New Times,
New Thinking.

  1. Science & Tech
14 November 2016

Living the Meme: What happened to David after David After the Dentist?

How does going viral aged seven affect you as you grow older? 

By Amelia Tait

It was the second most watched YouTube video of 2009. Only Susan Boyle – shocking Simon Cowell by being able to sing in her Britain’s Got Talent audition – was viewed more than David DeVore’s video of his son, drugged up after a trip to the dentist. “Is this real life?” asks seven-year-old David Jr. in the clip, uttering a phrase that rapidly became a meme in its own right, “Is this going to be forever?” His dad laughs. “No, no, it won’t be forever,” he replies. But although the effects of the medicine quickly wore off, the surreal world into which it plunged David Jr. has arguably lasted ever since.

“I love the video and have no regrets about it at all,” the now 16-year-old David Jr. tells me. After the video was viewed three million times in three days, David Jr. and his dad appeared on Jimmy Kimmel and the Today Show, and began selling t-shirts and stickers on DavidAfterDentist.com. To date, the video now has over 134 million views. “While I love that the video is part of my life, I have big plans for my life and want to be known for more than just that,” David Jr. says.  

Subscribe to The New Statesman today for only £1 per week
Content from our partners
The future of exams
Skills are the key to economic growth
Skills Transition is investing in UK skills and jobs