--- title: Where Y'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 "Where y'all sitting?" 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'all Eating? The Cafeteria Lunch Table Meme, Explained og:description: Here'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&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Boys eating in the school cafeteria. (P og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Where Y'all Eating? The Cafeteria Lunch Table Meme, Explained twitter:description: Here'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&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Where Y'all Sitting? Lunch Table Meme Is Separating the Internet Into Very Specific Categories > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=490508c4-87ee-4862-a5d1-7183ccb66373&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Aug 8, 2019 6:00 PM UTC  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  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## 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? 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