‘Is this real life?’ kid David DeVore is now 25 still gets recognised years after viral fame

One of the internet viral sensations, David DeVore, is currently 25 years of age, though his claim to internet fame continues to follow him even after almost two decades have passed since his video first went viral. The video, commonly known by the title "David After Dentist," first gained international recognition in 2009.
According to a report by The Mirror, "David After Dentist" continues to follow him even today, though he claims that he has been more recognized in recent years than before.


David, who was merely seven years of age when his father decided to capture his funny reactions to the anesthesia he had undergone following a tooth extraction procedure, has gained international recognition for his funny reactions in the video. In the video, he naively utters the phrase, "I didn’t feel anything… I feel funny… is this real life?"a phrase that has gone on to achieve internet history. The video gained instant internet fame by garnering over 143 million views on YouTube.


However, what is interesting to note is that the video was not even made with the intention of being shared over the internet. The video was made by David’s father, who wanted to share the moment with his wife, who was out of town at the time. It was only after he shared the video with his friends and family that he decided to upload it to the internet months later. What he and his family did not know was what would follow.

When talking about his life to Mirror.co, David shared that things have definitely changed a lot since his viral video days. He has finished his Bachelor’s in computer science from the University of Florida and has moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to work remotely. He has also shared that he has begun working towards his master’s in computer science from Georgia Tech, which he described as a fun season of life.


Even after so many years, this recognition has not completely dissipated, and this was evident in what David mentioned: after conducting these interviews as an adult, people have started recognising him again. From being spotted in public places such as Times Square to being recognised in a restaurant, this viral moment continues to resurface in surprising ways, such as getting opportunities to attend events such as a red carpet event, which included a premiere for ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’.

David, when looking back, considers this a “biggest blessing,” but at the same time, he feels fortunate that this happened when he was still a child. He admits that he, at that time, did not realise how big this video became, which helped him stay grounded, and he feels that things would have been very different if this were to have happened to him when he was already older, especially in this current age of social media.