What Does 'Unrestricted Internet Access At A Young Age' Do To You, And Why Are There So Many Memes About It?

As most of us know, the forbidden things we gazed at online when we were 8 are foundational to our personalities (if the internet was even around when you were 8 that is). This sentiment is now being reflected in the Unrestricted Internet Access at A Young Age meme and it's evolved into a defining trait of Generation Z.

If you're one of many who saw a lot of weird, inappropriate and even disturbing things early on at a young age, how are we dealing with the fallout from our childhood internet browsing?

The "Unrestricted Internet Access At A Young Age" meme trend can offer some insight, so let's log on and have a look.

Where Did "Unrestricted Access To The Internet From A Young Age" Come From?

The earliest meme with the catchphrase came from Reddit in December 2019 and showed a character refusing to accept an inconvenient truth.

Users on other platforms, such as Tumblr, also took the time to contemplate their childhood internet habits as the trend slowly spread online that year. In the Tumblr meme you see below, the Doge with bulging eyes may represent the poster themselves.

Moving up to later that year, a bunch of December 2020 memes using the idea then spread on Twitter and continued snowballing.

Eventually, TikTok got wind of the meme and people on that platform started making videos about their experiences with unrestricted internet access and what they encountered online at an early age.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7104442560231542062

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7111340751677787438

How is Unrestricted Access To The Internet Used In Memes?

Often, people will pair the catchphrase with another well-known meme format or character that will represent themselves. This meme, which combines the catchphrase with an I May Not Show It meme, is an example of that.

On TikTok, the catchphrase is often paired with an original sound that veers from bright cheery music (perhaps representing the joy of browsing) to somber music (representing the horror within that joy).

Why Do People Post Unrestricted Internet Access Memes?

Maybe people trying to figure out how the internet relates to their lives and to their personal development. As the first generation of kids with no memory of life before personal computers grow into adults, they are reflecting on, celebrating and regretting what early online browsing did to them.

The memes also mark a generational identity, and if you post one you signal that you are, perhaps, a Zoomer.

So What Does Unrestricted Internet Access At A Young Age Do To You?

Look in the mirror, and maybe you'll see. That one you'll have to answer for yourself.

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To learn more about this meme, be sure to check out our entry on Unrestricted Internet Access At A Young Age.