"It took a few weeks for the theory to spread to X, Reddit, TikTok, and other platforms. But once it did, it became the go-to comeback for conservative posts and government propaganda alike. "You wanna do a ride-along in the back seat of a big plane and cosplay being a pilot? Of course you do, you're twelve," user @jjellisart said in response to a video of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in a fighter jet."
"A new internet theory about American politics and society just dropped. From anti-vaxxers to AI slop, everything can be explained by one simple idea: Everyone is 12 now. In September, Bluesky user and musician Patrick Cosmos (@veryimportant.lawyer) posted: "Working on a new unified theory of American reality I'm calling 'everyone is twelve now.'" He continued: "I'm strong and I want to have like fifty kids and a farm. . . . Of course you do. You're twelve.""
A social-media meme frames American politics and culture as childlike, using the phrase "everyone is twelve now." The meme pairs juvenile desires and reactions—wanting large families, refusing vegetables, fantasizing about forceful solutions—with adult political positions and behaviors. The idea spread widely across platforms such as X, Reddit, and TikTok and became a frequent retort to conservative posts and government messaging. The meme has been applied to military ride-alongs, a Department of Homeland Security recruiting ad featuring medieval knights, and exchanges within the political press corps, and many users describe it as a defining critique of contemporary political life.
Read at Fast Company
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