'Be like Bill' is passive aggressive meme dividing Facebook

If you've paid a visit to Facebook recently, chances are you'll have seen people sharing images of a stick man called Bill.

The "Be like Bill" meme — which is basically a way for people to highlight everyday things that annoy them, both online and elsewhere — has swept through social media at an alarming rate in recent weeks, reports mashable.com.

It's not entirely clear where or when it originated, but the meme now has its own Facebook page. The first post was on January 7, and the page already has over 1.3 million Likes.

Many of the "Be like Bill" memes revolve around social media etiquette, mashable.com reports.

Eugeni Croituru, the Moldovan man who started the page, told the BBC that the idea behind the meme is a simple one.

"'Bill' can be anyone who is smart and has common sense and doesn't do annoying things," he said. "You'll also notice Bill can be someone who makes fun of himself and jokes about others too occasionally."

The "Be Like Bill" meme, which Croituru appears to have capitalised on after it appeared on social media in late 2015/early 2016, has become so popular that it's now been translated into various other languages. It's even has a rival page, "Don't be like Bill".

Love him or hate him, though, it looks as though Bill and his bobble hat are here to stay.

At least until the next meme comes along.