Viral Sehari, Waswas Seumur Hidup: Catatan Mantan Meme Hidup

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Viral Sehari, Waswas Seumur Hidup: Catatan Mantan Meme Hidup

Gue pernah viral. Beneran. Bukan viral karena prestasi atau aksi heroik. Tapi karena... ya, gue kepleset di depan gerobak cilok dan ada suara editan kambing ngembek pas jatuh. View-nya jutaan. Komennya? Jangan tanya. Ada yang ngakak, ada yang ngatain, ada yang ngira itu prank settingan. Yang jelas, hidup gue nggak pernah sama lagi. Bahkan mamah gue jadi ikut-ikutan share videonya di grup arisan dengan caption "Anak saya 😂😂". Thanks, Mah.

Lo pernah nggak sih, jadi pusat perhatian karena satu detik bodoh yang kebetulan kena algoritma? Rasanya kayak... dilempar ke panggung konser, tapi lo cuma pakai handuk dan belum sarapan. Malu? Udah pasti. Tapi anehnya, ada bagian otak yang bilang, "Wah, gue terkenal juga ya?" — dan di situlah jebakan batmannya dimulai.

Media sosial tuh kayak kompor gas. Bisa bantu masak ide lo, bisa juga meledak di muka lo kalau lo terlalu deket nyalainnya. Apalagi sekarang, semua orang berlomba-lomba jadi ‘relatable’. Tapi saking relatable-nya, malah jadi nyampur antara privasi, pencitraan, dan halu massal.

Jadi manusia zaman sekarang tuh absurd: pengen dikenal, tapi juga pengen gak diganggu. Pengen followers banyak, tapi stres baca komentar. Pengen jujur, tapi takut cancel. Padahal kita cuma pengen eksis—nggak lebih, nggak kurang. Tapi internet nggak kenal "nggak lebih nggak kurang". Dia kenalnya: "Eh, lo lucu banget waktu malu-maluin diri sendiri. Gue save, ya!"

Setelah viral itu, gue sempet nggak buka medsos seminggu. Bukan karena puasa digital, tapi karena tiap kali buka, ada stiker muka gue diedit jadi guling, helm, bahkan logo partai. Ada juga yang ngasih DM, "Bang, lo iklanin produk gue dong, cocok nih buat branding absurd." Astaga. Gue jadi merek dagang tanpa sadar.

Dan lucunya, yang paling nyebelin itu bukan haters. Tapi orang-orang yang bilang, "Kapan viral lagi, Bang? Kocak banget lo." Kayak hidup gue dirangkum jadi satu template meme. Kayak gue cuma karakter sampingan di sinetron hidup orang lain.

Tips absurd kalau lo (nggak sengaja) viral:

1. Jangan dibaca semua komentarnya. Serius. Itu kayak nyari arti hidup di kolom YouTube. Ada aja yang nyeleneh. Ada yang bilang lo keren, dua scroll ke bawah bilang lo memalukan umat manusia. Pilih aja komentar yang bisa bikin lo nggak pengen bakar router.

2. Ubah notifikasi jadi mode zombie. Nonaktifin semua kecuali chat dari orang rumah. Kalau perlu, suruh adik lo login-in akun lo sementara lo kabur ke gunung. Serius, itu self-care versi 2025.

3. Catat siapa aja yang tiba-tiba sok kenal. Biar nanti pas lo udah balik ke dunia nyata, lo tahu siapa yang temenan karena lo manusia, dan siapa yang temenan karena lo viral kayak kerupuk jatuh ke rendang.

4. Ingat: Lo bukan algoritma. Lo nggak harus konsisten bikin orang tertawa, menangis, atau terinspirasi. Lo boleh capek. Boleh diem. Boleh balik ke fase nongkrong depan tukang gorengan tanpa kamera.

Penutup:

Gue gak nyuruh lo minggat dari media sosial. Gue juga masih scroll. Tapi mungkin, kalau kita bisa ngelihat diri sendiri bukan sebagai konten, tapi sebagai manusia absurd yang kadang malu, kadang bangga, kadang pengen nanya: “bisa gak sih istirahat dulu jadi manusia?”, mungkin kita gak akan sewaswas itu kalau suatu saat viral lagi. Atau ya… setidaknya kita udah siapin stiker wajah sendiri sebelum orang lain bikin.

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Welcome to Hajriah Fajar: Living Smart & Healthy in the Digital Age

One Day Viral, Forever Paranoid: Memoir of a Former Meme

I went viral once. For real. Not for an achievement or heroic act, but because I slipped in front of a meatball cart and someone added a goat screaming in the background. It got millions of views. The comments? Let’s not even go there. Some laughed, some insulted me, some thought it was staged. And yes, my mom shared it in her WhatsApp group with the caption “My son 😂😂”. Thanks, Mom.

Ever been in the spotlight just because of one dumb second that accidentally hit the algorithm? It felt like being thrown onto a concert stage while wearing only a towel and still hungry. Embarrassed? Of course. But weirdly, a part of my brain went, “Hey, I’m famous now!” — and that’s when the trap snapped shut.

Social media is like a gas stove. It can help cook your ideas or blow up in your face if you get too close. Especially now, everyone’s racing to be ‘relatable’. But we’ve gotten so relatable that privacy, self-branding, and collective delusion are all mixed into one smoothie of madness.

Being a person nowadays is absurd: you want attention, but you also want peace. You want followers, but reading the comments gives you chest pain. You want to be honest, but you’re scared of being canceled. We just want to exist—nothing more. But the internet doesn’t do “just enough”. It goes, “You were hilarious while embarrassing yourself. I’m saving this for future memes.”

After going viral, I didn’t open my socials for a week. Not as a digital detox—just self-preservation. Every time I opened it, I saw my face turned into a bolster, a motorcycle helmet, and even a political party logo. One guy DMed me, “Bro, promote my brand. You’re perfect for absurd marketing.” I became a brand without signing up.

And funnily, the most annoying part wasn’t the haters. It was the people going, “When’s your next viral vid, bro? You’re hilarious.” As if my whole life is a template for reaction stickers. As if I’m just a side character in someone else’s comedy skit.

Absurd survival tips for accidental virality:

1. Don’t read all the comments. Seriously. That’s like searching for meaning of life in YouTube threads. One says you're a legend, scroll down and another says you're an embarrassment to humankind. Choose the ones that don’t make you want to throw your modem into a lake.

2. Zombie your notifications. Turn off everything except texts from family. If needed, let your sibling handle your account while you hide in the mountains. Yes, that's self-care 2025 edition.

3. Take note of who suddenly acts like your best friend. Later, when you're back to real life, you'll know who liked you for being a human and who liked you because you were “the guy with the meme face.”

4. Remember: You’re not an algorithm. You don’t owe anyone inspiration, laughter, or relatability. You’re allowed to be tired. To go offline. To return to being the person eating fried tofu in peace without an audience.

Final Thought:

I’m not asking you to quit social media. I’m still scrolling too. But maybe if we could see ourselves not as content, but as messy humans who sometimes fall, sometimes laugh, and sometimes wonder: “Can I take a break from being a person?”, then maybe the next viral moment won’t feel so terrifying. Or at least we’ll have our own sticker pack ready before someone else makes one.