And for young people, there was a follow-up: Would I have to go?
The impact of President Donald Trump's decision to order a strike against Soleimani has yet to be seen, it has turned up the heat on America's already tense relationship with Iran, a country the president has portrayed as one of America's most dangerous adversaries. Google searches for terms such as "conscription", "Selective Service" and "Iran" spiked, according to Trends data, as youthful social media users on platforms like TikTok and Instagram dealt with this collective political anxiety the best way they knew how: by spinning out endless memes about getting drafted in a hypothetical, but seemingly imminent, World War III.
On Friday, the website for the Selective Service, a federal agency tasked with maintaining a database of adult men who could be called upon should a crisis require a draft, experienced technical difficulties as people flooded the site.
Related, possibly coincidental, but certainly humorous: Selective Service Website Crashes as Panicky Snowflakes Fear a New Draft