What is Computer Reaction Faces?

Computer Reaction Faces are reaction images and animated GIFs of a figure at a computer monitor, posted to show how someone feels while looking at something on their screen.

Where did Computer Reaction Faces come from?

The earliest known example, Long Neck Reaction Guy, is rumored to have started on 4chan's /v/ board in 2009, with the template-drawing style spreading on the /a/ board in March 2010.

What does Computer Reaction Faces mean?

The drawings stand in for a person's real-time reaction to online content, covering emotions like shock, disgust, confusion, and arousal.

How do you use Computer Reaction Faces?

Post a crude drawing of a computer user next to a quote or link, letting the figure's expression act as your own written reaction.

Is Computer Reaction Faces still popular?

The format was most active on 4chan and Reddit in the early to mid 2010s and is treated as a classic reaction image category from that era.

Computer Reaction Faces

2009reaction imageclassic

Published August 17, 2026

Computer Reaction Faces are reaction images and GIFs of a figure hunched at a computer monitor, used since 2009 on 4chan and Reddit to show how a poster feels while looking at online content. The format took off through crude comic drawings on 4chan boards and r/funny posts in the early 2010s.

reaction memes ms paint memes rage comics 4chan memes early 2010s memes

Overview

Computer Reaction Faces are reaction images and animated GIFs of a figure sitting at a computer monitor, posted to convey how someone feels while looking at something on their screen1. The format usually shows a crude comic illustration or MS Paint drawing of a person hunched over the keyboard with an exaggerated expression that stands in for the poster's real reaction3.

The images cover feelings like disgust, horror, confusion, awkwardness, and arousal. They spread through 4chan and Reddit during the early 2010s, when text-based forums leaned on custom drawings to add visual emotion to threads2.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

4chan (origin) / Reddit (viral spread)

Date

2009

The earliest known instance is the Long Neck Reaction Guy image, which is rumored to have started on 4chan's /v/ (video games) board in 20094. Users posted it in response to threads about disturbing games, including the visual novel Katawa Shoujo, a dating game in which the player romances women with severe disfigurations3.

The template-drawing style moved to the /a/ (Anime & Manga) board on March 28th, 2010, when a user uploaded a blank image of a monitor on an empty desk and invited others to draw their own reactions into it2.

How It Spread

On April 5th, 2011, Redditor _hellojello posted an illustration to r/funny showing a man at a computer holding his head, captioned about staring at a correctly spelled word until it looks wrong, gathering around 995 upvotes and 100 comments1.

Later that year, on October 17th, Redditor Bmxing85 shared a comic reimagining the computer guy's arms as a giant Fu Manchu mustache, which pushed the character further into meme territory1.

On June 26th, 2011, Redditor thexnotoriousxlmg posted a four-pane comic titled "NSFW You Say," showing a smiley-faced figure at a computer with an erection. A commenter turned the comic into an animated GIF that became the top reply with 61 points, and the thread cleared 1,840 upvotes before being archived3.

How to Use This Meme

The typical Computer Reaction Faces post pairs a rough drawing of a figure at a monitor with a quoted message or linked piece of content, letting the drawn expression act as the user's written reaction. Common conventions include hand-on-face poses for cringe, wide eyes for shock, and animated GIF loops for arousal or disgust reactions1.