On December 24th, 2022, a young boy who has been dubbed with the nickname ‘Topher’ quickly broke the internet and has received over 30 million views and 5 million likes on TikTok for a viral video filmed by his older sister Allyson. Allyson’s videos have featured her younger brother Christopher before and also received attention online, however, none have gained the immense popularity as this one did. 

In this viral TikTok, Allyson goes around to various family members and interviews them on recording. The question she asks is “If you were to introduce someone into our family, who would you warn them about?”

A few family members replied with the response that they would warn them about ‘Topher’, which then resulted in the sound of a young boy in the background screeching and yelling “Shut up!” When it was Topher’s turn to give his response, he said in a thick southern accent, “Y’all already know who I am, my name’s Topher, and I think Olivia.” Although you wouldn’t think that this seemingly innocent line would receive so much attention, the strange place of the internet would have to beg to differ.

Not only have thousands upon thousands of videos on the platform have been made referencing the young boy, but Topher now has fan pages dedicated to making video compilations of him. When on the app, it is known by users that if your “For You Page” receives many videos related to Topher you are no longer on Tiktok, but rather “TopherTok”

Students at YLHS have many strong opinions about why the short clip gained so much popularity and what is going to happen next. Julian Lisboa (12) shared that “The viral Topher TikTok video met the requirements of being unhinged and hilarious. Personally, it was the shock of his attitude that made it so funny.” He then continued to predict that “Topher’s fifteen minutes of fame might be up. He is definitely going to be the next victim of short-lived, overnight fame.” Following this, Julia Green (12) stated that “I think what Topher said could be applied to a lot of different videos and situations to create a comedic effect. He will probably be forgotten in the future, as other TikTok trends and people are, so I don’t think his future will be drastically different than if he hadn’t gone viral”. 

While it is exciting the new opportunities being brought to the internet sensation such as getting to be a special guest at a Kentucky basketball game, some are concerned that it is not rewarding enough for the lifetime of jokes that may follow. Contrary to Julian and Julia, Maya Tsegaye (10) shared her concern that, “Topher may be bullied in the future for his TikTok fame and I feel like it will be increasingly annoying for him as he grows up as he will always have fans ask him to take photos with them.” 

Topher has not only provided the world with a smile and a laugh due to his hilarious videos, but he also serves as a reminder that it is incredibly important to be cautious of what you post online as you never know what can happen.