Know Your Meme: David After Dentist Revisited

Last February, I blogged about the Internet meme “David After the Dentist” and tried to frame the video in the context of media literacy and digital identity. Almost 6 months and 30 millions views later, Rocketboom has put together a short but detailed history of the meme that includes a description of its origin through “user error”, an overview of remixes and parodies, ties to the culture of childhood fame/ridicule, monetization of the meme, and David’s personal story. The short video is worth watching, and I do believe it is important that we better understand how and why media spread, and the resulting effects of Internet fame, especially upon our youth.

Related posts:

  1. David Pogue on Internet Safety
  2. The Great Playlist Meme ‘04: Yet Another Playlist
  3. 90+ Videos for Tech. & Media Literacy
  4. 8 Random Facts Meme
  5. 7 Things Meme

3 comments to Know Your Meme: David After Dentist Revisited

  1. Hilary
    September 10th, 2009 at 6:17 pm

    Thanks very much for posting this, I found it really interesting especially after reading your post last year. Hilary

  2. paul
    September 30th, 2009 at 11:00 pm

    Hi Alec, I saw the David after dentist vid a while back and really didn’t like it. But this post offers up a “relax dad, it’s really okay” perspective that I find both instructive and mind-shifting… paul

  3. Howard Bauer
    October 19th, 2009 at 12:34 pm

    I was a bit uneasy about this video when I first saw it but this is more common than one might think. Also the kid may be just a bit of a ham

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