About

This Pic Goes So Hard, Feel Free To Screenshot refers to a catchphrase and social game involving the mass-screenshotting of an image macro of a space monkey smoking a cigar (among other images that "go hard"). The trend and original image started on iFunny in August 2021 and spread to Instagram soon after. In October 2021, Twitter gimmick account Pics That Go Hard gained viral popularity.

Origin

On August 16th, 2021, iFunny^[1] user @FloorMeat shared the photo of the monkey smoking a cigar (shown below) with the caption, "This Pic Goes So Hard. Feel Free To Screenshot." The post received roughly 880 smiles over the course of one week. The original image of the monkey was created by concept artist Romain Thirion, who posted it to ArtStation^[2] in 2016.

This pic goes so hard. Feel free to screenshot

Spread

On August 16th, 2021, iFunny^[3] user @Gxbe screenshotted @FloorMeat's post just as they asked people to do (shown below). @Gxbe then mentioned @FloorMeat in their post's caption. @Gxbe's post ultimately received roughly 400 smiles in one week.

More iFunny^[4][5] users, like @frutnight and @SPEARDANCER among others, continued screenshotting each other's screenshots, creating a screenshot tunnel effect (shown below). Top captions in white text began to infiltrate the meta as well, with each subsequent screenshot playing off the captions preceding it.

The image and catchphrase moved to Instagram where it morphed into its own screenshot tunnels. Instagrammers also begin pairing the catchphrase with other images that they deemed necessary of going hard enough to feel free to screenshot.

"Pics That Go Hard" Gimmick Account

On October 4th, 2021, gimmick Twitter^[6] account Pics That Go Hard (@Hard_Images; previously @bigmanhasgaysex^[7]) started posting. Starting on October 13th, 2021, the account reposted various images and memes that could be interpreted as "going hard," with multiple posts made on October 15th and afterwards going viral on Twitter. For example, an blurry image from a SpongeBob SquarePants episode with rapper Snoop Dogg edited in, posted on October 15th, received^[8] over 3,400 retweets and 31,500 likes in four days (shown below, left). A photograph of a Moyai head statue placed on a couch, posted^[9] on October 17th, received over 7,300 retweets and 76,000 likes in two days (shown below, right).

In mid-October 2021, the account climbed to popularity on Twitter, gaining over 70,000 followers as of October 18th, 2021.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References