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About
Changing Consumer Habits is a catchphrase, often considered to be a dog whistle, used in memes that originated online in early May 2026 based on a viral tweet by the official Polymarket X / Twitter account about the fast-food chain McDonald's eliminating its self-serve soda stations nationwide by 2032, with the company citing, "changing consumer habits." Over the following days, the statement "changing consumer habits" came to be used in jokes and memes by some as a way to blame Black people and immigrants for the McDonald's change and other societal problems that people perceived as having caused a shift from a "high-trust society" to a "low-trust society," primarily in the U.S.
Origin
On May 4th, 2026, the official X / Twitter account of the prediction market platform Polymarket, tweeted about the news that fast-food restaurant chain McDonald's had announced it would "eliminate self-serve soda stations nationwide by 2032." In the tweet, McDonald's stated the reason for the controversial change was "changing consumer habits."
The post garnered over 10.1 million views, 15,000 likes and 2,300 replies in a week, with many commenting on the tweet and immediately insinuating that Black people, among others, were to blame for the loss of self-serve drinks at McDonald's that day.
For instance, that same day, Twitter user PepesDancing replied to the Polymarket tweet with an image of Hank Hill from King of the Hill whispering, "black people," under the text "changing consumer habits," receiving over 34,500 views and 2,800 likes in a week.
Spread
The news about McDonald's removing self-serve soda machines from its restaurants continued to inspire more usage of the Changing Consumer Habits meme and catchphrase over the following days in early May 2026, with the label being applied to other controversial changes and things people blamed "changing consumer habits" for.
On May 4th, 2026, Twitch and Kick streamer Asmongold notably replied to the Polymarket tweet, writing, "We used to live in a country. Another aspect of public life that has been reduced to a low trust, minimum security prison alternative to accommodate impulse-driven subhuman animals who should be in jail." The tweet received over 391,000 views, 28,000 likes and 400 replies in a week.
That same day, X / Twitter user TonyMichaelX posted a Train Hitting School Bus meme using the phrase to show "changing consumer habits" destroying "high-trust society," garnering over 12,300 views and 1,800 likes in a week.
Also on May 4th, Twitter user passcoderonald tweeted an X Could Be Here meme referencing Changing Consumer Habits, receiving over 265,000 views and 9,000 likes in a week.
Later that day, the satirical news site Not The Bee published an article referencing the meme, titled "McDonald's to eliminate self-serve soda machines in U.S. due to 'changing consumer habits.'"
The cryptic meme continued to spread into mid-May 2026, primarily on Twitter / X, as it saw additional use on social media over the following days.
For example, on May 7th, 2026, Twitter user joeybeastmarket posted a tweet that read, "My car was broken into and vandalized last night by changing consumer habits," garnering over 156,900 views, 13,000 likes and 60 replies in four days.
On May 8th, the YouTube channel Zackrawrr Shorts uploaded a video titled "changing consumer habits 💀" that featured a clip of Asmongold reacting to a Reddit post about ice cream samples being banned from a store due to "many abuses," receiving over 55,000 views, 3,600 likes and 290 comments in three days.
Various Examples
English (US) ·