‘Be Like Bill’: For Some Reason, This Stick-Figure Meme Has Taken Over Facebook — What Does It Mean?

Facebook is a land where people come together from afar to see pictures of family, learn what is going on in the lives of friends, see shaded photos of lunches, and share hoaxes that do nothing. Sometimes, there are crazes that come about such as a game or a viral phenomenon, and everyone catches on. Now, the latest trend is the “Be Like Bill” stick person meme that is being seen everywhere, but what does it mean?

“Bill” is the name of the stick figure that being seen everywhere on Facebook lately, and he apparently always knows what is right. He’s even gotten so popular that he has his own Facebook page, and it’s gotten up to over 1.5 million followers in a very short amount of time.

Believe it or not, there is also a female version now that is called “Be Like Emily,” so women aren’t feeling left out.

You’ve probably seen this meme posted to Facebook by now, or at least some variation of it. Stuff states that the meme is actually instructing the world the proper form and details of social media etiquette so that you can share things and connect with others without losing friends.

The stick figure was just created back on January 7, or at least the Facebook page was, and his popularity has grown in record time. Different versions have come about in multiple languages such as Spanish, Arabic, Malaysian, and Italian.

The message is simple — This is Bill. Bill does (this or that). Bill is smart. Be like Bill.

Debabrata Nath is one of the two men that is behind the English-language Facebook page for Bill, and thinks people need to know it’s good, but not take it too far.

“It’s hard to put a finger on what exactly makes a good meme. (But) we feel it has to be something that doesn’t take itself too seriously, is simple to understand and at the same time can make people relate.”

Eugeniu Croitoru is a 23-year-old self-determined “meme expert,” and is the one who seems to be responsible for the boom on “Be Like Bill.”

Croitoru is the proprietor for Videogamemes and had Bill as his avatar for months in some forums, but the Italian version, which stated “Sii Come Bill.” With Star Wars: The Force Awakens spoilers popping up all over the place, Croitoru altered Bill to fit the current theme of the Internet.

The image almost instantly went viral, and that was it. Now, Bill is being altered by anyone and everyone on social media to fit what they are thinking.

While “Be Like Bill” had a specific point at first, the meme has essentially become exactly what it set out to make fun of in the first place. Now, people are changing what it’s supposed to be, making it say random things, and making it seem absolutely nothing.

Instead of the meme being a passive-aggressive way of ridiculing bad social media etiquette, “Be Like Bill” and “Be Like Emily” have turned into Facebook annoyances.

Some social media users are making the memes personalized as expected, but they aren’t doing it in the way the creators intended.

“This is Bill.

Bill is going out to enjoy the sunny day.

Bill is going to take selfies and post them on Facebook every five minutes.

Be like Bill.”

That’s a prime example of what Bill and Emily don’t want to be like whatsoever. Yet, if you look on Facebook or even on Twitter and Tumblr, there are countless memes like this which have taken something and turned it into the opposite of what it was intended to be.

These actions have caused the Bill memes to almost triple in appearance on Facebook because now those that understand it are creating new “Be Like Bill” memes to make fun of those that don’t.

Understand?

When the “Be Like Bill” meme is used, personalized, and done correctly, it can be quite funny and worthy of passing along on Facebook. When the meme has been turned into exactly what it hates and set out to speak against, it ends up making people find new ways to block, ignore, and unfriend.

[Image via Facebook]