Now That We’ve Hit Peak Meme, Let’s Take A Deep Dive Into Meme Culture

Rick Rolling

Photo credit: @olin_dining / Instagram

One of the longest lasting memes is the phenomenon of tricking someone into opening a link that redirects the user to Rick Astley’s music video for “Never Gonna Give You Up” (1987).

The first recorded Rickroll in history occurred on March 29, 2007, when a 4Chan link for Grand Theft Auto IV led to the video link. By April 1, 2008, YouTube picked up on it and Rickrolled their entire website. People may not consider Rickrolling a meme, but it’s way or sharing a piece of culture, being part of an inside joke, and it’s viral impact make it part of the meme family.