The Annoying Childhood Friend meme features a 1990s-era class photo of a young boy in a striped polo shirt, symbolizing that one peer everyone had who was selfish, rude, or made up unfair rules to win games. First gaining significant traction on Reddit in early 2011, the meme template is used to describe specific, irritating behaviors like 'borrowing' a video game and never returning it or inviting themselves over only to eat all your snacks. It taps into collective nostalgia and the universal frustration of dealing with socially inept or manipulative children, making it a staple of the classic Advice Animal era of internet culture.