded to Parton's image saying "A trendsetter in every one of her looks." Urban Decay Cosmetics responded with "Sends offer letter, sends friend request, hits follow, swipes right." Fans also responded by calling Parton "iconic" and reminding us all that "it started here first".
Fans caught on to the trend as well, and soon internet celebrities and creators were putting their own spin to the meme, including Doug the Pug who is the clear winner of this challenge by far!
But an interesting effect of this challenge is the dialogue it has sparked about the various ways we portray ourselves online.
While social media is a tool that people use for many reasons ranging from social discovery to self-promotion, the idea that we might share different versions of ourselves to suit our audience is important to recognize, especially at a time when the conversation around mental health has spread beyond the confines of psychology and seeped into entertainment and music.
Grammy-winner Billie Eilish is known for blending mental health issues into her music, lyrics and videos. Korean idols BTS have released multiple projects dedicated to exploring inner conflict under their series 'Love Yourself' and 'Map of the Soul'.
Across the world, artists are delving deeper into how mental health affects their art and how their art, in turn, affects their mental health. And while Parton may have simply intended to share a funny idea with no deeper meaning behind it, the internet is a funny place that often takes the simplest of ideas and gives them entirely new meanings.