What Is The Dolly Parton Challenge Meme And Why Is It Trending?

If you've been online over the last 48 hours, you likely came across a series of four-panel image macros featuring profile pictures from LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Tinder. They're unavoidable at this point. Celebrities such as Timothée Chalamet, Ellen DeGeneres and Conan O'Brien have all joined in the game, but where did it come from and why is it spreading so quickly?

What Is Dolly Parton Challenge Pictures Meme

The LinkedIn / Facebook / Instagram / Tinder Profile Pictures, also known as the Dolly Parton Challenge, is a series of four-panel image macro series that parodies how people present themselves on four social media platforms: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Tinder. In the format, the LinkedIn panel shows a professional-looking image of the user; Facebook, a friendly or realistic image; Instagram, a stylish image; and Tinder, a sexually provocative image. These images are generally hyperbolic in nature, exploiting stereotypes about the platforms.

Where Did This Meme Come From?

Like so much of our culture, we have Dolly Parton to thank for this one. On January 21st, 2020, American singer, recording artist and treasure Dolly Parton posted the earliest known version of the meme on her Instagram page. The post went viral, garnering more than 675,000 likes in less than a week. Within hours of Parton's post, others have taken the format and personalized it. Parton's participation and relationship to the meme's origin earned her a spot in the meme's title: The Dolly Parton Challenge.

Why Is This Meme So Popular

There are many reasons why a meme goes viral, though it's nearly impossible to say for certain. Memes like this have gone through cycles of popularity in the past. One of the biggest memes of 2012 was the What People Think I Do image macros, which were used by people to display different interpretations of their chosen hobbies or professions.

In 2013, I Can Be Your Angle…or Yuor Devil saw memers exploiting their good and bad sides for likes and karma. And who could forget 2016's iconic He Protec but He Also Attac meme, which showed the inner-strength of internet users everywhere.

What these memes have in common is a clear template that lowers the barrier to entry for creating new examples. Clarity is the fuel of popular memes, and the quicker and easier people grasp the joke, the more likely the meme will go viral. Anyone who has used Instagram or LinkedIn likely understands the Parton post, so jumping into the game isn't too difficult, they just need to replace Parton's examples with their own or another subject.

However, while easy-to-meme formats inspire numerous examples, they do tend to burn out faster as people become overexposed. Will this be the same? Only time will tell. Until then, happy meme-ing.