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