About

The Shopping Cart Theory refers to a social theory that states whether a person returns a shopping cart or not after using it serves as an ultimate indicator of whether they are a "good" or "bad" member of society. Coined by an anonymous 4chan user in May 2020, the theory has been referenced in memes and viral debates online.

Origin

On May 8th, 2020, an anonymous 4chan user made a /pol/^[1] thread titled, "The Shopping Cart Theory." In the opening post, the user argued that whether a person returns a shopping cart after using it constitutes "the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing" (shown below).

Spread

The post found immediate spread online through reposts on Twitter, Reddit and other websites. For example, on May 8th, 2020, Twitter^[2] user @Fujyno shared a screenshot of the post, which gained over 4,700 retweets and 16,400 likes in three years.

Prior to May 14th, 2020, an unknown user posted a Trolley Problem meme referencing the theory (shown below, left). More memes based on the theory were then posted in the following months. For example, on July 30th, 2020, Twitter^[3] user @PTSDGuts2 posted a Swole Doge vs. Cheems meme that received over 810 retweets and 4,000 likes in three years (shown below, right).

On May 31st, 2021, YouTuber^[4] Jeaney Collects uploaded a video in which they narrated the post. The upload gained over 1.7 million views in one year (shown below).

In January 2023, the theory saw a resurgence online after a January 15th post renewed the debate when YouTuber Marques Brownlee mentioned it in a tweet.^[5]

Various Examples

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Search Interest

External References