LSA Opinion: After AI Yearbook photos, here come our ’90s yearbook quotes

What’s next after the AI Yearbook photo trend? This week, the Lifestyle Asia team gathers in the school yard to share their ‘90s-inspired yearbook quotes. 

The AI Yearbook photo trend has taken the social media world by storm, especially in stormy Thailand. It’s likely you or your friends have taken part.

For those with residences under rocks, let us clarify real quick. The AI Yearbook trend entails uploading selfies of yourself to an app which uses AI to produce a series of ‘90s-inspired “yearbook” photos with your face edited into them. These play into classic high school stereotypes (‘nerd’ with glasses, cheerleader, jock, you get it), transplanting your image into retro settings and fashions with pretty impressive likeness.

The trend is refreshing, given that often social media trends appeal mostly to Gen Z (bar the Roman Empire TikToks, which play in their own league), as the AI Yearbook movement is particularly popular with millennials and some boomers. In large part, this is because it leans into our very own school memories — and this next part kind of hurts to type — as the majority of Gen Z was not even born until the early 2000s. 

Another factor that sets the AI Yearbook trend apart is its price tag. Whilst online filters and trending challenges are normally free of charge for anyone to post, the AI Yearbook photos need to be purchased from one particular app. In Thailand, THB 199 on the EPIK app will get you a pack of 60 photos, with a processing time of approximately 2 hours. For a slightly lower fee, you can get your images after 24 hours. Before making the payment, you may even have to stand in a virtual queue and wait your turn. 

All this hassle, and the trend still thrives.

What's On

The AI Yearbook trend is taking over the internet. Here’s how to do it.

Where it’s vanity and hype for some, it is a fair price for memory and millennial mania for others. We don’t know what the AI technology is doing with all these selfies (GOT fans, feels like Hall of Faces?), but we do know that it is adding to the collective ‘90s nostalgia that has been surging across various fields.

From the return of ‘90s fashion to the return of ‘90s shows on Netflix, the 1990s are undeniably one of the most beloved eras for many reasons. As the AI Yearbook trend brings back those feelings, we decided to imagine ourselves back in high school at that time, and take this AI Yearbook trend to the next level. What is the best thing about yearbooks, anyway? Two words: yearbook quotes. 

Yearbook quotes serve as the one- or two-line zinger that sits beneath your yearbook photo. They could be superlatives, favourite sayings, or even pop-culture references. Whilst they are serious business for most, they have become a funny, meme-able moment for many. The 2023 non-school equivalent may be having a cheeky Instagram or Tinder bio.

One line to encapsulate your entire persona: here are our ‘90s yearbook quotes, inspired by the ‘90s AI Yearbook trend. 

N.B.: We sacrificed some of our team members and friends to the EPIK app to produce all the images for this article. 

LSA Opinion: To go with your AI Yearbook photo, what would your ‘90s yearbook quote be?

Just waiting for John Cusack to serenade me with a boom box outside my window.
—LG, Creative Content Director

I don’t know how I made it to graduation. I don’t even have a phalange.
—PC, Content Writer

“The only rule is don’t be boring.” -Paris Hilton
—TC, Content Writer

Mark my words: Hanson will be HUGE.
—ES, Senior Writer

To all of my bullies, I’ll be teaching your kids one day, so you’d better be prepared.
—PL, Features Editor

“What in gay hell?” -Vida Boheme, To Wong Foo, 1995
—KV, Content Writer