Captain Picard's Facepalm - How Internet Trends Get Started

Since the Internet began, it's always had its own language. Reasons for this can vary from ease of typing to simple "Internet memes," however, as the real world and the online world become increasingly linked, some of these online expressions have worked their way off of the computer and into our lives. One of the more recent Internet trends is the phrase "facepalm."

Probably the thing that made facepalming catch on so fast is that even if one's never heard the actual expression before, it instantly brings to mind a very clear mental image of someone hitting their face with the palm of their hand and holding it there out of frustration. It's a common gesture that until recently, never had a name. The source of the expression, though, seems to stem from a scene in Star Trek: The Next Generation, pictured above, wherein Patrick Stewart's character, Captain Picard, performs what's now called a "facepalm."

This is hardly the first time that an Internet expression has become so widespread. In the last two decades, acronyms like "lol" and "pwned" have leaked into mainstream use, to the point where even the oldest grandparents would recognize the meaning of them in a heartbeat. Back around 2000-2001, the internet was blazing with references to the online video "All Your Base Are Belong to Us," which was little more than a reference to a certain bad English translation in the Japanese video game Zero Wing. It's hard to say the word "badger" now without it bringing to mind pictures of mushrooms and snakes. So-called shock sites such as Goatse have weaved their way into pop culture. The name Leeroy Jenkins has become legendary in the gaming community. Maybe the most frustrating trend is the bait and switch known as "Rickrolling," as anyone who's ever been Rickroll'd will tell you.

How does this sort of thing get started, though? And more importantly, how does it catch on?

What's going on here is in essence no different than what's always gone on, except it now has a worldwide audience instead of a local one. For the same reason, it's difficult to ever find out what the root of an Internet expression is, just as most people would be hard-pressed to identify the origin of phrases such as "Whatever floats your boat," or "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face." So, in reality, the answer to the question is simple; there is no answer.

It's hard to say what the lifespan of any Internet meme will be; some have legs where as others die out after a year or two. Who knows, though, perhaps 20 years from now, people will still be facepalming away.