ALASTAIR GRANT/The Associated Press
The newest meme has arrived.
Tebowing was fun while it lasted, but like planking it has gone stale. The Harlem shake recently enjoyed its 15 minutes but it's already over. Maybe it required too many people, or was just too shaky. Who knows why we get bored of these things and move on? All we can know for sure is that the world needs a new silly behaviour meme. With Star Wars in the air, the nerd community has answered the call with a meme inspired by the most fearsome Sith lord in the galaxy.
It's called Vadering.
Like any popular meme, it's simple to do: mimic Darth Vader's force choke while another person on the receiving end of your Dark Side powers jumps and clutches their throat.
Seems fun, right?
But not everyone is a fan. Over at Geekosystem.com, Rollin Bishop is calling foul.
"At the risk of sounding like Old Man Internet telling all the new folks to get off his lawn, we all should really just agree that Vadering is not actually an Internet meme. At best it's a sad attempt to seed the beginnings of one, and at worst it's the scummiest kind of viral marketing. Either way, there's definitely nothing good going on," he writes.
While he may not have conclusive proof that the meme is in fact a viral marketing campaign, Bishop marshals enough evidence to warrant suspicion.
Viral marketing ploy or not, people online are riding the trend like Yoda latched onto Luke's back.
After all, you can't keep fanboys (and girls) with cameras and a good idea down. As Star Wars fans are busy jokingly treating their friends like insubordinate Imperial Commanders, teenagers in Japan are obsessing over another nerd meme: acting out attacks from Dragon Ball, a manga series.
There was a time when geeky obsessions were things you could only fully indulge in alone in your basement where you played Dungeons and Dragons. But we're all nerds now. Choke on it.
Dave McGinn