Instagram’s Favorite New Yorker Cartoons of 2021

Do you use Instagram? Or does Instagram use you? (Sorry, I’m just going through a phase of thinking deep thoughts, and also cosplaying as Timothée Chalamet’s character in “Lady Bird.”) Whatever the answer is, let’s hope that it results in personal gain for Mark Zuckerberg—he’s had a tough time recently and really deserves a win. At the end of the year, it’s good to take stock of what, exactly, happened over the previous three hundred and sixty-five days. Do you know what happened? I’m not quite sure, either, to be honest. What’s coming to mind at the moment is getting my new couch, on which I’m sitting as I write this. Ah! Also, a few months ago, I ate a hot dog like the one that is, by some eerie coincidence, the subject of this year’s most popular cartoon on Instagram, by Elisabeth McNair. Was Mr. Zuckerberg using my phone’s camera to observe that I was eating one back then, I wonder? We may never know.

However, I’m also now noticing that, this year, I encountered some mansplaining, and overheard advice from a parent to a child, both of which are touched on in the next most popular cartoons we posted on Instagram. This is all getting quite suspicious. I think that, in 2022, I’ll be isolating myself in a box with only my new couch and my phone, so as to minimize personal experiences that could be turned into targeted ads. Good luck sending me seating- and box-related content, Mark!

In the absence of anything to do, I’ll probably also need some entertainment—and why not the list that’s right below, of 2021’s most popular cartoons (on Instagram)?

2021 in Review