# Its A Role Given To Me By The Internet People > It's a Role Given to Me by the Internet People" is a 2019 reaction-image quote meme from Andras Arato's TEDx Talk, justifying one's role as an internet personality. "It's a Role Given to Me by the Internet People" is a quote from Andras Arato, the man behind the Hide the Pain Harold meme, taken from his June 2019 TEDx Talk titled "Waking up as a meme-hero." The line became its own standalone meme format, typically used as a reaction image when someone wants to justify their role as a shitposter, memelord, or general internet weirdo. It hit especially hard because it was the stock photo guy himself, fully embracing his accidental internet fame on a literal TED stage. ## Origin On June 25, 2019, the TEDx Talks YouTube channel uploaded a presentation called "Waking up as a meme-hero" featuring Andras Arato[2]. In the talk, the Hungarian electrical engineer described how his stock photo images were turned into the Hide the Pain Harold meme without his knowledge, and how he eventually came to accept and even embrace it. During the presentation, Arato used the phrase "It's a role given to me by the internet people" to describe his relationship with his meme identity. The video picked up over 5.1 million views within its first year on YouTube[2]. - **Platform:** YouTube (TEDx Talks channel), Reddit / Twitter (meme format spread) - **Creator:** Andras Arato (speaker / meme subject) - **Date:** 2019 ## Overview The meme uses a screenshot of Andras Arato mid-presentation at TEDx Kyiv, specifically the moment he delivers the line "It's a role given to me by the internet people." In the image, Arato stands at the podium looking characteristically deadpan, with the quote displayed as a subtitle or caption. The format works because Arato isn't just any speaker. He's Hide the Pain Harold, one of the most recognizable meme faces on the internet, and here he is at a TEDx event sincerely discussing what it's like to be turned into a meme without your permission[2]. People use the screenshot as a reaction image to explain away their own online behavior. The humor comes from borrowing the gravitas of a TED Talk to justify something as trivial as posting memes all day. ## How It Spread The quote took on a life of its own when people started screenshotting the specific moment and using it as a reaction image. Twitter user @markdalgleish posted the image with the caption "When people ask me why I post so many memes," picking up over 420 likes[1]. The following day, Reddit user asssmasteur69 shared a screenshot of the line with the caption "When my parents ask me what is a memelord," which earned more than 19,000 upvotes at 98% upvote ratio[1]. A later variation posted on December 7th recontextualized the image with the caption "And why do you believe you deserve to be meme of the decade?" framing it as a job interview for the title of best meme. That post pulled in over 49,000 upvotes and 150 comments[1]. The format kept spreading across Reddit, Twitter, and Instagram as a go-to reaction for anyone defending their internet habits. ## How to Use The format is simple. Take the screenshot of Arato delivering the line at TEDx, then pair it with a setup that asks why you do something extremely online. Common patterns include: - A friend or family member questioning your meme obsession, followed by the Arato screenshot as your dignified response - A job interview or formal scenario where your "qualification" is being internet-brained - Any situation where you need to explain your posting habits with unearned gravitas The humor works best when there's a gap between the seriousness of the TEDx setting and the triviality of whatever meme behavior you're defending. You typically add your own caption above the image as the setup question, with Arato's quote serving as the punchline. ## Cultural Impact The quote captures something specific about the late 2010s internet: meme subjects becoming self-aware and going public. Arato didn't fight his meme status or try to scrub it from the internet. He showed up at a TEDx event and talked about it with genuine reflection[2]. That sincerity made the quote feel earned rather than cringe, which is why it worked as a meme in its own right. The TEDx Talk itself became one of the more-watched meme-related presentations on YouTube, drawing millions of views from people who recognized the Harold face and wanted to hear the man behind it speak[2]. It showed that meme fame could be redirected into something more meaningful, even as people immediately turned the most quotable moment right back into another meme. ## Fun Facts - Andras Arato is a retired Hungarian electrical engineer who had no idea his stock photos had become memes until years after they went viral[2]. - The TEDx Talk has over 5.1 million views, making it one of the more popular meme-adjacent TEDx presentations[2]. - The Reddit post captioned "And why do you believe you deserve to be meme of the decade?" hit a 97% upvote ratio, an unusually high approval rate even for meme subreddits[1]. - Arato's delivery of the line is completely sincere, which is exactly what makes it funny when repurposed as a reaction image. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is "It's a Role Given to Me by the Internet People"? It's a quote from Andras Arato, the man known as Hide the Pain Harold, delivered during his June 2019 TEDx Talk about becoming a meme. The screenshot of this moment became a popular reaction image[2]. ### Where did "It's a Role Given to Me by the Internet People" come from? The quote comes from the TEDx Talks presentation "Waking up as a meme-hero," uploaded to YouTube on June 25, 2019[2]. ### What does "It's a Role Given to Me by the Internet People" mean? Arato used the phrase to describe how internet users turned him into a meme character without his input. As a reaction image, it's used to justify one's own meme-posting habits with mock seriousness[1]. ### How do you use "It's a Role Given to Me by the Internet People"? Pair the screenshot of Arato at TEDx with a setup caption about someone questioning your internet behavior. The quote serves as the punchline, as if you're citing divine internet authority for your posting habits[1]. ### Is "It's a Role Given to Me by the Internet People" still popular? The format saw peak usage in late 2019 and early 2020. It still gets shared occasionally, especially in discussions about meme culture or Hide the Pain Harold, but it's no longer a front-page staple[1]. ### Who is the person in the meme? Andras Arato, a retired Hungarian electrical engineer whose stock photos became the basis for the Hide the Pain Harold meme. He embraced the role and gave a TEDx Talk about the experience[2]. ### How many views did the TEDx Talk get? The video reached over 5.1 million views within its first year on YouTube[2]. ### What is the connection to Hide the Pain Harold? Andras Arato IS Hide the Pain Harold. The meme quote comes from his own TEDx Talk reflecting on what it's like to be that character[2]. ## References 1. [List of Internet phenomena]() 2. [It's a Role Given to Me by the Internet People - Know Your Meme]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/its-a-role-given-to-me-by-the-internet-people Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library