Erling Haaland is 'chronically online' and the world loves it

Erling Haaland is known for scoring goals and breaking football records but since the 2026 FIFA World Cup, his popularity has skyrocketed.

Now, fans are creating posts with one goal in mind: getting a reply from Haaland. And so far, he has delivered. In fact, he's been described as being "chronically online" on one Instagram post from news company Today Years Old.

During the tournament, Norway’s Haaland was getting attention both on and off the pitch. Alongside celebrating his epic goals, fans were busy creating memes, AI-generated images and posts about the striker, all of which have gone mega-viral.

So how and where did it all start and how does a bit of fun end up being a viral craze? Take a closer look as BBC Bitesize Other Side of The Story explains the score.

The more you engage, the more you’ll see

Haaland is what many people would describe as ‘chronically online’. This is when someone is deeply connected to internet culture and always seems to be part of the latest online conversation.

He's embraced the attention by liking memes and re-sharing content. Instead of feeling like a distant superstar, this has helped make him feel more accessible and relatable to supporters, increasing his popularity even more – he’s currently got 75M Instagram followers!

In this post, the Premier League account shared a post with the caption “Instagram is nice because we can post Erling's Fantasy price and he'll comment nice" Haaland’s comment “nice” got over 200,000 likes and the photo has over 500,000 likes!

This is not the first post Haaland has commented on.

In this post, the entertainment and news account Pubity shared a reel with the caption “Instagram is cool because we can post this video of Haaland dancing and he’ll just comment what he had for breakfast this morning.” Haaland’s comment “Steak” got over 700,000 likes and the reel has over 20M views!

When a trend goes viral, it can be hard to trace down the first post that kicked it all off.

Algorithms can have a huge impact on what kind of content social media users interact with and they are programmed to boost engagement. For example, if you like or comment on a post about football, the algorithm will likely recommend more content on this subject. In Haaland’s case, the more he likes and comments on these posts, the more likely he is to get similar content on his feed. And the more you like his comments and the posts, the more likely you’ll see similar posts too!

Sharing or boosting content can help it spread even more quickly

Content creator @sahilgptgo challenged himself to lose 20kg if Haaland commented on his Instagram Reel. He encouraged his followers to tag Haaland, increasing the chances of the post reaching him. The plan worked. Haaland replied, "Starting now," and the comment quickly attracted huge amounts of attention.

This post demonstrates the power of social media engagement, especially when many people join together to help to boost content. The more comments and shares a post has, the more likely algorithms are to recommend it to other users. This can create a cycle where viral posts spread even further and much more quickly.

The cricket team Birmingham Phoenix, competitors in The Hundred tournament, went a step further. Not only did they get Haaland to comment "nice" on their Instagram training post, they later persuaded England's Jude Bellingham - a good friend of Erling and an investor in the Edgbaston-based cricket team - to do the same. Maybe the two besties will end up having a 'nice-off' this summer?

Although this was a positive example, this method can also be used to spread harmful or misleading content. Be careful when sharing content and double check if it’s safe, accurate or appropriate to do so.

Look out for AI-generated content

Hairstylist @hairspray_studio shared various images of Haaland’s luscious locks in different ‘dos providing ‘bridal hair inspo’ to which Haaland replied ‘Thanks for the inspo’ sparking lots of laughs. The post currently has 2.4M likes and 13.1K comments.

But did Haaland really pose for a bridal photoshoot? No! Whilst the comment from Haaland is real, the images were made using AI.

These images might be funny in this context, but be aware that engaging with AI content can also help spread misinformation. Use your judgement and assess the context of the AI photo or video. If it’s misleading or harmful, don’t share it.

If you want to know more about how to spot AI-generated images, check out this article.

Will the real Erling Haaland please stand up?

As Haaland's online popularity has increased, so have accounts pretending to be him. Some impersonators copy his profile picture, use similar usernames and leave comments designed to look authentic.

If you see a comment claiming to be from Haaland, check the account carefully. Clicking on the username can help you spot whether it is the real person or an impersonator.

The official Erling Haaland Instagram account is @erling and has been verified by Instagram. You can see a blue checkmark next to his handle - although it is possible for accounts to have a blue tick if they pay a subscription, so even if there is a tick, apply some critical thinking too. Does the spelling of the handle look genuine, does the account have as many millions of followers as Haaland does? Take a look at the content the account has posted and who it has been interacting with - if it doesn't feel genuine, think twice before engaging with any posts or sharing them.

With so many fake posts, edited images and misleading claims circulating online, it is important to use reliable sources when checking information. Haaland's official Instagram account could be considered a reliable source for confirming his own posts and interactions, but even official accounts can still contain errors, show bias or leave out important facts and context.

Think critically about everything you see online. Before liking, sharing or reposting, consider where the information came from, whether it can be trusted and whether other reliable sources support it. For more guidance on misinformation and disinformation, check out this article.

Haaland's internet popularity shows how powerful social media can be. He may be "chronically online", but his viral fame also reminds us that being critically online - questioning, checking and thinking carefully about what we see - is more important than ever.

Who knows, maybe Haaland will even comment on this!

This article was published in July 2026

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