What Is Teoing?

Teoing is a photo fad or internet meme that emerged following reports that the girlfriend of Manti Te’o, a Notre Dame linebacker, and her death on September 2012 were all untrue. The meme involves posing with an "invisible" girlfriend with one arm suspended in the air where her shoulders should be. It is another example of a meme or fad that gained popularity quickly, similar to #Planking, #Owling, and #Tebowing. Teoing gained popularity following the news on January 16, 2013, that Lennay Kekua, Manti Te’o’s apparent girlfriend who died the year before, never actually existed. The relationship that they had for over a year leading to her death was an elaborate lie or social media hoax that may or may not involve Te’o himself. While most reports believe Te’o to be a victim, the incident became a sensation and sparked a wave of online attention and speculation. A Tumblr page dedicated to the new fad, http://teoing.tumblr.com, went up just a day later. Chase Reynolds, the 26-year-old owner of the page, said that he got the idea when he saw a tweet of a #teoing picture. Reynolds said that he was simply grabbing photos from Twitter until people began submitting teoing photos to him to put up on his page. There are now many variations of the teoing meme, with the original being the "arm over the invisible shoulder pose." Variations include men proposing to invisible girlfriends, posing at landmarks, drinking, studying, and even playing sports, all with a common theme of having an invisible person in the picture. Teoing is an example of how quickly a meme can spread through the internet, often gaining popularity based on current events or news stories. It also demonstrates how people use humor to cope with difficult or confusing situations, such as the controversy surrounding Manti Te’o and his imaginary girlfriend.