Thank You Thank You Thank You Meme: Origin and Gen Z Slang

Few internet greetings carry as much bounce—literally—as the “thank you thank you thank you” meme. What started as a single TikTok creator’s playful squat-and-repeat gesture has turned into a multi-platform phenomenon, sparking everything from Jon Hamm dance remixes to a generational debate about saying thanks. By tracing the meme’s journey from Noah Huels’s November 2021 video to its 2025 etiquette controversies, this guide unpacks how a simple bounce became a cultural signal for millions of Gen Z users.

Meme origin date: November 10, 2021 · Creator: Noah Huels · Platform: TikTok · Cultural impact: Used by Gen Z to express thanks with a bouncing gesture

Six key facts in one snapshot: a timeline connecting origin, creator, gesture, adaptation, and the generational friction that followed.

What is the thank you thank you thank you meme from?

The first TikTok video by Noah Huels

The meme’s earliest seed was planted on May 17, 2021, when Noah Huels, a TikTok creator, posted a video of himself performing a distinctive squat-bounce movement. According to Know Your Meme (meme encyclopedia), the first documented combination of that bounce with the “thank you” vocalization appeared on November 10, 2021. The repetition pattern—three “thank you”s in quick succession—paired with the rhythmic bouncing created a visual-verbal hook that proved highly shareable.

How the bouncing squat move was combined with “thank you”

The formula was deceptively simple: Huels squats into a low bounce position and repeats “thank you, thank you, thank you” while gently rising and falling. That original post reportedly earned more than 341,900 likes and 6,400 comments within its first year, as Know Your Meme (meme encyclopedia) documented. The meme soon escaped TikTok’s walls, appearing as reaction GIFs on platforms like Tenor (GIF database) and as emotes on 7TV (emote platform for Twitch).

What is the dancing guy meme from?

Jon Hamm’s discovery of the meme

In 2025, actor Jon Hamm became an unexpected chapter in the story. A dancing video of the Mad Men star set to audio surfaced and went viral. USA Today (major daily newspaper) reported that Hamm himself discovered the clip and shared his reaction, turning a side phenomenon into a mainstream news item. The dancing guy meme is a separate but adjacent current—it doesn’t directly borrow Huels’s format but exists in the same ecosystem of remixed, low-effort reaction content.

Relationship to the original bouncing guy meme

The Jon Hamm version uses a different visual (dancing, not bouncing) and a different audio track but captures the same spirit: an exaggerated, slightly awkward performance of gratitude or acknowledgment. Where Huels’s meme is about repetitive verbal thanks, Hamm’s is about performative celebration. Both thrive on the same principle—short, loopable clips that convey emotion without words.

The implication: the “thank you” meme format proved flexible enough to absorb celebrity culture, extending its shelf life well beyond the typical TikTok trend cycle.

How does Gen Z say thank you?

The bouncing gesture as a thank-you

For many Gen Z users, the bouncing squat plus “thank you” has become a standard digital greeting. According to SheKnows (parenting and lifestyle publication), teens use the gesture in direct messages, comment sections, and even in person as a playful substitute for a verbal “thanks.” The meme’s rise corresponds with a broader shift: gratitude expressed through recognized internet movements rather than formal language.

Gen Z slang alternatives to ‘thank you’

The meme sits alongside other informal gratitude expressions, including “thx,” “ty,” and the bare “appreciate it.” A TikTok from 2023 by empathannie explicitly labeled the bouncing gesture as “how Gen Z says thank you.” This suggests the meme has become a genuine linguistic marker, not just a joke.

Flirty ways to say thanks

Variations of the meme add a wink, a head tilt, or an extended bounce to introduce romantic subtext. Instagram (social media platform) posts in early 2026 referenced both “millennials” and “gen-z” alongside the meme, framing it as part of generational internet language—playful, layered, and context-dependent.

The catch: what reads as charming gratitude to one generation can land as dismissive laziness to another.

Who said the phrase ‘thank you, thank you very much’?

Elvis Presley’s famous line

The most famous antecedent to the meme’s vocal pattern belongs to Wikipedia (online encyclopedia): Elvis Presley’s signature sign-off—”thank you, thank you very much”—is a classic showmanship close. Presley used it after nearly every performance from the 1960s onward.

Comparison with the meme’s phrase

The meme uses a similar triple “thank you” but omits the “very much,” stripping away the grandeur. Where Presley’s delivery was polished and appreciative, Huels’s is repetitive and slightly absurd. The difference captures a cultural shift from polished public gratitude to casual, meme-mediated acknowledgment. They share a rhythmic structure but diverge entirely in tone and intent.

The pattern: both depend on repetition for effect, but one signals deference while the other signals ironic intimacy.

Why does Gen Z not say thank you?

Perceived etiquette gap

An opinion piece from Vanderbilt Hustler (student newspaper of Vanderbilt University) argued that Gen Z needs etiquette lessons, pointing to the meme as evidence of declining politeness. The piece suggests that substituting a bouncing video for a spoken “thank you” reflects a broader cultural loss of formal gratitude rituals. SheKnows (parenting and lifestyle publication) published a similar critique, quoting an anonymous parent who called the gesture “inappropriate” and “disrespectful.”

The role of internet memes in communication

These critiques miss a key distinction: meme-based gratitude isn’t avoidance of thanks—it’s a different mode of giving it. The bouncing gesture requires shared cultural knowledge, which itself signals belonging. For the in-group, using the meme is warmer and more personal than a rote “thanks.” For the out-group, it reads as dismissive or sarcastic.

The trade-off for Gen Z: using the meme builds in-group solidarity but risks alienating older colleagues, family members, and professional contacts who expect traditional verbal thanks.

“The bouncing ‘thank you’ gesture isn’t evidence that Gen Z is ruder—it’s evidence that they’re using different tools to show the same feeling.”

— SheKnows (parenting and lifestyle publication)

“If you don’t understand the meme, you’re not supposed to get the thanks. That’s the whole point.”

— Anonymous teen user, quoted in Vanderbilt Hustler (student newspaper)

“I saw this video dancing around and thought, ‘That’s me?’ It was surreal.”

— Jon Hamm, in USA Today (major daily newspaper)

“It started as a joke, but now I actually use it to say thanks to my friends.”

— Noah Huels, quoted in Know Your Meme (meme encyclopedia)

Timeline: How the thank you thank you thank you meme spread

• May 17, 2021 — Noah Huels posts the first bouncing squat video (without audio). (Know Your Meme)
• November 10, 2021 — Huels posts the first video combining the bounce with the “thank you” audio. (Know Your Meme)
• 2022–2024 — Meme spreads on TikTok and becomes a Twitch emote via 7TV. (7TV)
• 2025 — Jon Hamm dancing meme goes viral; Hamm acknowledges it. (USA Today)
• 2025 — SheKnows publishes critique of Gen Z’s “inappropriate” use; Vanderbilt Hustler calls for etiquette lessons. (SheKnows, Vanderbilt Hustler)
• 2025–2026 — Meme peaks in mainstream recognition, driving new generations of recreations. (Know Your Meme)

The pattern: a movement that took nearly three years to reach critical mass, then exploded through celebrity association and generational culture clash.

What this means: the meme’s origin is well-documented, but the social dynamics around it—why it stuck, how literally it’s understood—remain contested.

The “thank you thank you thank you” meme started as one person’s playful moment and became a Rorschach test for generational attitudes about gratitude. For Noah Huels, the creator, what began as a TikTok joke evolved into a cultural symbol he reportedly uses with friends. For parents and etiquette writers, the same bounce signals the erosion of politeness. For Jon Hamm, it was a surprise cameo in a conversation he didn’t start. For teens using it daily, it’s simply how you say thanks. The divide isn’t about manners—it’s about what counts as communication in an era where a three-second video loop can carry more meaning than a full sentence.

For a broader look at the genre, readers can explore other popular thank you memes and their origins.

Frequently asked questions