<!-- mobian-agent-page publisher="time" canonical="https://time.com/5645331/where-yall-sitting-lunch-table-meme-explained/" -->

---
title: Where Y&#x27;all Eating Meme Makes Cafeteria Lunch Table Viral
description: In case you want to revisit the dilemma of which lunch table to sit at in a school cafeteria, meet the &quot;Where y&#x27;all sitting?&quot; meme.
canonical: https://time.com/5645331/where-yall-sitting-lunch-table-meme-explained/
author: Cady Lang
article:opinion: false
article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2019-08-08T18:00:38.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:59:48.670Z
og:title: Where Y&#x27;all Eating? The Cafeteria Lunch Table Meme, Explained
og:description: Here&#x27;s what you need to know
og:url: https://time.com/5645331/where-yall-sitting-lunch-table-meme-explained/
og:site_name: TIME
og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ebf5794b69d8740/698a01008fd2eedbc735fe82/where-yall-sitting-lunch-table-meme-explained.jpg?branch=production&amp;width=3840&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
og:image:width: 1200
og:image:height: 675
og:image:alt: Boys eating in the school cafeteria. (P
og:type: article
twitter:card: summary_large_image
twitter:title: Where Y&#x27;all Eating? The Cafeteria Lunch Table Meme, Explained
twitter:description: Here&#x27;s what you need to know
twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ebf5794b69d8740/698a01008fd2eedbc735fe82/where-yall-sitting-lunch-table-meme-explained.jpg?branch=production&amp;width=3840&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
---

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ebf5794b69d8740/698a01008fd2eedbc735fe82/where-yall-sitting-lunch-table-meme-explained.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)


# The Where Y'all Sitting? Lunch Table Meme Is Separating the Internet Into Very Specific Categories


![Cady Lang](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd534f2cb81c3b094/69894087e76ad2e66b633ad3/c_lang.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

by 

[Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)


![Cady Lang](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd534f2cb81c3b094/69894087e76ad2e66b633ad3/c_lang.jpg?branch=production&width=96&quality=75&auto=webp)

## Cady Lang


Aug 8, 2019 6:00 PM UTC

![Boys eating in the school cafeteria.  \(P](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ebf5794b69d8740/698a01008fd2eedbc735fe82/where-yall-sitting-lunch-table-meme-explained.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

Boys eating in the school cafeteria. (Photo by Ed Clark/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)

Boys eating in the school cafeteria. (Photo by Ed Clark/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection via

![Cady Lang](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd534f2cb81c3b094/69894087e76ad2e66b633ad3/c_lang.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

by 

[Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)


![Cady Lang](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd534f2cb81c3b094/69894087e76ad2e66b633ad3/c_lang.jpg?branch=production&width=96&quality=75&auto=webp)

## Cady Lang


Aug 8, 2019 6:00 PM UTC

In case you want to revisit the dilemma of which lunch table to sit at in a school cafeteria, there’s now [a meme](https://time.com/5595032/best-memes-2019/) for that. Meet the “Where y’all sitting?” meme, which asks you to consider table you would want to sit at, according to its labels. Like school, there’s an element of [a popularity contest](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2076739,00.html) here. Unlike school, however, the tables aren’t separated by jocks or nerds. The meme separates the tables by fandoms, songs, television and movies and other things.

According to [_Know Your Meme_](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/where-yall-sitting), the “Where y’all sitting?” meme may have started in late July, when Twitter user @journalsfire posted a photo of a cafeteria with the tables labeled with groups of different Justin Bieber songs, accompanied by the caption, “Where are you sitting?” The tweet then inspired other users to do it with their favorite artists and interests, with lots of enthusiastic memes coming from the K-pop community. The surge of interest also led to the use of a cartoon cafeteria image from VectorToons, that made it easier to label the tables and to have multiple groups.

> [](https://twitter.com/journalsfire/status/1156278319358369792)

> [](https://twitter.com/bangtanhxpe/status/1156309016882102272)


Now, the meme has been used for plenty of subjects, ranging from astrology and fashion to Taylor Swift songs and YouTube personalities.

> [](https://twitter.com/steponmygown13/status/1157909472003497984)

> [](https://twitter.com/SAMURHI/status/1157055986974232576)


Some people even veered into politics with the meme.

> [](https://twitter.com/ira/status/1157452578646450176)

While others had jokes about where their loyalty was.

> [](https://twitter.com/SheekTrey/status/1157678113523949568)

> [](https://twitter.com/carolxird/status/1158707056708390912)

The question still remains, however: Where y’all sitting?

```json
[{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5645331/where-yall-sitting-lunch-table-meme-explained/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5645331/where-yall-sitting-lunch-table-meme-explained/"},"headline":"The Where Y'all Sitting? Lunch Table Meme Is Separating the Internet Into Very Specific Categories","datePublished":"2019-08-08T18:00:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:59:48.670Z","description":"Here's what you need to know","url":"https://time.com/5645331/where-yall-sitting-lunch-table-meme-explained/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ebf5794b69d8740/698a01008fd2eedbc735fe82/where-yall-sitting-lunch-table-meme-explained.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ebf5794b69d8740/698a01008fd2eedbc735fe82/where-yall-sitting-lunch-table-meme-explained.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Boys eating in the school cafeteria. (P","caption":"Boys eating in the school cafeteria. (P","creditText":"Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection via","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5645331/where-yall-sitting-lunch-table-meme-explained/","name":"The Where Y'all Sitting? Lunch Table Meme Is Separating the Internet Into Very Specific Categories"}}]}]
```

