Have you ever felt like you had to laugh at a joke because everyone around you was laughing? I have experienced this pressure. You might feel this way because you are afraid of missing out on the joke and think asking for an explanation would be awkward or uncool. Or, you just don’t want to feel left out of the group’s energy.
The TV show Friends used background laughter during supposedly funny scenes. This made viewers feel they should laugh at those scenes, even if they didn’t find them funny. Some people felt pressured to laugh to avoid being judged for not getting the joke. Indian comedy shows like Shrimaan Shrimati and Dekh Bhai Dekh in the 90s used similar techniques effectively. While laughing is generally good, what is funny for one person may not be for another. However, these shows through the tool of background laughter subtly standardized what is considered funny. Over time, this led us to develop similar tastes in humour, even if we didn’t realize it.
Fast forward to today’s digital age, social media has taken this to a new level. Viral memes now create a similar kind of pressure to enjoy them, even if you didn’t find them funny or engaging at first. The number of views and shares on a meme can make you feel like you must laugh or be seen as out of touch. It is similar to the background laughter of comedy shows. The pressure to fit in and be cool can lead you to share the meme with friends, making it even more viral. Through this process, what is considered funny itself slowly changes. You might find that something you didn’t find funny five years ago now makes your stomach ache with laughter. The change happens so gradually that you don’t notice it right away.
Memes not only reflect collective consciousness but also actively shape it. By repeating certain themes or ideas, memes can influence how people perceive reality. For instance, memes about political figures or social issues can sway public opinion, reinforce stereotypes or challenge prevailing narratives. The repetitive nature of memes—where similar themes are echoed across different contexts—can contribute to the construction of a “memetic reality.” This reality is not necessarily aligned with objective facts but is instead shaped by the dominant themes and ideas circulating within the social media ecosystem.
Elon Musk famously said, “Who controls the memes, controls the universe.” While this might be an exaggeration, memes do have a significant impact on both culture and the economy. For instance, Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that started as a meme, saw its price rise sharply after Elon Musk’s tweets. Similarly, Memes have influenced stock market trends, especially with the rise of meme stocks. The GameStop episode in early 2021 is a prime example, where retail investors, driven by meme culture on Reddit, caused significant fluctuations in the stock’s price. Memes have also become a powerful tool in digital marketing. Brands use memes to engage with younger audiences, boost brand recognition and create viral content. There are several YouTube channels with huge subscriber base whose only content is reacting to memes.
Memes also have the ability to turn serious issues into trivial and vice versa. They can downplay significant events, like wars or important historical figures, by turning them into jokes. On the other hand, they can also make trivial events, like someone making tea, seem like a big deal. Memes often use “dark humour,” which finds comedy in serious, taboo or distressing topics such as death, illness and tragedy. While this type of humour was once on the fringes, it has now become mainstream. Sensitive issues like religion, gender or historical tragedies are sometimes treated lightly for comedic effect. Whether this trend is healthy or not is a separate matter, but it is clear that such content changes our collective mindset by trivializing sensitive topics. Even if something seems offensive or inappropriate at first, seeing it widely shared can make it feel more normal.
In fact, as everyone on social media competes for more views and likes, they feel pressured to produce increasingly controversial or absurd content to stand out from other creators. Consequently, we, as content consumers—especially the younger generation—are led to accept more and more controversial or absurd ideas as normal. This can be dangerous because it may cause those who spend a lot of time online to develop a distorted view of reality. They might become less aware of serious societal issues and could view historical events and figures as if they were fictional characters.
I know some people whose only source of news is memes on social media. This risks creating a digital divide, where people who primarily engage with social media and those who mostly interact offline may develop very different perspectives on history, society and individual experiences. While laughter is extremely important part of our lives, we must also be aware of the changes we are undergoing as individuals and society when we mindlessly scroll the reels.
Therefore, memes are more than just viral content—they are a way to understand the ever-changing landscape of our thoughts, feelings and societal trends. So next time you share that cat meme, remember – you are not just spreading laughter; you are participating in the grand and sometimes absurd, experiment of human connection.
(Views are personal)
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin
Email
Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
