If WhatsApp Was in X / "I NEED Cock"

About

If WhatsApp Was in X, also known as I NEED Cock, refers to a series of memes imagining the messages that a character of a certain franchise would receive in the messaging app WhatsApp from other characters provided the app existed in that universe. In August 2021, versions of the meme in which all but one character texted "I NEED Cock" to the recipient went viral, sometimes being combined with the You Should Kill Yourself… Now! meme.

Origin

On January 26th, 2020, Instagram^[1] Dragon Ball themed meme page dbz.source posted a meme titled "If Whatsapp was in dragonball," which imagined messages that protagonist Goku would receive from his friends and adversaries if the messaging app WhatsApp existed in the Dragon Ball universe. The meme (shown below) received over 11,400 likes in two years.

In the post description, dbz.source mentioned that the image was based on an older meme that could not be discovered.

Spread

In the following year, the image received viral spread online through reposts, primarily on Instagram^[2] and Facebook.^[3] On April 1st, 2020, Facebook^[4] page Kame House reposted the first derivative meme based on the image, originally made by defunct meme page Zenkai Boost. The repost gained over 200 reactions and 120 shares in two years (shown below, left).

On February 22nd, 2021, Instagram^[5] page kyojinjump (previously facts-ackerman) posted an Attack on Titan version of the meme. The post (shown below, center) gained over 144,800 likes in one year. On February 24th, 2021, kyojinjump posted^[6] another Attack on Titan version, which received over 48,400 likes in the same period (shown below, right).

In early August 2021, an unknown user recaptioned the original Dragon Ball version of the meme, replacing the message sent by Supreme Kai with "I NEED cock goku." In August 2021, the image (shown below, left) received viral spread online with reposts on Twitter and Instagram,^[7][8] with the earliest found repost made by Twitter^[9] user @FurryHunter75 on August 12th.

On August 24th, 2021, Discord^[15] user fish#6955 took the joke further by recaptioning every single message except for the one sent by Goku's wife Chi-Chi with "I NEED Cock goku" and posting it to the apandiscord server. In early September 2021, the image (shown below, right) saw active spread with several viral reposts on Instagram^[10] and iFunny.^[11] For example, the September 4th repost by Instagram^[12] page mamas.butt gained over 17,000 likes in five months.

Following the viral spread of the meme, the format achieved major prominence on social media (primarily iFunny and Twitter) in the following month, with users creating versions in which all but one character messaged "I NEED Cock" to the recipient. For example, on September 14th, 2021, Instagram^[13] user susie.lover posted a Deltarune version of the meme that gained nearly 400 likes in five months (shown below, left). On September 23rd, Redditor^[14] minecrafthentai689 posted a Yakuza version of the meme that gained over 3,000 upvotes in the same period (shown below, right).

As You Should Kill Yourself… Now! gained prevalence during the same period, the two memes were often combined, with some versions having some of the characters sending this phrase instead.

Various Examples

Template

Search Interest

External References