Gavin Dorman, 10

The format almost always uses the exact same cropped screenshot, a smiling blonde child paired with the caption naming him Gavin Dorman, 10, alongside his full quote about not planning to do much with his life1. Creators treat the fictional boy as if he were a real person, building fake obituary-style edits, mock news alerts, and fictional documentary clips around the still image2. Others film person-on-the-street reactions asking classmates or strangers if they know Gavin Dorman, playing on how quickly he became an in-joke3.

The tone leans toward doomer nihilism softened by absurdity. The joke works because a made-up ten year old is calmly agreeing with adult climate despair, and the fandom around him treats that acceptance as oddly comforting rather than bleak4. Later edits drift from dark humor into full 'Healing' compilations set to soft music, framing the character like a beloved lost friend.

The template usually keeps the original Onion screenshot untouched and layers new context around it. Common conventions include treating Gavin as a deceased figure worthy of mourning, staging fake news bulletins, or filming clips asking strangers if they know him. Captions often echo the fatalistic tone of the original quote, or invert it with earnest tribute music.