It started with earnest good nature. People on social media were posting side-by-side pictures of themselves from now and 10 years ago last week. It’s become a full-blown meme.
They used various hashtags, such as #howharddidagehityouchallenge, #10yearchallenge, or #GlowUpChallenge. This trend was mainly embraced by people who magically looked better than they did a decade ago. Who could blame them for wanting to show off a bit?
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsn5WMThwtb/
2008-2018/9
— AmySunHee 🍓 (@amysunhee) January 14, 2019
I was killin it in those braces 😂 #GlowUpChallenge
This last year has been one of the best. Got married to my best friend and just enjoying each day 🥰 pic.twitter.com/oFwGwzWGKQ
Ok I went with an even 10 yrs with a pic I took this past September. I miss that fuchsia top but not those highlights… or brows 😂 #howharddidagehityouchallenge #howharddidaginghituchallenge #glowupchallenge pic.twitter.com/OmwusBDq3V
— IndoSpinLBN (@indo_spin_lbn) January 13, 2019
https://www.instagram.com/p/BslAFB4nuoE/?utm_source=ig_embed
Other people used the challenge to show how much their lives had changed.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsn5RSfH-kU/
Of course with a trend this big, it wasn’t long before people started subverting it to get a laugh. At first, people were still using pictures of themselves.
I gained some wrinkles but I think I killed the #HowDidAgingHitYouChallenge.
— Jaime Guzman (@Aztech2011) January 13, 2019
I had a life time of raisin hell but I still look grape! pic.twitter.com/7kXxrZgnwh
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsnpzhMghEo/
And from there it was off to the races. The once-personal picture challenge became filled with celebrities, cartoon characters, and jokes. Welcome to 2019’s first big meme.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsnrGrcHqng/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsnwhWyAJHl/
https://twitter.com/MattShiversVO/status/1084567054999531521
Just found @cher “How Hard Did Age Hit You Challenge” picture 😂🤣😂 #Cher #HowHardDidAgeHitYouChallenge 💗 xoxo pic.twitter.com/FzhtVHsYgL
— Robert Xavier Zapien (@XaviersRealm007) January 12, 2019
https://twitter.com/Phusaza/status/1084344024406859777
To be honest that’s a lot of changes …#10yearchallenge #AngryBirds pic.twitter.com/MgCL5zE0SR
— ͏ (@Mighty_Chuck) January 13, 2019
At least one person used the new meme to point out the sad effects of humans have had on the environment.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsnszLLloVj/
The beginning of a new year is a natural time to look back and reflect, so it’s not surprising this challenge-turned-meme is hitting so hard. Ten years is a long time and it’s staggering to think about how much we’ve all changed.
Memes, of course, change way more rapidly than human beings. If this one follows the path of most of its brethren, 10 days from now it will probably just be a grainy picture of Spongebob with a tattoo of Shrek on his forehead.
