The Out-of-Touch Adults' Guide to Kid Culture: What Is 'Gucci Morty'?

This week's crop of things-that-only-matter-to-young people includes Gucci Morty and Chanty Beluga, two unrelated but incredibly popular meme characters, stolen source code for the biggest video game in the world, and a viral YouTube video that cost more than your house. So get ready to learn what's what and who's who among the younger generations. What is "Gucci Morty" and why is it taking over? Denizens of the internet create countless hundreds of thousands of memes every day, but only a tiny percentage ever gain any traction, and only one in a million really takes off. Gucci Morty is that meme this week. The image is of Morty from Rick and Morty wearing a black Gucci shirt and looking nonchalant ... and that's it. That's the whole thing. I wouldn't have looked twice, but millions of younger people connected with the meme. Since he showed up about a week ago, Gucci Morty spread as fast as smallpox, from Instagram to TikTok to X to everywhere young people spread memes. Variations and tributes appeared, accompanied by part of "Lot of Me" by the rapper Lil Tecca , the song that gave Gucci Morty his catch phrase, "I can see you wanna vibe with me." Here's an example: People started dressing as Gucci Morty: It became a whole thing, with anyone under a certain age knowing Gucci Morty. But what does it mean? Why this meme? It's mostly ironic, with commenters noting Gucci Morty's endless aura, and memers putting him in "cool" situations. But the viral spread of Gucci Morty has beco…