I feel that memes are a way of escapism, and I know that many memes are racially offensive and most obviously intended to, and the internet sometimes does things that need no reason too, memes are a subculture of jokes that the internet made up along with other forms of comedy.
I don't really like memes, both my brothers watch them all the time, and my eldest brother reads books full of memes! I don't get the craze. I know I could be a hypocrite because I read memes and watch them occasionally, but I don't devote my life to them or anything. I understand the humor, but sometimes people just take it too far in memes. I've seen memes racially discriminating against people, and others using memes just to be able to get mad at someone. If you know the "I sexually identify as an attack helicopter" Many people got mad at a joke that most people found funny. Others just got mad at something they most likely knew was just a joke many people could get behind. I think most memes should be kept private, or on media like youtube, where many creators use meme compilations as content, but if it could be offensive to people racially, because of their gender, or what they like or do, those kinds of memes should be kept close and private, and not shared with the outside world.
@Kate I was just wondering if I could use your comment for information on my essay. I will quote you I just need clarification, please.
I don't watch memes anymore.
I just like this
I sometime get news from memes. I think humorous news does not have a place in news because it could be harmful for some people. I think memes and new should be kept separate. I think it is ok to laugh at serious new if it is not a super serious topic. I think humour could help process scary of harmful news. but it could be a different opinion for others. I dont think it is ok to use humour during a harmful or tragic event because lot of people will disagree. I agree that using humour is a coping strategy because it can take your mind of the thing your have feelings about or think about. another way to process intense emotion is socialising and talking with friend and there opinion on this. I have never seen a meme that have crossed the line but some are close. the possible dangers of using more images for a meme is the story of behind it and with only picture it could be very disturbing for some people. I see memes that use stereotypes and some people dont like it and some people do but i dont think it will change the person reading it just might make them upset.
@josh I was just wondering if I could use your comment for information on my essay. I will quote you I just need clarification, please.
Memes, in particular, brighten my days when they are dark or difficult. Some memes actually make people sensitive in sensitive situations, which I understand. Humor is what gets me going because I know that memes are meant to make people laugh.
I feel that memes are there to help us through hard times and not meant to be taken seriously. I don’t usually see memes that go to far. I use humor to help me through hard times.
Part 1:
Memes undoubtedly make the internet a better place. The world can be a drag sometimes and the internet is a dark place, but memes are a beacon of luminescence that make light of the darkness in the world. Memes can be insensitive at times, especially if they make light of situations that are inherently terrible, like 9/11 for instance, but to me they are a way of coping.
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@Luke Adams, block 2
Part 2:
I understand why the parent in the article was concerned about the influence of memes on her sons, but she likely doesn’t realize that memes are not meant to be taken seriously. She believes that her boys were being insensitive about the events at the time, but it is highly likely that her sons were only joking about WWIII because they were trying to cope with the possibility of impending doom that seemed imminent in early 2020. Of course people shouldn’t get their news from memes, but parents are wrong when they believe that their kids believe whatever they see on the internet. When I see a meme that makes light of a current event, I take it as a joke and not credible news. If I want to find out more about what the meme is talking about, I do a Google search or I watch a YouTube video from a credible news outlet.
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@Luke Adams, block 2
Part 3:
When it comes to racism being used in memes, I do not condone it. I believe that racially motivated memes should only be created or shared if the person creating or sharing is of the race that the meme is about and they are using the meme to cope with their experiences. Race is a very touchy subject that doesn’t just blow over like a historical event, so it is important to remember to be thoughtful before posting or sharing a meme. At the end of the day it is important to know who will be seeing the meme and how they would react to it. I am not going to show my parents the same meme that I would show my best friends, and vice versa, because each person has a different sense of humor.
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I personally like to look at memes all the time. I find a lot of humor in memes, but I never see anything serious or sad. Every time I see a meme it is always funny and was just posted. I just find it crazy that some person can do something in five minutes and another person can make a meme of them in no time. Most of the memes is just a made up saying with some person doing something stupid or their facial expressions. I also believe that memes can help a lot of people. I like that If you are angry, sad, lonely, or any kind of mood that isn’t the best; You can always go and create a meme to express yourself. A lot of people go to social media everyday just to express themselves and why not do that with a meme. They also can help us feel like we belong. Because when making memes you're not alone and somebody else is feeling the exact same way you are feeling while they make their meme.
Wow! If I am being honest I never really thought about how deep memes could be. The article went into detail about how memes can both hurt and help. I fall more on the help side.
For me, memes are a way I can get a good laugh and just move on with my day. If you were to go into my text messages you would probably find a long chain of meme conversations with my dad. He is a major goofball so most of his memes are just jokes about nothing really important. We will go back and forth sending each other GIFs or memes. Even though I feel this way, I do not put much stock into the meme culture. If I read something I think is controversial or maybe wrong, I make sure to look into it.
The article gave some amazing points about memes that I had never really thought of and I think it is good that we bring it up. I agree that memes can be a coping method. There are many times in my life that it helps me to calm down to make a joke out of something but my parents have made sure that I know the time and place for jokes.
@Kylie Smith, Block 2 i agree (sorry so little effort was put into this comment)
@Kylie Smith, Block 2
Sometimes I just lay around and look at memes for hours, and laugh until I can't anymore.
@Kylie Smith, Block 2
What you said about knowing the time and place for jokes is very important. You don't want to offend somebody when your goal was to make them laugh because it completely ruins the vibe. Before sharing a meme, it is important to think about the receiver's sense of humor.
I disagree with this article. I believe that memes are not meant to be taken seriously. They are just supposed to give people who see it a laugh and that is it. If you happen to come across a meme you don't like. Then just don't pay any attention to it.
@Brian J i agree
@Brian J I agree
@Brian J I agree
I believe that memes are supposed to be taken lightly. They are just supposed to bring laughter to people and make a scary event less scary. However, I believe some memes cross the line. For example, the "Made in China" meme was just rude and disrespectful. These type of memes should not be allowed.
Humor is a great thing for the right people at the right time. If you say or show something to someone at the wrong time, it could turn out badly and either insult them, or make them feel badly about you. If you show or say something to someone at the right time, then you could get a laugh or chuckle out of them.
@Tyler S. I definitely agree with you, i think that memes are funny in all, but if you show somebody a meme at the wrong time, that could hurt more than an insulting meme at the right time.
I believe memes are one of the growing examples of how to cope with the news that can be tragic or just scary. I know that when I see memes sometimes I laugh and like the mem even if it's about Joe Biden being president. No matter what you have to wait until the big crowd of followers dies down and it's understandable to post.
I disagree with this article because it makes memes seem way worse than they are. Memes are a joke and not meant ot be token seriously if u dont laught then u dont laugh others will there just jokes.
@Benji S. I agree, this article states some very reasonable things though, like how memes could probably be propaganda, but in general I think the article takes it too seriously.
I believe that memes are okay in most scenarios. I would not suggest that memes are used for most of the news because it turns really sensitive topics into funny ones. This would be terrible because those who are affected by the scenario would feel bad
I think that memes are nice because it brings a whole community of people who relate to something together, but sometimes they go overboard.
I feel like most people, especially Gen Z, have been around memes so long that it's almost like we're trained to take things lightly and use humor to cope. At least, that's how I feel. I do think there is a very bold line to when a meme is not okay anymore, and unfortunately a lot of kids cross that line. So it is natural that the parent in this article reacted the way they did. Some things are meant to be taken seriously and most memes in the world are definitely the opposite of that, especially with current events like deaths and pandemics.
Memes are a way to bring humor into social media. Memes are meant to be taken lightheartedly, but sometimes they are taken too far. Memes should not go too far, they should be jokes that make sense and are about things relevant to the generation/public.
I do not completely agree with the article. Many teens, while they do get news from sites like Instagram and Snapchat; do not specifically use memes to get the bulk of their information. Teens know that memes are not supposed to be taken seriously, and that the information conveyed in them is often opinion based. I do not think it is fair to characterize all memes as bad when they were always meant to be for a quick lighthearted laugh.
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I think memes are a great way to share lighthearted and sarcastic humor. I do agree that sometimes memes can be harmful and innapropriate depending on the circumstance, but I also think that people who see memes often don´t take them so seriously, and see it more as entertainment.
Humor is an okay way of making light of bad evidence, as long as enough time has passed. People can make fun of the Black Death, because it happened several hundred years ago, but you likely will get hate for making fun of Covid, because it is recent.
Hello, I must say that I dislike memes because everything in this world has become a joke I think. Funny or not. Though, some are ok, some are not. You know?
I am not the biggest fan of the article because I don't totally agree with it. The memes I see aren't as bad as the articles makes them seem. I personally don't look at too many memes and that is probably why. The only memes I like are the funny ones that are jokes that make sense and are not controversial.
@Jordy I agree.
Memcould have a disadvantage and an advantage, I feel like memes that stereotype a certain group is really harmful, it stigmatises and it hurts a lot of groups. Other than that memes can be very helpful and be used to cope for teens.
I disagree with the article and feel that most memes are supposed to be laughed at and light-hearted. Not taken seriously and kids being lectured due to their reactions.
Most of the time memes are funny, but sometimes they go overboard.
I disagree with this article because I think that it over exaggerates the worlds perspective on memes.
I think that memes are mostly funny but some cross the line and are not funny
For me, funny memes that make people laugh makes the internet a better place. Because this type of meme makes people relax, it gives a better day for this person. But on the other hand, the memes that discriminate other people, like racist memes, cause the internet to become a worse place because this type of meme influences people to do bad things.
I use humor to cope with bad things A LOT, especially since I stress over things I can't control. (Which is a lot of things) I do see where some memes cross the lines, and I don't like those.
Coming from a 15 year old, memes is such a broad term that it is hard to define, a meme can just be a funny picture or video. But memes don't help us understand the news, we are compitent enough to understand what is going on in the news, memes are just an extra, an add on. Also, it isn't as complicated as this article is making it, people are just trying to be funny, not trying to spread news or shed light on that, if they wanted that it would be serious.
Memes that are not problematic can be funny.
@Sobia K I agree unproblematic memes are hilarious #stay cool.
Depends
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@Nicolas i agree
I get a lot of my news from memes. Memes can help teenagers by being a coping strategy. Memes make light of situations that can be serious and scary.
Memes are only harmful depending on the context. I think that the only truly racist memes are ones from a political perspective. I don't really look at memes that often but they are pretty funny so I think they're positive.
@Sydney J. I agree. Memes are always funny to see but they aren't when they discriminate against a group of people, or make racist jokes.
memes are funny if they're not problematic
if they are funny
@sarah agreed
Memes can be funny but they can also be taken too far. It is okay to laugh at them in private but you shouldn't in public. You don't know what the people around you are going through.
Memes make the internet a better place, society makes them look bad when they try to make others feel better. Society is trying to bring down the best part. Coming from a teenager.
In my opinion, memes make the Internet a better place, because they are funny and visually perfect. Also, because in some seconds you can see some memes and laugh, pause and have fun anytime of your day. Another good point about memes is that they are easy to make - anyone can produce a meme in seconds or minutes, so we have millions and millions of memes on the Internet while videos are difficult to make and they take some days to be produced.
To me, memes do make the internet a better place, but it depends completely on their type. Memes can be either funny phrases or images that are normally created with the objective of making people laugh. I personally love them. Those little pieces of humor can be an interesting escape from this complicated world. However, they can also be harmful depending on the creator’s intention and in how the information is put on the “joke”. From the moment the meme starts to hurt someone, or has any sign of prejudice, it is not a joke anymore, it has gone too far. Unfortunately, we do have this type of meme around. That is why I say these posts are funny depending on “what they say”. It would be OK to have just a picture of a bird and some funny comments about it. Nevertheless if it hurts someone for any reason, it is not nice anymore. So, from my point of view, memes can make the Internet a better place, but also a worse place. This is the reason why we need to watch out what we see on social media and what we post.
@Lara Farias
I completely agree with you. I think that memes can be a good thing but also a really bad thing. Although I do enjoy a good chuckle over a funny, yet mindless, meme.
Do you think that, like the article said, memes can be a coping method for people? Do you think memes should have regulations?
From my point of view, memes can either change the world into a better place or make it worse. When spreading positive messages, memes are welcome and they are a way to distract people from the real world. On the other hand, when a meme offends a group of people, it becomes more than a joke: it becomes offensive. Considering that memes have two sides, choose carefully which side you are picking.
From my point of view, memes are funny and bring benefits to the Internet. However, some of them can cross the line and be offensive to someone. With that said, we have several examples of memes that people post, comment on, talk about, and/or remember of. That are memes such as the ones about online classes, which cause humor about something that many students do not like and need to relax with a good laugh. Or also memes about animated series/cartoons, such as the ones about Peppa Pig, Dora The Adventure, etc. what made people laugh about a memory of something that was part of their childhood. On the other hand, other memes are hurtful - in other words, they hurt people about their origin, religion, sexuality, etc., such as offending Muslims or Chinese people because of a judgment. So, I can conclude that memes are nice and funny, but some of them can be harmful and we need to know how to distinguish good memes from bad ones.
I think memes are fun and can make a person laugh on a sad day. However, everything has a limit, even a meme. You can´t use memes to cyberbully or to discriminate someone, a religion, a type of person, etc. This is my opinion but it should be the truth. Using a good resource to talk about a sad thing and cyberbully people is the most inhumane action that a person can take. When you make a meme about someone´s skin, gender, among other things, they can be offensive and make someone sad. From my point of view, we need to be careful about these “jokes” and not cross the line. If everyone respects that, so memes can make Internet a better place.
Do you know what agathokakological means? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, agathokakological is something composed of both good and evil. To me, memes are agathokakological.
Have you ever had an undoubtedly bad day and just don't feel like laughing, but then you arrive at your school/ workplace and your friends immediately make you laugh? Well, now that we are doing everything from home since we are living a pandemic, we don't have these moments anymore. I strongly believe that the meaning of memes is to fill this void and try to make you laugh whenever you are having a bad day. One of the most powerful things in the world is the ability to cheer someone up and this is why memes are so influential. On the other hand, this is also why memes can hurt so much if they make fun of race, religion, gender, sex, body shape and/or sexuality. They can easily get under your skin and keep you thinking about it for days. What could possibly hurt more than people laughing at you and not being able to do anything against it once everything on the internet is anonymous?
This way, we should ALWAYS be careful about what we post and influence others to post. Don't forget that what may be funny for you could be offensive to someone else.
In my opinion, memes make the internet a funnier place where you can forget about you problems and laugh a little bit. Internet sometimes can be a very bad place, because unfortunately, there are some people who like to offend others, and the best way to forget about this comments is seeing an happy and good meme. This kind of humor can also help you forgotten real problems, like when you are studying for hours to a test and take a break just to see a good meme. So, in deal with that, we can conclude that memes can help you de-stress when you are having a bad day.
Memes are funny, and most teenagers use them today, but sometimes, these shared visual messages are really wrong. Propably when you see or share a meme, you will laugh and not think much about it, but if you think about it, you will see that some of them are racist, homophobic, prejudiced in general. This way, when sharing or laughing at a meme, think twice. Since the majority of teenagers don’t think about this, so the internet becomes a really bad place to be into. As the memes are what people think, they have great possibilities so maybe if you are sharing this meme, it is because you think like that, so think twice when laughing and sharing memes.
To my mind, memes can make the internet a better place, but only if they are not used to target minorities or other groups of people. Humor is a simple, easy, and most importantly accessible way to deal with the hardships of life. Joking about a difficult situation you may be going through can help you see things from a different, and many times simpler, perspective. For that reason, memes present themselves as a refuge that can help people feel better. However, memes, much like everything else on the internet, have the power to do harm. They can easily create and perpetuate damaging stereotypes about certain groups of people and get away with it since it will be seen as “just a joke”. The problem is that jokes can influence individuals, changing the way they act towards certain people. Therefore, I believe, memes can both serve as a refuge for people and as a vehicle of unhealthy stereotypes and it is up to the public to choose the message they want to spread.
I believe that memes make the internet better in a way and worst in another. I think that when you see a post that makes you laugh, it can start a conversation with your friends and family. In addition, it can make you process hurtful information in a humorous way and eventually it can make your day. On the other hand, memes can spread misinformation and mock of a serious issue in our society. As experts have warned, memes can go viral very fast and be very harmful to some people physically and emotionally. So there must be a limit on how far memes can go. Maybe the social media platforms should create a program to take down offensive memes that shouldn't be running around. Concluding, memes can make you feel better and lift up our mood, but they can do the opposite as well.
in my opinion, memes make internet a better place, because is a good way to make people laugh and relax some serious subject. The only bad part of the meme is that sometimes it can go too far away and be disrespectful with the content. Also, sometimes, memes can be discriminatory, making jokes with different colors, religions, countries, etc, so we need to remember that something is funny only if it isn’t hurting someone. Finally, memes can me a funnier way to express your opinion and to pass an idea. Concluding, memes can make internet a better place only if everyone use it with respect.
Eh... well l, we don’t really get news from memes, and the only real reason to search out for memes is for entertainment, or to find something you agree with. This is why hurtful memes can exist because, well, there’s hurtful people out there. Like seeing a car breaking to an undamaged bike, and saying “made in China”, and “made in Germany”, might make China upset, but the rest of the world would laugh on, then you have unpopular opinions with memes, racism, trump, Biden, whatever it is, and some people will garnish attention to it, actually keeping it alive longer ironically, because they disagree with it. You will rarely see people truly support the meme. In fact, nowadays racism is probably at the lowest it’s been for years, before 2020, who even thought of race? That didn’t matter, we’re all people right? Then all these things started happening in 2020, and now racial sensitivity is the highest it’s been since the 90’s. Honestly, with how the media treats these tragic events, it has actually backfired, especially with several media companies downplaying the obvious riots back in the summer of last year, you think those thousands of business owners are looking forward to the next civil movement? Of course not! Hatred breeds hatred, and until we can stop worrying about our races, this cycle will continue. Forget about race, we all bleed red, we are humans, man and woman (sometimes both), and we just need to work together. Yo, nytimes, I’m looking at you pal.
In my point of view, memes have the power to make the internet a better place, however, they can also cross the line and cause harm. Reading thousands of serious and tragic topics every single day by just spending some minutes scrolling your profile can be hard, so if in the middle of all that you are able to find a cute photo of a cat with a humours subtitle, there is the possibility of getting the feeling of a brief relief and have a quick laugh. Nevertheless, if the meme makes a joke about others culture, religion or sexual orientation, for example, people can get offended because it is part of who they are. The bottom line is that, whether it is funny for you or not, it is important to always check if what you are posting or laughing is not harmful for anyone, because it is not just because it is good for you that it is good for everyone.
For me, funny memes that make people laugh makes the internet a better place.Because this type of meme makes people relax, it gives a better day for this person. But for another hand, On the other hand, the memes that discriminate other people, like racist memes, cause the internet to become a worst place because this type of memes influences people to do bad things.
To my mind, memes have two powers: to make the internet better or to cause harm to a group of people just because of one characteristic. This can be: nationality, sexuality, race, religion, etc. On one hand, memes can make you laugh when dealing with a tough situation. They can make you forget the reality, and focus on this funny post. On the other hand, memes can cross the line and end up hurting someone’s feelings by saying something prejudiced about a group of people or a person, by attacking them. When this happens, they become harmful. The attacked person doesn't deserve your hate because of one of their characteristics. Besides that, memes can inform you about something that appeared in the newspaper, something important, but in an informal way. They can make the day a day of getting informed by the latest news, something interesting and pleasant. Therefore, memes can be positive but they can also be so negative. Because of that we have to be careful on what we are posting.
In my opinion, people can benefit from memes, learning about the news, for example, in a more entertaining way. Memes are a form of finding humor in routine or specific situations that are important to a group of people (related to politics, sports, etc.). Most viewers can relate a lot to the memes they see, making them laugh and have a better day. Also, the possibility of sending memes to others makes all the society enjoy social media, having fun with the posts. That's why I think memes make the internet a better place since they not only make people reflect on some elements of our reality these days with an interesting and funny source but also distract people and make them happy!!
Memes can make us feel lighter and the world less scary, but they can also be cruel and discriminatory, increasing prejudice and making many people laugh while hurting others. We live in a world where a multitude of events we can not control is happening, and a life where many things can scare or stress us a lot. In this sense, memes can help us cope with situations, relieve our stress, and make us have a good laugh when we are really needing one. However, some memes cross the line between funny and hurtful, disrespecting and offending an entire culture or group of people. This kind of memes, that spread hate, shouldn’t be disseminated in social media, so we should pay attention to what we share and help go viral. This way, we help to make the platforms healthier and safer environments, with more love and less hostility. As for now, I think memes both can make the Internet a better and worse place. It is up to us to change it.
To show that memes do not only have to be funny but they can show info and be resourceful if you need them to be
I'd love to use these for my HS class but at school on the school wi-fi, they can't open the meme. How can you provide a link to have students use their own devices
yes i agree it is so true
In my opinion, memes are SOMETIMES funny, they can be jokes, but making a meme about something serious isn't right. Sometimes those memes or jokes can really be offensive to some people and are very insensitive to other people.
on the other hand memes could be funny. but its not and i mean NOT funny when making raicst memes how are you gonna laugh at racist memes your provinng that you are a racist. even making a meme out of a person with a disablity thats just a dushbag move like what did they do to you. im doing this for my school assignment but you should never be making memes that are racis,homophobic or making fun of a person with a disablity thats just rude, and i understand memes can help you and yes memes can be really funny but why just why? in the world would you laugh at a racist joke or a homophobic joke if you laugh you need serious help. memes do have a cross line just like dark humor but epople can cope with memes just ot racist memes because its harmful to other. this was written by a 6th grade student :)
That’s the message conveyed by a popular internet meme that shows a pair of hands slicing limes. The image and caption — “Me, preparing for the coronavirus” — are a bit subversive: While public health officials worldwide are scrambling to determine how to best treat and contain the virus that has killed hundreds, the meme plays on the name of the beer brand Corona, and suggests there’s no real need to worry.
Memes come in so many different forms and come from so many different sources. Every Meme discussed in the original article seemed like they were political and making fun of serious topics that others may not be comfortable joking about, which tend to be the ones that gain the most traction due to news coverage. Most teens don't even like political memes, and there was an obvious generational issue with the original article, unfortunately, older generations (sometimes even millennials) have a hard time understanding a lot of memes and can often misinterpret them.
Yes, memes do make the internet a better place. Everyone gets a good laugh at memes and can sometimes benefit relate to them personally. It’s when it gets to the point that certain memes are offensive towards certain people and causing them to feel down on themselves is when memes aren’t a good thing for the internet. Beyond that, there have been many scenarios where people have caused self harm as a result of harmful memes being thrown at them. So yes memes are funny at times but it can also get to the point where others don’t feel comfortable with them and it needs to stop. It’s not that the memes are bad, it’s more the people that chose to make them despite knowing the fact it could hurt others .
I use memes to help with life people are wrong memes can make a peoples day and it helps them with things that they want to just ignore also the news is sometimes included in it
Memes get straight to the point in my opinion. Memes are brutally honest and crude to some extent. Memes don’t care about ones feelings, memes are meant to be as humourous escape to reality, memes can make you forget about everything going on around for a time at least.
Usually when something traumatic happens in the world most people are quick to make a laugh about it as an easy way to cope. Converting something tragic into a meme makes it easier to be able to deal or even cope with the pain. In my opinion though it is only to a certain extent and there should be some areas that should not be seen as something funny. One example being death. Recently a very famous basketball player, Kobe Bryant, has recently died. After a lot of scrolling through instagram, I was quick to pick up on the memes that were created about him. There were some very offensive memes while others just mocked his death. There were other memes about him though that reminded you about who he was as a person and it reminded you about all the good things in the world. I just think there should be a limit or a barrier on what to post and what not to post.
Memes are what makes the new generation. They are ways to chat with friends, a good fall back in an awkward conversation, and can make you smile during a time that makes you sad. Sure there are some rude and potentially offensive memes, but by giving the people that post these memes the attention they've been craving only fuels it more. I absolutely hate the people that tease and bully through memes but when someone sends me one of those memes, I just simply ignore it. Then the person never sends another one to me. If everyone were to do that simple thing, that would be a way better solution to that problem, rather than protesting against memes online or sending hate messages to the person that created those rude memes. Just Ignore them.
Our generation is known for not taken things seriously. Memes for that matter are an accurate representation of this behavior, however, the reason behind this comportment is deeper than just getting a good laugh. This generation was born in a world with issues bigger than all of us. The economy is falling down, the environment is dying, hope is nowhere to be found, as a result of this, the younger generations decided to make the best out of it and laugh about it to turn the look away from it. Nevertheless, the line between funny and hurtful has fastly blurred in front of our own eyes, making some memes discriminatory and cruel.
@Alvarez J. You Make a good point! Kids can try and hide from major disasters or current events by making memes about them.
Nowadays , memes circulate quite a lot on social media. Memes have become a way to create content that is funny to all kinds of audiences but more specific to teenagers of this generation. Young people have fun sharing and spreading this kind of humorous content without mebargo, the dissemination of memes at times can become inappropriate until we can be subjected to spreading fake news on our social networks. In fact everyone has access to be able to publish a meme containing news that is not authentic or true.sometimes the memes are dedicated to causing young people to laugh more than anything, most of them are critical with black humor or they are simply ways to satirize situations of the world. For example, the covid19 pandemic we have faced these months has become the bojective for people to do months about it and what we can say that sometimes the memes related to this pandemic have been quite unrespectable and even racist.
Overall, we have to have a good control of these memes and know those that are worthwhile and what are inappropriate since we all have the access to be able to spread these memes on the internet. Let's know how to handle these memes as some may cause misunderstandings, or discrimination to anyone who may be offended by seeing memes. Memes can come in it's been a lot of fun for some, but maybe not for another audience. so let's all be careful what we fill and spread on our social networks.Always spread love to the social media.
@Valeria how can memes be racist that's not what they are meant for
Meme is a humorous image, video, piece of text, etc.. that is copied and spread rapidly by internet users. Meme culture supposed to make us laugh about the our personal problem the same one every one goes through and about serious matter that most of the time should not be laugh at. Some of you may think that memes can hurt and that some of them shouldn't be posted at all , but this point of view is wrong.
For example as you know we currently present with unpleasant situation that shouldn't be laughable-covid-19- we stuck in houses without the possibility to see our loved ones which can be really depressing sometime. In order to deal with those feelings I like see memes that makes me feel a little bit better and realize I am not the only one who feel like that.
Another example is that thanks to the memes l am gaining information about what's going on in the world. And that's because in times like this it's almost impossible to turn on the news and so whenever I see new meme I almost always learning something new about the current situation in the world or in my country and even if it's sad information I still able to laugh about it.
In conclusion the meme culture are great way for us teens to gain information, they help us to change our mood. And because most of us stuck to the screen all they anyway we see them a lot on apps like Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter , ext.. and so we keep our self entertained and happy and all that thanks to the meme culture we grown to love.
@Aelita Verzhbo I completely see your point, I really understand why you say all of this, yet I do think that memes have risks we should take into account.
We are right now in the most technological advanced era and yet we, as society, have shown an enormous lack of humanity or sensitivity thanks to these memes.
I'm not intending to say that they should be forbidden or that they're wrong since after al they are an entertainment, but some people stoped taking serious certain current problems such as this pandemia we are getting through right now thanks to memes. People don't take seriously the illness and don't follow the measures that should be taken such as social distancing since they see how people are making laugh of it. And is not the only topic that people have made fun of: sexism, feminism, racism, illness or even poorness are serious subjects to take into account that people make fun of thanks to memes.
I have been highly influenced by meme culture, and I say it is a healthy way of communication. Just like when every new technology comes out that changes the way that humans communicate such as the newspaper, there will always be a negative response to this new way of communication. Is there an extent of which it can go too far? Yes. Some memes like the WWIII meme made me laugh, for that the people that say they are ready for war, are not. But, I believe that the individual should be conscious enough to decide which meme is funny to them, and hopefully, they are awake enough to learn about current events from sources that are actually, and I say that with exaggeration, are reliable. In short, it is up to the individual to decide what memes they find funny, and surround themselves with.
Some memes are funny. Others are not. While maybe the intent was just to be a funny joke, seeing a meme that makes fun of people with a race, religion, gender, sex, body shape and/or sexuality like yours hurts. There is a world-wide pandemic going on. I think that will cause stress in the best of us. Laughing at something releases stress. So memes are helpful? Memes saying that you should cut up limes to prepare for the corona are funny. People should know better then to prepare by cutting citrus. Memes showing a photo of a Where's Waldo book with only five people on every page is funny. But there's a line. When I see a meme about running when you see a chinese person is not funny. That person did nothing to you. It is not fair to blame a person for something that is not their fault. These are just plain mean. they train people to discriminate against Asian people, even unconsciously. Memes can be funny, but they can so easily cross to hurtful. Even encourage others to be harmful. I think people should be more careful about what they post.
I feel like most memes are just meant as jokes and shouldn't be taken so seriously however memes that use clearly harmful intentions against people of color I feel like most memes are just meant as jokes and shouldn't be taken so seriously however memes that use harmful intentions against people of color, race, sex, and other traits are clearly offensive as these are more degrading than jokes.
When I see memes I laugh before thinking, just because of the funny picture or because my friend is showing it to me so it must be funny. I never pause to think if the meme could be hurtful to a certain gender or race. Since I don't have a phone I'm never on TikTok or Instagram that much and I don't see a lot of memes. After reading this article though I searched for memes about the Coronavirus and immediately five different memes popped up about sitting close to or hearing a Chinese person cough and freaking out! I've never been worried or suspicious of memes before but after reading that I'm mad! It really shouldn't be this easy for people to post this racist stuff and hide it as a joke! Sometimes comedy is good when something scary is going on, but frankly reading these memes just made me more anxious. It's awful that teens get the majority of their information from memes because a bunch of memes are corrupt and the more these memes are pasted around the more normalized it becomes to be racist or sexist.
Personally I feel like there’s both advantages and dangers mostly because everybody is different so you never know how they will react to what you post or say on an image. Some advantages could be finding people who you connect with and can relate to what you posted which is always a really good feeling everybody likes having, but there’s also dangers. I think the dangers come from people not having the same mindset as you, meaning you could post something that for you was very funny but to somebody else they could take is as offensive or out of line which happens more than people think when we post online. Most people online just call it “dark humor” which not everybody likes or understands. Dark humor is usually supposed to be funny but sometimes people online really cross the line and use dark humor as a way to cover up and justify that what they said is okay which causes the person who thought it wasn’t funny to question if they are in the right or just plain sensitive.
I can understand the issue that some people have with memes. However, I do not think the issue of disrespect and supposed malicious intent is related to the content as it is to the consumer. I've always heard people take issue with the fact that meme culture is offensive, and even in this article it talks about how boys use memes rather than coping with their emotions. Consider the following, however: memes are funny. That's all there is to it. There's no hidden underlying truth to be examined here, memes are simply funny. The issue of memes coming across as offensive stems from the individual content consumer, not from memes in their entirety. Some people practically bully others with remarks that aren't even funny, just a stab at an insecurity or a childhood traumatic event. It is unfair to blame memes for such a predicament, simply the select few who speak louder than everyone else who just wants a quick laugh.
I Belive that memes should not be somebody's main source of news. Memes are used in a way that is overexaggerated and overdone for comic effect. Having someone receive news from them without having any outside source of news may give them an idea that the situation is out of control when it is merely just a small problem. Memes are used as a way for people to cope with what's happening in the world, and by no means should it be used as a source of news.
@hank manning I agree completely with your comment. People's source of news shouldn't be memes. Of course, it could be, and nowadays it's very common, that we first heard about something through a meme; but, we need to realize that memes are not a trustworthy source. When it comes to inform ourselves, even more in this digital era where fake news are around the corner, a well-founded source is essential. We should seek information in official sites, press articles, documentaries, and those source that have a true investigation behind.
Nevertheless, just the fact that memes are not your daily news channel doesn't make of them a miserable creation. Memes are funny, memes are good.
Sometime meme make the internet a better place and sometime when you're stress out you go to the internet a search up memes and it make you forget about your problem. But sometime meme go too far because some of the memes are racist and the person that made the memes may think it's just a joke but other people may thinks it very rude. I personally enjoy the memes, but sometime you have to be careful of what you post on the internet because even if you delete the post other people may have save the post and share it to other friend or family member.
@Dung I agree with your view of how memes can be used as a coping device, and how at times they do cross the line from being funny, to being hurtful and insulting. throughout the years I've seen many memes that just sit in the middle of that line, a gray area, and you just couldn't tell, is this hurtful or funny, and at those times I say if I have to question it then someone, somewhere would find this hurtful. That's why I try to always keep this in mind whenever I see memes around the internet or post one myself.
Personally, I think using humorous memes as a news source is dangerous because often times these jokes can be very inaccurate. Often times they state facts, not opinions. For an example, I have seen several racist comments about the Corona Virus. It is mistaken as a “joke” but many take offense as it can come off as extremely rude. Although there are these negatives, I also think that memes are a good way for young adults to express their feelings and cope with our modern world. I enjoy seeing people my age posting relatable jokes. But, I think it is important to be cautious with what you post online as many jokes could come off as offensive and harsh to others.
Memes are a huge thing these days. Kids created sub genre for the word meme for example-"meming". These memes are jokes to entertain one, it should not change ones mind. During this pandemic many memes were created about corona and these memes can change ones mind by making him go outside.
I do agree that it may be the case for most teenagers. A majority of teenagers read or make memes in order to make light of an otherwise scary situation, which may be a processing mechanism to understand what is going on without a lighter point of view. A lot of my friends and I are constantly are following/subscribed to humor meme accounts across various social media, and we always laugh at some sort of joke or meme made out of a current event, which a lot of people from older generations may find inappropriate.It’s just the way we’ve been thinking since we were young, using humor to slightly brighten a dark situation.
@Anu Boyapati I agree that newer generations use making jokes about a current situation as a possible coping mechanism to what is going on around them. Although it is true that older generations think of it as disrespectful and rude, sometimes some people do step out of line and make a jokes/memes that are just not funny to all.
I feel as though there are many advantages and disadvantages to memes. It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words and it is no different with memes. Memes allow one to more easily and effectively express and convey their emotions. This is advantageous in a casual setting here one does not want to read and write many words. However, memes can be disadvantageous as they can be misconstrued to mean something that they weren’t originally meant to.
I agree that memes can be used as a coping mechanism for young people. Sending someone a meme that you relate to is often a way teens communicate how they feel especially with the popularity of the “Mood” meme format from a little while ago. Teens often make jokes or memes about a scary topic or a topic we don’t understand because they feel as if it lightens up the severity of the topic a but snd makes it more relatable or so that they can better understand it.
Every morning I start my day by checking my phone and going straight to Tik Tok where I am guaranteed a laugh that will encourage me to get out of bed. Among the many memes that I refer to as “gold” because of how rare and quality the humor generated by my personal For You Page algorithm is; there are also a plethora of distasteful memes and jokes that I quickly swipe past. Some of the most notorious of the offensive memes trolling social media include WWll jokes that undersell the hardship and struggle that took place during the war, “Ok Boomer” jokes which rudely mocks and stereotypes the attributes of those born in the baby boomer generation, and the list goes on and on. Not to mention the countless memes and jokes on the internet that promote Racism, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Sexism, Etc. As teens, it is important for us to have our fun and connect with one another. However, we must all learn to be mindful of the effects of our jokes that are at the expense of others because how they are perceived is out of our control. Meanwhile, the content we decide to share on the internet is very much so in our control.
Yes memes do make the internet a better place because they help people express emotions like fear and help them deal with these emporiums line with all the members about the corona virus people are much less worried about it say as someone who doesn’t have a way to cope with these things
@Ryan Toys Review (C)
Yes, memes are funny and they do help lots of people deal with situations they don't know how to react to but at some point they can cross a line. I have definitely seen memes that i felt have crossed a line although i think some people really do use memes to help them cope. When a meme is making fun of someone for something they can’t control like a disability then i feel as though it has gone too far but as for like memes about corona they are helping me stay entertained through this boring time.
@Katy Kryzak Yes, and I think it is important that when we come across memes that are offensive or unkind we take the initiative to address that they are not tolerable. For example, maybe refrain from liking it and showing support, perhaps you could report it, or even voice your contrary opinion in the comments.
@Katy Kryzak I agree and I think that’s one of the main points of the article. Though many people recognize when something has been taken too far, a lot of people don’t really notice and even consider the meme a funny one, even though it’s most likely one that doesn’t really honor a code of ethics.
@Katy Kryzak Yes, and I think it’s important to say that memes/jokes where people are making fun of someone for a disability are just plain rude even if you think they’re funny you should be extremely aware that what you are laughing at is disrespectful.
Hello, my name is Ireland and I attend Carver HSES in the city of Philadelphia. Meme culture is something younger people use to make cruel times or bad situations funny and to lighten the mood. Sometimes these memes may go too far, but they’re just jokes that shouldn’t be taken seriously. I do not personally take news from these memes nor should they always focus on the news, but it’s okay to laugh at these memes representing serious news at certain times. With that being said, some people will use memes to take the ease off of the news and to calm their nerves. Personally myself I use memes to cope sometimes because humor can cheer people up, and a lot of people can agree to that. It’s okay to laugh at serious events if the people around you give permission and no one gets hurt in the process. I have seen memes that have crossed the line and people will call the creator of that meme out to solve the issue. A meme can go too far if it revolves around death, race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. All in all, memes can make the internet a better place if used correctly.
There are several of memes out there that cover several of topics, both good and questionable. Although memes are something used to get a good laugh out of, there are many memes out there that should have been given a second thought before posting. One time while scrolling through Instagram, I came across a post that showed a previously taken image of an asian woman whose brother had fallen ill to the Coronavirus, with Coronavirus germs around her body. The caption that was put was also rude, but I’ve forgotten what it had said. The very same woman in the post had commented on the post, stating how rude and inconsiderate they were for posting and making fun of something she felt confident about putting out there, especially with it being such a sensitive topic to her. Many others had agreed with the woman defending herself, and had immediately started making comments on how they’d wish the person who posted the meme had fallen ill or could experience what her brother was. At this point, there were multiple people now attacking the person who posted the meme without hesitation and were also making unnecessary comments about his lifestyle. As you could tell from this post, hate was easily thrown around and both suffered from this one meme.Memes are a great way to forget about world problems, but making them to bully and put down other people isn’t something that shouldn’t be thought of as funny.
@Uchenna A. Yes, and I think that it is important that as a society teens need to work harder to achieve a more refined taste in humor that doesn't come at the expense of others. In doing so this would require the media to discuss and educate our age group more about social issues and how they affect different demographics and populations. That way there is a bit more empathy and thought put into the things we post.
@Uchenna A. Yes I agree that people should take a second look at what they are posting. These days teens publish posts about trending things without looking at the situation. Teachers should explain students to post something that doesn't effect some body.Teens these days post anything that they think could get them viral.
Yes of course I do, humour is used in a lot of ways and in today’s world I find humour to be mostly used to deal with some sort of pain or bad decision making. People often joke about the amount of sleep they get like “oh I got 5 hours of sleep last night” and then laugh about it, when in reality they’re depriving their body of the sleep that they really need. Another example is if someone’s texting they’ll say something totally depressing and put “lol” at the end of it as a form of euphemism to make it seem not as bad. Humour can take almost any scary or hurtful subject and make it just a little better because the joke that’s told takes that dark or scary element, it helps us deal with it and gets us to see the absurdity of the circumstance that has happened. Most men don’t like to be open about their feelings so they resort to jokes or memes to cope with what they’re dealing with. The one thing I don’t like is that in the article the children said things like “they should blow us up already” which could possibly be funny to someone, but to most of society it seems rather inappropriate. Though humour can be good or bad, they all say laughter is the best medicine.
Making a post with few words allows for multiple points of interpretation. On the surface, a meme may try to make you laugh, but the deeper messages usually brings up controversy. With the seemingly infinite created media on the internet, messages are being broad-casted both subtly and and loudly, which means the message can be anything ranging from looking at the world in a brighter way to highlighting ugly crimes by corrupt governments to outright disrespecting elders; to rephrase, both advantages and dangers come with memes, never only one or the other. Sometimes a meme has a positive message: for example, The OK boomer meme challenged the ignorance and superiority of elders who look at kids as just kids and nothing more. These elders don’t see intelligence or anything beyond the surface, just a kid who doesn’t know his place. OK boomer was so powerful because it was just two words that have no further negative meaning: just an acknowledgment of a claim. This was a tool for kids to counteract ignorance of “boomers,” but it also became an excuse to disrespect elders, teachers, parents, or anyone older. Those older than kids have the right to respect until they lose it, and cannot be ignored or disrespected because a kid doesn’t feel like listening. Memes are powerful tools because they unit all kids everywhere. They influence their actions, word choice, clothes, hobbies, etc. and must be regulated by parents so the dark side of memes don’t influence kids.
@Amshu Pudhota I agree that memes have many advantages and disadvantages. I also think that memes while not only have the advantage of being funny they can open up into deeper conversation not only when it is controversial. Memes could easily open up into a deeper conversation about philosophy as there are plenty of memes about philosophers. As well as while often memes do spark controversy as you said, that does not always create an argument or negative conversation. If two people were to talk about a controversial meme and have the same opinion it could create a passionate conversation about a topic.
I agree that using humor in difficult moments to process scary or hurtful information is good for an individual. It turns one’s attention away from their fear of the topic and instead comforts them with comedy. I know many people who use this tactic to cope with things that are concerning, including myself. This tactic is being used very often at the moment due to the pandemic throwing the U.S. into disarray. We are not able to completely change the Covd-19 situation as individuals, and there is fear in the back of thousands of teenagers minds at the moment. Teens are all forced to sit at home alone, giving them lots of time to think about the severity of the virus, and its impacts. Luckily, Tik Tok, a very popular social media platform among teens, is providing humorous content to help lighten the mood and to add in something positive to teens‘ daily life. This being said, using humor when talking about painful or tragic events is not always okay. There are certain times when humor can be pushed too far, and offend specific individuals. If a meme or a video is in any way offensive to someone, it is not acceptable. Sadly, this kind of humor can be seen throughout the world, such as the “ok boomer” phrase, which directly insults the boomer generation, implying that their opinions are not valid. Overall, using humor is a great way to cope with scary or hurtful information, but it is not acceptable to use humor if it is offensive or hurtful to a specific person or group.
Memes can either help or make a situation even worse. I go through memes whenever I'm stressed and need a laugh. A large number of memes are being made each day. Today, anybody can make a meme. It's not in every case clear why people post or make memes. Once in a while, we may feel that the memes are amusing, or we can identify with the individual in the photograph. Memes begin as photographs, which show the individual in an unflattering light. More often than not, the photograph is taken without consent and has low quality. With such a significant number of sorts of motivation and individuals making these them, it's unavoidable that a few memes will be harsh or belittling. Diversion is normally the main thrust behind most memes, and as many will know, a few thoughts of humor are not entertaining by any means. Of course, memes can be acceptable, and truly, they can carry delight to the universe, yet a few memes are unsafe. It is not necessarily the case that memes are awful, in truth memes are great. It's exactly when those memes are utilized to damage or ridicule others or treat genuine points like a joke, it can transform into a negative thing. Take a laugh at the great memes, and maintain a distance from the terrible ones. If an image can cause negative outcomes, at that point don't go there. All in all, memes are beneficial if used correctly. Laughing is the best medication, all things considered.
Instagram is an app that my friends and I use on a daily basis to see and send each other “memes”. Memes are everywhere and it is a modern way for the youth to interact with one another. I feel as if using this form of humor to process scary moments is necessary. For example, my sister was deeply affected because of this pandemic and got very sad as she was not able to experience some of the special senior traditions. Thankfully the memes made it so that she could get a good laugh out of the scary event. However, the article was correct in the fact that we need to educate ourselves so that we can distinguish any misleading information given. Being able to process the scary information to a light-hearted way helps society not take a drastic toll on its mental health.
A lot of times when something tragic happens I think an easy way out is to make fun of it. It allows for one to have an easy way to cope with the pain and allows for time to process what has happened. With that being said, there should be some things that are off limits and I think there is a time and place to use humor in that sense. When someone dies, making fun of them is very harmful and may be a way you cope with it, but not everyone wants to hear that. A lot of people don’t like to laugh when they are sad. With that being said, I use humor to cope. I think seeing something funny always makes me feel better. When my sports hero, Kobe Bryant, died I was devastated and I saw some very offensive memes about him. I saw memes that made me laugh even though I was so sad, though, and it made me feel better. I think humor is a great tool to feel better, I just think you have to know the time and place for it.
My social media is like my second mouth. It’s a platform for me to speak to more people and present my ideas and emotions in more ways than one. Using humor in difficult moments, to process scary or hurtful information, is beneficial because it allows the meme (or whichever format chosen) to be used as a coping mechanism. If I’m feeling lonely or tired, i’m likely to create a meme with a character that I relate to in that moment, and add in a caption that says something like “Quarantine got me like…”. After posing or sharing my meme with other on social media, I will likely see others like and agree with my meme. This will most likely help me cope with the emotion as I’m comforted by the fact that I’m not alone. So, in short, I believe that using humor can be very beneficial in expressing and coping with difficult moments.
I look at a variety of memes on a regular basis, so I know and understand most memes. However, there were times when I didn’t understand and had to ask a friend to explain it to me. Although I think that memes are harmless and can even help some people, I can understand why there can be possible dangers to memes, especially when the person doesn’t understand the meme completely. For example, when the “OK Boomer” memes were going around, it was meant to just be a joke to perceive something or someone's habits as being outdated. Some people however, mainly people that fall in the baby boomer generation, have taken it as an extreme offense or a personal attack on them. Although I have not personally seen a meme that crossed the line, i'm sure there are some memes out there that do cross the line and that’s not ok. Everything should be enjoyed in moderation.
@Dillan Bhakta I agree with what you are saying, and there seems to be a huge range of different types of memes. Some are just jokes about the current state of things, but others are outright disrespect towards a group of people. Like "OK Boomer," people have begun to post "tik toks" about COVID-19. The issue is that some of these people cross the line and rudely "call out" people of chinese heritage. Memes are starting to be used as a weapon against certain groups of people(such as the OK Boomer and COVID-19 example show) and something must be done to stop before more damage is done.
@Dillan Bhakta I agree with you and I would like to add that this sense of "crossing the line" is not unique to memes. This pattern of promote hurtful thinking through media has been around for centuries, and memes are just a new platform for that. However, I believe that just like any platform for communication, they can be regulated for harmful content.
People should be able to comedize something if it brings them light to the situation. They just need to be sensitive and aware of the people who treat the matter seriously and filter themselves at certain times so people don’t get offended. Although memes are prevalent, they’re only a mid-scale part of social media compared to other things that are posted. As long as people respect other people’s feelings about the situation or topic it’s usually okay to make humor out of a matter.
Yes I do, i believe it's healthy and normal to use humor in scary and difficult moments. Its how people cope with certain situation, its how i coped with losing my mom and i continue to do that.
I believe that memes have a place in all of this. I do not get news from memes. I think humor is a good way to cope with pain, just as much as any other.
There are countless numbers of memes on the internet that cover a wide range of topics. Whether it’s about an assignment in class or mimicking a TV character, almost anything you can think of has a meme to go with it. I personally understand how using such humor can lighten a dark situation, however, I strongly feel that humor isn’t always the right response at certain times. When dealing with scary and emotional events I don’t like to turn to humor quickly since it can be insensitive to others making a difficult situation more upsetting. The current COVID-19 crisis is a tragic experience for everyone around the world and unfortunately, many people are facing health problems, economic struggles, and are feeling panicked by their surroundings. I agree that some of the toilet paper memes were pretty funny, but some memes were a bit racist and upsetting to hear. Humor can be an easy way to cope with grief but isn’t always the right way to face situations and use when talking to others about painful and tragic events.
I believe that memes both can help and worsen a situation. There sometimes where a meme takes a very hard turn and becomes very offensive, sometimes causing an internet sensation. But I also think that memes help cope with the situation as stated in the article. Still, I believe that memes can be humorous and painful to some people.
@Rushi P Yes, I totally agree with you about this. Memes are a great way to help cope with fears and stress, especially during this time. But sometimes memes can be taken a little too far, and turned into something really bad. This usually occurs when the joke is directed towards a certain group or individual, such as the “ok boomer” phrase, which insults the validity of the entire baby boomer generation’s opinions. This is why I believe that memes are a great thing, just not when they are used to insult or offend a group or individual.
@Rushi P yeah , i agree to thi and memes can really impact people and become a trending fast and it wont really matter if they are good or bad peopl wont pay much attention and go with the flow just to follow others and sometimes hurt people with some memes.
Memes are something that I personally love since I spend a lot of my time with them. Not only now, but also when I was younger and more childish. I think memes can range from being clean and hilarious to being disrespectful and hilarious. This leads me to my next topic. I truly believe that memes should only be used as a source of humor as if the memes do tell the news, they only will only tell it in a way that makes it funny. Basically, they often don’t say the whole story and make the news meme out of context. This can lead to misjudgment from others as well as false opinions about something that people don’t really know about. Memes are used everywhere, so if people spread memes like news, there could be a mob mentality of anger, sadness, or etc. about something that shouldn’t be felt that way. As I said before, I love memes and I will continue to read them until they die out, but I would rather have a news article or TV station tell me the whole story rather than a meme making a joke of it.
Most children in school don't watch the news and rely on the internet to provide the information. Making a joke about the situation is a good way to deal with that situation and get a good understanding of it. Even before the internet, we had political cartoons. They were the same exact thing but just not posted online but sent the same message. Though most of the time it is oversimplified and people aren't getting the information they need, but just looking at a funny picture and reading a couple words under it. But, in serious situations like what we are going through, when it is formed into a joke it takes the distress out of the situation and makes you look towards a positive side.
@Sathvik Sagi I agree that making a joke is a good way to deal with a possibly frightening situation, but it does not help them give a good understanding of a situation. If children get used to making jokes out of serious situations, they can end up hurting someone by making a joke about their situation. Although it does take the stress out of a situation, it also gives a completely different meaning to the situation.
@Sathvik Sagi Yes, I agree but at the same time don’t you think many take the joke too far and even potentially use it as a weapon? I feel like there comes a point where it is ant used to feel better but rather to make others feel worse. I’d like to know what you think.
@Sathvik Sagi Yes, I agree that making jokes can help lighten situations that are serious like COVID-19 epidemic. However, there some people who joke too far when they don’t realize how offensive it is to people. When telling jokes or showing memes, they must think whether it is appropriate or not.
There are advantages and dangers that come with making a point through images and few words.With fewer words this allows for greater interpretation and perhaps an “eye of the beholder” situation, which can be offensive to some and also entertaining to someone else.Because every social media platform uses memes in some way shape or form there have been hundred of memes i felt have crossed the line but sometimes the humor in them is that they cross the line. The same as a comedian in the 80’s with what some would call “sick humor” would be expressed the same way through a meme that crosses the line in 2020.Because stand up comedians have become a rarity the majority of our comedy comes through memes and some of it can go too far.
Using humor in difficult moments is justified to process hurtful or serious information. Laughing or telling jokes about the situation at hand is a way to cope with any emotions that reside from learning about a hardship or even experiencing it. With humorous remarks, people have a chance to see a positive outcome or forget about the dark, serious circumstance at hand. Although the use of humor can be beneficial, it can also be detrimental of society’s view of a grave situation or making light of it. At times, it is not OK to use humor in grasping or understanding grave circumstances because reality needs to be acknowledged and not made lightly. Also, making fun of a situation can hurt others, deeming it irresponsible and disrespectful. As a result, humor, which is being present in memes, can be used but to some extent where its portrayal is still respectful and acknowledges the reality of the circumstances.
@Shreepal Humour is a great source to take your mind off things that may be serious, but in terms of giving you the right information, it might do less well in that. If people are joking about a serious event, I think humour, as you said, is a great way to process the information. However, I don't believe that people get all the information they need through a few words that make light of the situation. I agree for the most part as I believe that people should be fully informed of the things they want to know through a more serious outlet than memes. As you said, there should be an extent to what memes can do as a news source and if someone really wants information they shouldn't get it through a joke.
There are advantages and disadvantages to making a point with mostly images and little words. One advantage is it can be humorous to many people with visual pictures rather than all words. One disadvantage is that it can be perceived in many different ways by many different people with different thoughts, values, beliefs, etc. These different ways of thinking from different people can be seen as offensive to some people which is a negative thing. I look at a lot of these memes because I am on social media where a lot of them are posted and my friends and I send a lot to each other. Some of them can be inappropriate and can be seen as offensive to some people so I do think about things like what if I was a person this meme was making fun of. Some of these memes can spark arguments and can take things further than they ever needed to go.
Using humor in difficult moments to process scary or hurtful information is usually not ok if you’re talking about painful or tragic account because you are making fun of a event where people got hurt or even died. Even though it’s wrong people still make fun of it because it’s because they think it’s funny. I’m even guilty of this. Earlier in the year I remember of people talking about WW3 and the end of the world happening. Even though this was a serious event I could see how people thought it was funny. Most of us young teenagers have never liked through a real war on US like the Cold War. We don’t have the fear that older people had during the Cold War so we don’t know how scary it could be. I think us teenagers should understand how serious this topic is and hopefully we don‘t make fun of it anymore.
In today’s society, some people don’t watch the news, instead they rely on memes to know what’s going on in the world. They may not watch the news for various reasons including that it’s often times depressing, it may be because they don’t have time, or even just that they aren’t interested in the news. Sometimes this can lead to misinformation being spread. Memes absolutely should not be someone's primary news source. If they were, misinformation would spread leading to the wrong actions being taken, or an unnecessary panic occurring. More often than not, memes cannot fully encapsulate the entirety of a situation, so they will likely take the most comedic parts of the situation. To make light of serious topics is okay in my opinion as long as it doesn’t cross the line. There definitely is a line that you shouldn’t cross, and some news shouldn’t be made fun of at all. If the memes are overly mean or certain events occurred, the meme shouldn’t have been made and posted. However, if the memes are in good spirit and the events occurring aren’t too serious, I think that making light out of some dark is alright from my standpoint.
@Harry R. Yes some lines should not be crossed though i don’t believe there is a definitive “line”.Because our entire lives have become interconnected through social media and technology there is very little that we do not know about one another.With this we have a more family like connection with society and this is shown by the humor we are able to create.Though we also have no barriers as to what is inappropriate anymore, and i think that making light of dark things is part of the reason there is no boundary. Before the era of technology what was in the dark remained in the dark, and now with cameras and every person with their own ideologies, there is never a solitary moment apart from societies opinions or views on you.All eyes on everyone allow for people to no longer worry as bout the sensitivity of the situation and continue to be liked by the majority of the publi.
Although there’s benefits of using technology to keep track of where a person's children are, there are also numerous downsides. Needing technology to know your child’s exact location jeopardizes the trust between a parent and child. Many parents become obsessive in checking their child’s location, thus becoming an invasion of privacy. Keeping tabs on your children 24/7 is an overbearing method of parenting and does not truly protect your children. There’s always a way to break through technology as well and constantly being monitored leads children to become sneaky. A persons mistakes better them for their future, and if someone feels as if they can’t make a wrong move without being supervised holds them back from a vital stage of development.
@Jaserah Chowdhury
Yes, and technology can also breach effective communication and intentions, when although it is being used for safety reasons, it is also spreading the message to the child that they have limited independence and freedom. This will just cause a further gap of the relationship between parent and child, and the amount of technology used for tracking should be acknowledged.
I use memes daily and I do not usually use it as a news source. If I were to see a meme I would most likely know whats going on. This article talks about how we look at memes to "cope with something" but really I look at it because they're funny. Memes are just a good way to spend time and get a good laugh. Although there some memes that make fun of sensitive topics and go overboard. Some people will get offended and other people will not care; but the thing about memes is that they are just jokes. I do not think that memes misinform people because people know that they are just jokes and not take it seriously. In fact I've learned some cool stuff from memes. I think that as long as memes do not cross the line about sensitive topics; that they can be a good way to spend time.
I believe that everything should stay in limits. If we talk about memes sometimes people just take serious situations way too lightly and share it with others as memes which cause others to take that situation lightly too this thing makes a network of people with fake knowledge especially for those who people don’t know about reality or don’t like to see the real thing in news or somewhat. There are some type of memes that makes us laugh and spread positivity. Unlike other stuff memes also have pros and cons.
I think memes should not be a primary news source, memes are not a reliable resource, and could be misleading, or corruptive. The point of a meme is to be funny, and having memes as a primary news source could downplay the severity of a situation. The COVID-19 memes, for example, could mislead people, and give them false information, in a time when it is necessary to be informed. However, memes are not all bad, memes could make light of a dark situation, and help people laugh. I think that as long as the memes are not misinforming people, and they are not the primary news source, they could be beneficial, and productive.
The world has been going through a lot since the beginning of this year such as the outbreak of the coronavirus and world war three nearly starting and this has been tough for some people. For some people in order to cope with these situations, they use memes which is can be a source of laughter and stress relief. They use memes to help process such information, so that they know that they are going to be fine and that they shouldn’t worry about it a lot.
@Gautam Yes I do agree with you a lot of important events have happened during the beginning of 2020 and a lot of people have coped with this situation by using memes. I’m guilty of this by laughing about instagram memes which made fun of stuff like Iran vs America (WW3) and Coronavirus. I remember a while ago I saw this meme about about how a WW3 meme would be the last thing we would see before we die and I laughed at it because I couldn’t believe that we were gonna die. Realistically speaking we did have the chance that WW3 could have happened.
@Gautam Yes, and the world is constantly evolving so much that today's tolls can be easily be relieved with memes. Everyone is currently in isolation. It is hard to communicate with others as the world is in fear of social interaction. Suppressing ones feelings can negatively affect humans and as you mentioned we can cope via memes.
I do agree with the article about using humor in difficult moments to process scary or hurtful information. Humor is extremely useful in de-stressing on an everyday basis. We’ve all heard the phrase, “Laughter is the best medicine.” Amidst processing hurtful information, humor can serve as a coping mechanism for many people and give them a temporary break from their stress or pain. Sometimes it isn’t acceptable to use humor while talking about painful or tragic events. Although any joke can be taken the wrong way, some jokes about some touchy subjects like religion, racism or terrorism can be extremely disrespectful and infuriate many people unintentionally. For example, joking about death right after your friend lost a loved one wouldn’t be acceptable. However, humor during stressful or painful situations can brighten people’s days and help them get through difficult times.
Memes can be a wonderful, humorous way to connect with others over shared experiences, but there are instances when memes can be discriminatory and inspire apathy in viewers. For example, the Wuhan coronavirus has inspired a number of memes that attack Chinese people, making fun of their eating habits or joking about them intentionally spreading the virus. Not only is this offensive to Chinese people and their culture, but it also encourages racism towards Asians, which can sometimes lead to violence. While memes that make light of traumatic events can help to cope with the stress of the experience, they can also cause viewers to become indifferent to others’ struggles. This is especially visible in memes regarding mental illness; although it is a serious topic, memes often make fun of mental disorders, which takes away from the gravity of the subject while hurting people who truly suffer from such disorders.
Memes have become a huge part of the society. They change as the time passes and new events occur. I think that the memes should not become someone’s source of news. Even though they are related to the modern events, they often manipulate the information to make it more humorous and light. For instance, I received a meme which said that in order to fight the corona virus we should buy all the toilet paper. This meme was simply making fun of the fact that everyone has started buying toilet paper like crazy. If I had used this meme as a news source, then I would have definitely missed the important information, like sanitation and social distancing, that actually help to prevent corona virus. This is why a meme should be considered only a joke and not trustworthy information. Even though memes are made for fun, many people believe that they keep them informed about the current events of the world. The fact that the memes talk about the current/ popular events is right but at the same time, the information is often misleading, just like the toilet paper meme. Lastly, one’s news source should be credible and memes are definitely not because they are made by all types of people. For example, one of my friend made a meme on the corona virus and he is surely not an expert in that field. This emphasizes that memes should be taken as a source of mere enjoyment and news should only be considered from experts.
Social media and the internet are major platforms for one to get their news from, and it is the best way to inform and spread awareness. By spreading factually incorrect memes that come to be viral, it spreads false news and leads to misinformation. Memes also use a lot of satire, and can possibly spread oppression through the use of memes. In my opinion, it is regressive to allow misogynist memes to spread information. Last year, a meme about Kamala Harris was made, preposterously comparing her to Rachel Dolezal, a white woman who made false claims about being black. This meme, that became viral and caused a lot of people to get fake news, questioned her identity in a misogynistic way that led many people be opposed to her by seeing one meme. A facebook meme that uploaded a picture of two actors from The Walking Dead dressed as police officers with the caption “THIS IS HUGE!!! Why isn’t the mainstream media covering this? These two officers in Georgia have killed over 250 people in the line of duty!” caused many hate comments to emerge. While the post was meant to be a joke, people unfamiliar with the show and the actors took it seriously, and it was shared with tons of people across the internet. The spread of hate comments against the US and the police force rose, with rising oppressive comments. Memes can lack respect and lead to the spread of false news, which can be offensive as well as spread ideas with negativity.
Since the beginning of this year, the world as a whole has been going through a lot. Facing these harsh realities — like the possibility of the third world war or a virus outbreak worldwide —has been tough for everyone. In order to cope with these situations, many people turn towards humor, a pretty harmless option. One of the most common resources for humor nowadays is memes. Personally, memes are a pretty harmless and efficient source for humor. It entertains people while also talking about topical issues. Although, it is very easy to spread misinformation through memes, people don’t usually take memes that seriously. People only look at the memes, laugh about it, maybe even share it to their friends, but no one takes them seriously. Therefore, I think memes are a great way of being entertained while in a tense situation, such as now.
I agree with the fact that memes spread laughter but they also hurt many people. Memes are often racist and this could end up making someone upset. They target a specific race in order to make others laugh and this is not fair. Not only that, many people of a specific race are made fun of in their daily lives due to a racist meme. Memes that do not target someone specific are okay and should be made as they make everyone laugh.
Usually, I will know about the topic before seeing a meme on it, but there are rare occasions where I will actually learn about an important situation through a meme. This can be both positive and negative as it is efficiently spreading the information, but could give someone the wrong idea about what is happening. It could potentially give someone the wrong idea about what is happening and provide incorrect of heavily exaggerated information. I believe that to an extent, it is okay to laugh at serious news, as long as one also understands the significance and its impact.
Personally, I know the importance of humor, but I also know it’s risky to joke around the border-line of painful topics. I believe you can joke about anything, you just need to know the people whom you are telling the joke to. If they had a tragic experience with the death of a family member, they might not find jokes about death all that funny. Some people use jokes as a tension-breakers, and this I am perfectly ok with, so long don’t use these jokes in a serious conversation—there are just certain given topics you shouldn’t joke about—and it should be obvious which topics these are. I completely agree with the article, humor can be a great way to relieve anxiety. Again, know the person receiving the joke, and predict how they might react.
@Josh Yes I absolutely agree with you. Making a joke as a coping mechanism is fine, as long as the person on the receiving end of the joke is fine with it too. Also, making humor out of something that can personally affect a person does not seem right. Other than that, making jokes in most situations can ease everyone’s anxiousness.
I completely agree with using humor in difficult moments to process scary or hurtful information. Many people during situations of stress where they are scared and are not sure if they are gonna be fine after the situation, they look towards humor to lighten their mood up. Sometimes they might go too far but they usually have good intentions, to just stir up a laugh and move on.
@Rishi Balusu I agree with this. Many people I’ve seen who have suffered through difficult situations used memes in order to cope with themselves and to reassure that things will be fine. It’s also interesting at how people could use memes in get away from their real world problems and just get out a good laugh every once in a while.
@Rishi Balusu I agree with you. Using memes are a good way to cope with things as scary as what's currently going on. Sometimes it gets taken too far but this is the first time anyone of us has experienced something like this. There are a lot of racial jokes which I believe are creating this negative feeling around memes.
The author seemed to be against memes that challenged the seriousness of something as war and make teenagers falsely believe that they are ready because they train on video games. But a point which should have been in the article in my opinion is that all these memes are solely for the purpose of entertainment and not to be taken seriously. These memes may provide false information but frankly no teenager is gonna act up on that false information and take it seriously and learn from it thinking that its true. Eventhough i agree that some memes do take it a bit far but i don't think it is really going to affect a teen mind as much as it was shown in the article because speaking as a teen we have much more stuff to worry about other than memes which are just for that 5 second quick entertainment to relieve the stress that a teenager which is greatly ignored by society.
Although I see memes as something that is funny, sometimes the memes could go too far and have a negative affect on people. Sometimes, joking about everything is not a very wise decision because somethings are not worth joking about. In the beginning of the memes for the coronavirus, I was personally okay with it because it wasn’t so extreme but with time going on, the memes became more and more racist. It was almost as it the creator of the memes did not understand the seriousness of the memes. On the contrary, if the meme processes negative information for someone to process in a humorous way, it may benefit his/her mental health. There are many people that don’t read/ listen/ watch the news and memes are basically their source of information. For those people, if the memes aren’t showing the seriousness of a situation, they may misunderstand it and feel like the situation is not a big deal.
A global outbreak has killed thousands of people doesn’t seem like a likely source of humor, but the internet can’t stop cracking jokes about it. As governments around the world warn citizens to take precautions to avoid the coronavirus, young people such as teenagers are using social media platforms to set their energy into something a little less serious. I really don't think this is something to laugh about.
A global outbreak has killed thousands of people doesn’t seem like a likely source of humor, but the internet can’t stop cracking jokes about it. As governments around the world warn citizens to take precautions to avoid the coronavirus, young people such as teenagers are using social media platforms to set their energy into something a little less serious. I really don't think this is something to laugh about.
Everytime I go onto my Instagram its either to respond to someone's messages or just scroll aimlessly through my explore page. I‘ve tailored my explore page to my interests and memes based off of those interests, reading memes brings me enjoyment and it's a coping mechanism. Personally I feel that everyone has their own ways of letting out stress and reaching out. But there is always a line that you should not cross, discussing factually incorrect information that can become harmful and is not right. I definitely can say that I personally process difficult information with humor. It’s my coping mechanism that can go too far sometimes. But when using memes to address scary information there should be a basic understanding and courtesy that does not offend the majority. The meme surrounding getting the coronavirus from Chinese restaurants was a low blow. People left restaurants with no revenue and forced many to close down. This trend while seemingly being just a new joke that “came with“ the coronavirus, was highly xenophobic and destructive. There should definitely be a clearer line drawn between what you can and can't do.
@Anette I also use humor as a way to process stressful moments and I find that it is a good coping mechanism for me. I noticed a trend of racist coronavirus memes as well on my social media home pages and definitely agree that sometimes what started as a harmless joke can cross a line becoming rude and upsetting for others. Unknowingly, this causes problems for others, as you mentioned about Chinese restaurants in your comment.
Humor is the way some people deal with serious situations, and helps people find a source of comfort.Although sometimes people may look at Memes differently and take offense and may mislead them on the situation since the memes may not be able to be explained well and the positive/ humorous message could get lost along the way as it gets popular.But I think if you do use memes as a source of finding out news you should still check a verified news source to see if the meme is accurate or not.
@Mia yes i agree with you that memes are a way fro some people to deal with serious situations and also the part about finding out news in a meme which brings me to point in my comment which was i do not think any teenager learns from the and picks up the news from memes which may or may nit be true and if they do i believe all teenagers are used to googling everything they hear so i am sure they would definitely google it to find out if it is true
Memes are a way of life, an intrinsic part of people of culture. If they aren’t an intrinsic part of you life, you aren’t a person of culture. Just kidding. I feel that memes are enjoyable and do give some updates on what is happening, but they aren’t good enough to actually give any real information about what is happening in the world. I really do understand that memes are not too good of a piece of news, but I don’t actually look for anything so they are my only piece of news. This is what I regret. When I saw memes about things like WW3, I was genuinely scared of what could happen because I thought those things were actually real. I later learned from my family that that was actually all a joke. This is why now, I don’t trust too many memes, and actually watch the news my dad puts on the TV.
It is okay to laugh at serious news as long as the news does not put someone down. If a meme is funny to many people without hurting people, it can bring joy to people in a time of distress. Memes can calm people if made correctly. For example, memes about the toilet paper and hand sanitizer shortages are not offensive. In fact, these memes can inform people to stop hoarding items and realize their mistakes. On the other hand, memes about World War 3 were offensive and inaccurate. Memes can be someone’s news source as long as it is not the person’s only news source. If people only use memes for news without another source to backup the information, they can misunderstand the information. Memes are often exaggerated or misunderstood. In these situations, if people used memes for news, unnecessary panic could be created.
@Karthik N I agree with you on the fact that memes are completely fine as long as they don't cross the line. I find many memes a source of humor, but they also tend to mislead me when they go to far.
@Karthik N yes, you are absolutely correct, and I think It’s important for people to do research before making a conclusion about the topic. Memes provide humor and are great stress-relievers, but I think it’s important to also know what the actual situation is—like WW3 for example. When put into a meme, information, like the article said, could be faked and spread dales rumors. That’s where the line of humor and facts gets crossed. You can find those jokes funny, but it’s best you know the real news behind it.
I do think it is okay to use humor to process those emotions. Obviously, coping through humor is not for everyone, but it can really help some people understand their emotions and heal. For example, Pete Davidson, a well known comedian, often uses humor to explore darker topics. I do think it should come with some sort of warning. Not everyone likes humor in those situations, and a lot of people believe it is offensive. However, if it helps someone process those feelings and positively benefits their mental health and state of mind it should be allowed. This article focuses on kids and teens. It’s difficult for teenagers to understand the enormity of certain situations-for them memes help condense the information in a less scary way.
@Nikita N I agree with and your stance on using humor as a coping mechanism. And that they are a healthy way to process feelings that lead to a better state of mind. But people should be weary of what they post on the internet because what might seem funny to one person could be harmful joke to someone else. Memes should reflect the climate surrounding an issue but not go too far.
@Nikita N I like your idea about creating warnings for humorous content that could offend viewers. Although much of the content online may be harmless, it is important to respect others.
Everyone has different lines, when a joke is too much for them. But despite the fact that sometimes memes can be risky, its still a great way to laugh in times of hardship. We know most memes out there are on topics like current events. But that doesn’t mean memes are there as a news source. In fact, many of my friends and I see memes about topics we don’t know about, which makes us curious enough to use actual sources for information. This was also how I decided to learn more about the Coronavirus. I know many people in my school who did the same. Not only this, but memes are an outlet during distressing times. When we see things going on like the coronavirus, and more, we all have different coping mechanisms. I for one, can agree that humor takes my mind off of things, which is true for many of my classmates as well. When people see jokes about coronavirus, it is not to ignore the suffering of others, but to temporarily distract from the current situation. Many people may say that some of these jokes go too far, and that may be very true, but if that is someone’s way of coping with a rough patch, wouldn’t it be very detrimental to that person to take that away? And a solution to all of this, is that if memes are too much personally, avoid reading them, and if you know someone like that, avoid making jokes that may trigger them. Because memes aren’t about disrespecting others, but providing humor to those who understand and appreciate it.
@Tanya N I completely agree with you that while memes or certain jokes may be offputting to some, they can be extremely beneficial to the mental well-being of others. Like you said, memes like that are best used with others who will respond similarly and understand what the author of the meme is trying to get at.
I agree that memes make light of a serious situation, but in my opinion, that's what memes are for. Memes aren't a form of news for people, it's a form of entertainment. The seriousness of war and pandemics aren't undermined by memes, it's only being shown in a new light. The solution is not sitting down and talking about family values, however Reinforcing a child's moral code is good, but it won't have any effect on meme culture. Because most memes are usually ironic. It's like saying that children un-ironically believe that Call of Duty will make them ready for war this is not true and children understand the fine line between common sense and entertainment. in the end it's just jokes people who take jokes personal are the real problem
I don't think it’s ok to use humor to process difficult moments. Because it can seriously offend someone that might be in that situation. For example, the biggest event going on right now, the coronavirus. People are making memes and making fun of the situation. When almost 200,000 people died from this virus. Since I'm Asian, my friends say I have the coronavirus. I don't take offend to stuff like that because I know they are just making jokes. But some people that might have it can take offend to just simple jokes like that and get really hurt by it.
Yes because everyone is different and some people may not care and others might. I think that around your friends it is okay because they know that you are joking and you don't mean it. But I don't think its okay to say to a stranger because they might think your serious and might've gone through that situation and take offense.
I agree in the sense hat humor is a way that the younger generation cope. The thing I don't agree with is the article itself. They talk about the meme “ok boomer” and this is why that meme is a thing. I feel as if the article took memesway out of proportions in my opinion if your kid is saying those things to you it's not because of the memes it's because of you as a parent. I think it's always ok to use humor, but there are sometimes that you can outwardly show it. Laughing at a funeral is disrespectful making jokes about your dead relative to someone is better and less disrespectful. I don't think memes are really meant to cope with bad things I think we make memes because that's how our generation is. We have a mentality like why care about corona and how it's going to kill us when I just got a bunch of time to become tik tok famous.
Everyday, at one point, I feel overwhelmed about the events happening around me or I’m worn out from work I did in the day. What I look for then aren’t facts, statistics, or even the truth, it‘s an escape from reality, a different way to process what’s going on around me. Light humor, like memes helps solve that. They could be rude to some people, but to others it might be a safe haven, a place where they can feel like they don’t need to worry about the worldly problems going on around them and laugh it off. It makes them feel much better, also not to mention, memes are everywhere on the internet making it almost impossible for someone who uses the internet to have not encountered memes. Sometimes, memes could get excessive, that is unhealthy but light humor is necessary in one’s life to avoid overthinking things, and have healthy mental state. For example, if someone had a bad memory as a child, rather than confronting it and becoming more hurt, being able to occupy your mind with different things can help lessen the pain, memes are especially good at that. When they do that for a while the memory could become less traumatic and they could live their life like they used to, happy and free.
@Greeshma Nerella when you see memes about struggles and how people make fun of them most people don't think wow why would they make fun of a situation like this they actually think wow other people are going through this too and if they can get past it and make jokes about it so can I and it helps you move forward
I agree that there can be many ways for adults to talk to teenagers about using memes appropriately. Nowadays, with the advancement of technology, the young generation can now use their social media to get news from the memes speedily. There are many advantages of memes, including entertaining the audience, giving the information quickly and visualizing the events, subjects or objects. A meme is often made of one or more images and a few words to guide the audience. While scrolling down the screen, teenagers can be able to stop at each meme for about ten to twenty seconds only and directly be able to understand what it is talking about. Compared to an article, which has more detailed information and accurate sources, a bunch of words and paragraphs might not be an option for many teenagers. On the other hand, beside the advantages in entertaining, memes can also affect the audience negatively. There are not many ways to check the accuracy of a meme, other than searching up for online articles from the authoritative newspapers. It is important for teenagers to know to check the accuracy of memes, as well as educating themselves by reading more articles on the newspapers.
I think that the advantage of using pictures and few words to describe an event is that it helps to depict what the person who made the meme is feeling or trying to say without it taking a long time.
I haven’t ever seen a meme that crossed the line or offended me but others could have been offended because they could have related to it such as the WW3 memes or Coronavirus memes. Those memes may not be offensive to some people but to other people such as people that have experienced war or may have dealt with the coronavirus it could be offensive.
I feel like using humor while explaining a difficult topic isn’t a bad thing. Getting beaten down with just negativity just gets boring. Adding a little bit of humor keeps you engaged and makes you want to continue to listen. Although, being too humorous while explaining something serious isn’t something that should be done. If you’re too humorous trying to explain something serious, people won’t take you serious. An example of using the right amount of humor while explaining something serious, was whenever my man Steve Harvey was making announcement about the passing about his mother. Even though he was tearing up about it, he still cracked some funny and related black mom jokes. The jokes eased the whole situation. Now some people just think that staying serious is the way to go. That it’s more professional to do it that way. I can see why, but I don’t agree.
I personally think using humor in difficult moments can be hurtful or offensive.Many people might find memes offensive but they should be aware of the fact that it is not meant to be offensive and is just a joke.
I guess the good side of using memes is that it makes everyone feel connected, and feel like they are not the only person that can relate to a specific topic. Some of them give you a good laugh too and cheer you up. My brother has an Instagram account just to look at memes. He always sends me funny memes that have to do with absolutely nothing but we always laugh at them together. I just think that you’d have to have been put in an bad situation to take a specific topic seriously. If they're talking about politics, race, or gender, the more serious subjects, and you're sensitive to any of these topics because they might correlate with your past in a bad way, then you might take offense to them. Like in the article I read today, the author‘s sons had come home one day laughing about “World War 3” and how they were ready to go and fight. The writer was so conflicted by this behavior because her husband was in the marine, so she felt a personal connection to this topic. Her sons however had no trouble talking about it. Maybe it’s because they’ve never met their dad, or maybe they're struggling to cope with the fact that they’re dads already facing some type of war. Whatever it is, I think that memes can have both a plus side and a negative side to them.
I believe it is okay to use humor or make jokes about stuff if the “scary or hurtful” information doesn’t directly relate to you but if it does relate to you or someone you know it’s usually best to just wait and after a while it usually ends up being less bad to make the joke after a while. Like in Kobe Bryant’s recent death, many people have made memes and jokes about it and almost everyone will comment on the post something like “too soon” or will just get mad at the user.
@Jack Webb I totally agree that people have helped cope with things such as Kobe’s death with memes and that has how it has helped them get through it
I agree that memes make light of a serious situation, but in my opinion, that's what memes are for. Memes aren't a form of news for children, it's a from of entertainment. The sentiment of war and pandemics aren't undermined by memes, it's only being shed in a new light. The solution that's presented in this article, about sitting down and talking about family values, is inconsequential in my opinion. Reinforcing a child's moral code is good, but it won't have any effect on meme culture. This is because, most of the time, your children aren't making the memes and the ones they see are usually ironic. There is a difference between memes and common sense, they're mutually exclusive. Children don't make their opinions on memes, they laugh AT them. This form of entertainment may impact a child's behavior, but it certainly isn't the only cause. It's like saying that children un-ironically believe that Call of Duty will make them ready for war or the TV show You supports stalkers. Neither of those are true and children understand the fine line between common sense and entertainment. If toxic masculinity is an issue, then it may be a toxic masculine figure in the child's life, not memes. In this day and age, we can make a joke about anything. If it crosses a line or not, it's all relative, it's all based on a person's opinion. But at the end of the day, it's all just a joke.
@Tanisha Chaudhuri I completely agree with what you say, memes are a source of entertainment for everyone. The way one feels due to the meme’s message is just a difference in values, experiences and culture. And memes are jokes to laugh at, not news to be consumed. They shed a different light on an event, one that is lighter and humorous, memes vary between people, ones who make them and interpret them. If one crosses a line according to someone, its just a difference between their moral standards, accepting that makes us a more knit-together as a society.
@Tanisha Chaudhuri I agree with your point, in that at the end of the day, its a joke. This concept is similar with something we do everyday. I always tailor the jokes I make to the people I’m around. If one group of friends can take meaner or more harsh jokes, everyone in the group makes them. But I would never say those same jokes to someone I know to be very sensitive or insecure. Because the intent of the joke is what really matters. The reason memes are a bigger issue than in-person jokes, it that it cannot be filtered. And the best way to deal with this, is that if you know that you do not like jokes of that nature, avoid reading it so that it cannot impact anyone negatively.
Whether its scrolling through instagram, twitter, or tiktok, memes are everywhere. Memes are a big part of the teenage culture. When I scroll through Instagram, most likely I find at least meme about a controversial topic or issue. Even though this can be viewed as harmful or offensive, it is acceptable to use humor in difficult moments to process scary or hurtful information, as long as you don’t use the humor to impact your views on the issue. Humor is an excellent coping mechanism, especially for people of young age. For example, when a baby is crying, we try to make silly faces hoping the baby would start laughing. Though a baby crying holds a much less gravity than controversial topics, there is no harm in using humor to lighten the mood. Though some might say teenagers will use humor to disrespect the controversial topics, it should be known that memes are never meant to be taken seriously. As long as people don’t let memes impact their current view on a controversial topic, there is no harm in using humor to get a quick laugh.
I think that humorous memes are a way of spreading information that intrigues the authors. However, humorous memes lessen the severity of several news topics. For example, only looking and coronavirus memes will not make any person afraid, however looking at actual news sources, people will understand the gravity of the situation and act accordingly. Personally, if I were to look at memes, it would be for fun or to take my mind off of something serious, but not for advice. Memes also tend to spread rumors, which if believed, can lead to confusion in the future. If someone is to completely believe the information given from a meme, they could either be scared or happy for the wrong reason. Due to this, I believe that memes can be a way of spreading the word and calming people in serious situations, but not to give information, being a valid news source.
@Maruthi Eranki I agree that memes can easily spread false information, but can also help lighten the mood for our generation.
Memes could be harmful to certain extents, and to certain age groups. On one hand, some people can just scroll and move on with their life thinking it’s harmless, or that it’s just an image online. That’s usually what I do. I don’t think about it too much cause it doesn’t impact me or make me act any different. On the other hand, I think it could be harmful to the younger generations. They don’t really know better when they first get on Instagram or Snapchat, etc.. For example, in the article, one of the mom’s sons said that “‘Iran should just bomb the U.S.’” and “‘get it over with’”. In my perspective, that comment is totally not okay. I’ve also heard (a long time ago when I was about 11 years old) teens say “‘that’s cancerous’” on a video game I used to play, it meant that something was really bad. After a while, I started saying it myself due to seeing and hearing it so many times. But today that term makes me uncomfortable, not just because I’ve lost someone to cancer since then but I remember feeling weird when I said it back then too cause I knew my mom wouldn’t like me saying it. I guess my point is that children who don't know any better are more impressionable. Overall I think it just depends on age, environment, and possibly...upbringing? I guess my point is that children who don't know any better are more impressionable. Not too sure but that’s my perspective.
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Memes are everywhere on the internet. Scattered through videos and posts and more, memes are made to laugh at. However funny memes are though, they should not be replaced by regular news sources. First of all, memes may be hilarious but that may also make people insensitive towards a situation. Now of course freedom of speech is allowed, but memes (which have a majority child audience) can be insensitive towards those who are in a different situation than the creators of the memes. For example, during the toilet paper issue I was interviewing people at Brookhaven Country Club on why they needed toilet paper. Most had good reasons like certain medical conditions and number of people at their home. Some memes may teach children that no matter what position they are in, that they are allowed to judge others freely. An ideology like this brings on a lack of empathy which divides people rather than brings them together to fight a crisis. Another problem, is that memes may also spread misinformation, memes after all are a form of comedy. Comedy can be subjective which can make the meme bias and spread misinformation. In a crisis situation it is of utmost importance that every one, including children, are well informed on what to do or how to respond in situations like this. By staying misinformed communities could take the crisis too lightly which poses a threat.
I think that it is good to use this popular source of entertaining humor to process scary or hurtful information due to the fact that everyone isn’t capable of expressing their feelings regarding scary or hurtful information. The humor that is expressed in memes provides a passage of expression and acceptance for people who are not as comfortable talking about how they feel. I personally use memes to understand the scary world beyond my screen. I usually do not talk about my views or fears about the real world due to the fact that I am very uncomfortable talking about anything in close regard to my emotions. Some people may not be able to express their emotions due to lack of exposure or mental conditions, but humor is a universal passage to expression and acceptance. Although, the suppression of emotions and fears can prove to be extremely unhealthy. The humor that memes provide only provide a temporary solution to understanding and it is better to express yourself after a long time of suppression.
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@Anagha I agree with you that humor that memes provide can help many people to understand the horrific stories, especially for children.
I agree that a lot of people, especially guys use humor to cover up their true emotions. This is because sometimes we feel like it is either unmasculine to show our true emotions, or because we feel we need to be there for others. Although I agree that this is common I do not necessarily feel it is a smart or healthy practice. I believe that when people feel the need to hide their emotions, their emotions eventually become suppressed and it is hard to get them back out. For example if a person is so used to acting like they are somebody else, they may lose sight of who they really are and what their true beliefs are. This seems to be a problem a lot of high school students have as they struggle to fit into to social norms. This practice I believe can be harmful in the long run if used consistently, however there are times where it can be used constructively. For example if you are in a situation where it would be best to not show your true emotions because it could put you in harms way or could get you into trouble. In a situation similar to this it might be best to temporarily cover emotions with humor. I agree that this is a common practice and that it could possibly be beneficial in some ways. However if used consistently it is not healthy and can do more harm than good in the long run.
Memes have become a source of entertainment and humor and there is a copious amount on social media platforms. They tend to be a source of a good laugh and a sense of similarity. However, memes are often based on covering global events and topics of concern, which can potentially be harmful. Because many teens rely on memes to receive news, they consume biased or falsified information which is mainly the result of the preferential and partial facts presented. Furthermore, memes can often create a disrespectful atmosphere and the offensive content can dreadfully affect individuals. Presumably, during this current situation of the COVID-19, there is an abundance of memes about the circumstances, manifesting humor and indifference to canvas the concerning situation. Many may take offense and consider the memes to be ignorant of the severity of the occurrences. Individuals that have been tested positive may consider this to be extremely disrespectful and rash. I believe it is imperative to ensure that jokes and memes stray away from being disrespectful and shouldn’t cross the line where they could be perceived to be offensive.
@Anusha I agree with your viewpoint, but memes can also be a form of expression. Not everyone is capable of expressing how they feel so using this source of entertainment to project how they feel helps with the understanding and acceptance of these feelings.
@Anusha I agree that memes could be considered disrespectful and rash, but I think that's all relative. Any and every meme has the chance to offend someone, but what may be disrespectful to me, may not be disrespectful to you. It's hard to make sure that every meme is 100% not offensive. That being said, notice what happens when people start understanding the depth of a situation. Just a few months ago, COVID-19 memes were everywhere, but now that it's so close to us, there are very few Coronavirus memes in circulation. And all of those memes are about washing your hands or stocking up on toilet paper. Once people understand how grave a situation is, the internet as a whole agrees to respect it, or at least the decent ones do. It's difficult to deem memes as harmful or helpful because of this.
I think they are dangers that come with making a point with mostly images and a few words. Putting anything online can be dangerous and be used against someone. Such to the point that people are in risk. One can easily misinterpret a meme to something offensive when the sole purpose was make someone laugh. This is because words are not the main focus. Memes mostly consist of pictures that convey feelings about a certain topic. People can go as far as taking it as a threat and get the police involved just because someone might have misunderstood the meaning of the comedic idea. Personally, I have seen a meme that has crossed a line. It blamed a certain group of people for the start of world event. It made fun of asians and assigned them blame for the start of the coronavirus. Not only is this racist but also unethical to group people together who have different nationalities. It created a big controversy.
@Isha Kulkarni I agree with you that there are many inappropriate memes on the Internet. During this pandemic, I also see many racial memes and that makes me feel uncomfortable.
I do agree with the article when it says that humor is used by people during scary situations. Memes right now are being used to shed light while we are all in quarantine. Some of these memes are completely harmless, just making jokes about being stuck at home and not being able to see your friends. Memes can get out of hand though for example, making racist jokes. This is when it's not a joke anymore and when the memes should stop. We as a generation should know when the line is crossed and how to avoid crossing that line. You never know what someone is going through and the rude comments that people make about the situation can really affect an individual. Memes shouldn't also be used as a primary source to what is going on in the world, as the article states. Kids will get caught up in the joke and won't even think twice as to whether the statement that is being made is factual. It's okay to laugh at these inoffensive memes but we also shouldn't take them too seriously because memes can be made by just about anyone. The main purpose of memes is to make you laugh and share it with your friends so they can laugh, but we should take into account whether the memes is something that is appropriate to laugh at and if the information is accurate.
Even though memes allow us to feel better in serious times, I believe that memes should not be used as news sources. As we all know, memes are not taken seriously and receiving a serious information as a joke is not respectable for the people who have faced the issue or are connected from that issue. For example, at first when I got memes about the COVID-19, I never took the pandemic seriously and laughed at the issue of the pandemic. I never realized while making fun of the memes related to the pandemic that there might be millions who might be losing their loved ones and who might not be hut from such memes. Not only memes are hurtful to others but also, memes should not be trusted as a source of information because they can be used to spread false knowledge. In one of my English class I had to make a meme and if I wanted, I could have put some false information on it and send it to everyone. If I would have done so there could have been some people trusting false knowledge and passing on the news which would mislead a lot of people. So, thinking of memes as a news source is not really credible because they can be easily made up too.
I see memes to be a fun way to make a joke but sometimes they can go too far. I encounter memes on my phone on social media, like instagram and snapchat, by following accounts and my friends sending me memes. Most of the memes I see are relating to video games or movies that I see, there are some about serious topics like World War III and the coronavirus and this is where there are dangers with posting these memes. A couple of these memes that I have seen have been misleading and straight up wrong. This can lead to many people seeing the situation incorrectly and lead to sometimes overestimating/ underestimating things. Personally, I usually don't let memes affect how I see news, I see it as a little joke and just move on with my day. Sometimes I look into the topic of the meme if it interests me and if I want to know if it’s actually true. Earlier this year when World War III memes were going around I did some research on the situation after seeing the memes to understand the situation clearly. I read up on some news articles and came to my own conclusion on the topic.
There are many dangers with memes, but I think the danger is mostly with how people react to the memes.
Looking at memes is a thing that I do daily now. I enjoy them but I still remember the person I Am the end of the day; from this, I meant that I won't let memes change my personality and opinions. Memes may be about many things that are happening around our world right now, but I believe that somebody should not use memes as a news source. For example, I've seen memes about coronavirus began in China due to the consumption of wild bats. This was indeed true but in the comments of other coronavirus memes a lot of people would mention that how Chinese people ate “bat soup” and other comments continued to bash the Chinese food culture because it's different from ours. People tend to change up things when they read “news” from memes even thought a meme doesn't provide all the information about a topic whereas actual news articles do. Another example is the shortages on toilet paper. Even though these memes are funny, they make the situation seem more scarier than it is. If everyone believes in these over exaggerated memes then it would only make the situation worse.
As a user of Twitter and TikTok, memes are very much implemented into social media culture as forms of comedy, connectivity, and awareness. While I do agree with using humor in difficult moments to process scary or hurtful information, there are instances where it is not okay to use humor when talking about such sensitive issues. Humor is a way of coping with something we cannot control, a tool to move past tragic events and change our perspective—therapeutic. Personally, I found many of the World War III jokes in the beginning of the year funny. The humor served as a coping mechanism for me than the usual "wholesome" meme as it touched on such a dark topic in a lighthearted manner, reinforcing the idea that taboo topics should be discussed from time to time. However, there is a limit to everything, and this is where it crosses the line. In some cases, humor is used to target or harass a person or group of people in a malicious manner. I have witnessed users on TikTok justify blatant racism and misogyny as "dark humor" (not for the purpose of evoking laughter but to literally insult). With the coronavirus situation, racism against East Asians has been rampant; many are making jokes targeting Chinese eating habits, perpetuating harmful, negative stereotypes of East Asians. These memes spread misinformation and racist attitudes, which can contribute to physical attacks on East Asians. While humor is a way to cope and laugh, there is clearly a limit to which this humor can go.
I believe that it‘s okay to use humor in difficult moments, as long as it doesn’t spread misinformation or show prejudice against certain people. I think a little bit of a laugh can go a long way, but it has to be tasteful and can‘t be very offensive. If it touches upon a subject such as coronavirus, but doesn’t make light of the suffering that people undergo, I personally believe that there is nothing wrong with the meme. There is a lot of dark times going on in our society right now and that's why I believe it's important to be able to be happy and laugh often to keep ourselves hopeful and mentally strong through these tough times.
@Akil I completely agree with your viewpoint. As long as it isn’t offensive, humor can go a long way and can even help someone through a tough time. Personally, all the coronavirus memes I’ve seen never talked about the deaths, and weren’t at all offensive. The phrase “laughter is the best medicine” works perfectly in this situation. With the global crisis we are facing today, it’s important for everyone to remain calm and happy.
@Akil I agree with your statement because I also think that a good laugh during tough times helps a lot. As long as it doesn’t actively try to offend someone I think that it’s fine to try and make someone laugh.
I think that memes could be a source of news because a lot of people look at memes and most teens don’t watch the news so memes could be a way to find out what’s going on. I don’t look at memes much, i either read about news or my mom tells me what’s going on. Sometimes I hear stuff on the radio, but memes aren’t a big news source for me. I think that you can laugh at serious news. There could be a million different reasons to laugh at something. Maybe it’s irony, or someone being stupid, or it could just be humorous. But memes are something that can bring goofiness to a serious problem, that’s why I think that they are enjoyable.
@Lorien I agree that memes can be a source of news, but in contrast memes can also be a source that spreads fake news. Memes often times use satire to make fun of political figures or serious events happening in the world and a naive teenager could think that it is real.
Looking at memes are a good way to relax and get a good laugh after a long day. I view memes as harmless ways to get a good laugh and I do not see them as a threat. I normally do not receive news from memes, while sometimes they inform me of something going around in pop culture such as ongoing beef with celebrities. I do not think memes should be someones news source, and rather that people spend a few minutes reading or watching a little bit about what is going on in other parts of the world. I think it is ok to laugh at serious news in a way, it brings light to the situation and is not harming anyone but there is a line that should not be crossed.
@Rohan I agree that memes are an easy way to relieve some stress and relax, however I think that some people take memes more seriously than others. Therefore some of these memes that about things like the coronavirus that we are seeing now, or the memes we saw a couple months ago about WW3 affect the lives of some people.
Yes I agree because memes are not a great news source but they are a good way to spend time and laugh. I also agree that memes do bring light in a dark situation but sometimes there is a line. Its like the term "laughter is the best medicine" Like when I am having a bad day and I look at a meme, it would brighten up my day. But somethings are too messed up and dark to joke about.
The Internet has a tendency to create a copious amount of memes in times of struggle. Right now, the coronavirus is the main topic among social media platforms causing the youth to make TikToks, posts on Instagram, and YouTube videos. The article discusses how memes are the result of fear during difficult times but I don’t think that this is always the case. Memes tend to be focused around recent news or events regardless of how scary it is. They simply cover a popular topic that majority of the audience can relate to. When someone makes a meme, the purpose usually isn’t to process difficult information. Although that definitely can be a reason, most people make memes to gain attention and to share their thoughts on a situation. My exposure to memes revolving around COVID-19 have made me realize that the youth especially don’t treat world issues with any seriousness. When I see memes, they exude a sense of humor and indifference, not concern. The coronavirus, although a terrifying event, isn’t a popular meme because people are afraid. Instead, it is popular because it is such a universal similarity and people can bond over experiences and opinions through it.
I would definitely say memes are a major source to my humor. I can, and maybe sometimes, do look at them all day long. I usually learn about a current event through memes, I would probably say almost every time there's a major current event, i'll come to know about it through a meme. Therefore, I think it is okay to laugh at serious news, only sometimes, as a way to make light of situations happening around the world. Often, people make memes to make themselves feel better about any certain event. It's clearly shown through memes such as depressing memes. Someone could have gone through a heartbreak recently and made a meme or tik tok about it. It's ok to laugh because they made a meme as a way of coping with that heartbreak. I've seen many memes like this on TikTok. They get amazing feedback from it, people think it's great, but they also leave nice comments and say hope you get better and all, because they know this person is coping, and it genuinely makes them feel better. When I heard about the WWIII memes, I was confused because I had not known what happened. I found out through other memes and, like most people, I was kind of scared. Amazingly, the same memes about this war, were helping me cope with it. I was genuinely feeling better about the situation, because I had the help of some humour.
@Svayam Sharma I agree that memes are okay to laugh. I think depressing memes are a way of coping and I hadn’t thought about how people in bad situations can also make memes about those situations to help themselves. I think Memes can also help show people that they are not alone and that many people share their struggles.
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When looking at memes from a broad perspective, there are both pros and cons. Spreading news this way allows for more real-world exposure within the younger population. The humor creates levity and acts as a safety net when being informed with serious issues such as the Corona Virus pandemic. It expresses and channels all kinds of emotions, including fear. Though many are harmless, some coronavirus memes risk spreading both misinformation and racist attitudes. Because memes provide little to no context behind their meanings, this may lead to conflicting assumptions. There was this one meme that made my jaw drop. It was a tik tok expressing how the corona pandemic would’ve never existed if it weren’t for that one person who decided to eat a bat.
I do agree that humor can be used in difficult moments to process them but to a certain extent. For example, our current situation: being quarantined, the coronavirus, etc. People are stuck at home, so they are posting memes about the virus, online school, them being bored, etc. To that extent, it's okay, because through these times, everyone is bored and we all need some light on the situation. If someone passes the limit, then the jokes should be stopped, and that’s when it is a problem. For example, the racist memes about Asians. That is a huge line that people are crossing, and they shouldn’t. This is something that parents should teach their kids about, to not be racist. Asians are getting attacked and made fun of. I understand it’s scary, but it’s not an excuse to be disrespectful towards a race. Asians themselves are getting the virus, just like how anybody else could get it. It’s hurtful and disrespectful, and it should be stopped.
@Jaanki Shah I totally agree. People are at home bored and feel the need to add comedic relief to such a stressful time. Which is great, it helps lighten the mood and keep us going through this difficult time. However, when a joke is offensive, it not only hurts a certain group but the creator as well because they receive backlash.
@Jaanki Shah I totally agree with you that some people just ruin jokes and become racist for some reason. We cannot blame anyone for the spread of diseases or viruses and especially if that person or community is also affecting by that disease. If we talk about this situation then there is our mistake too. We let it spread all over the world instead of taking it seriously.
Although I find many memes hilarious and enjoy them, it is not worth the entertainment when the memes take away the seriousness of events and cause harm to others. The memes are causing even more harm when people use them as a reliable source for news. In wake of the coronavirus pandemic, memes are taking over online and people are being harmed and misinformed, me being one of those people. I first saw many memes about the shortage of masks, hand sanitizer, and toilet tissue and I admit that they made me laugh. Memes about people hoarding resources for themselves may have seemed funny at first, but I later found that the lack of resources has been very detrimental for those who really need it. I saw multiple posts about doctors and nurses who are in dire need of medical masks because they are constantly risking their lives to treat people affected with the virus. Memes on the internet make the situation seem “funny” and a crazy story we are going to tell our kids later, but people are actually dying and suffering in pain because of this virus. Many teens spread information from memes that they think is real news which causes circumstances like the shortage of resources seem insignificant. What hurt me even more was the racist memes about the Asian community and their so-called “association” with the coronavirus. At first I thought they were a little funny and that “it’s just a joke”, but then I thought about how I would feel if someone made a joke like that about me.
@Tulsi yes and memes in some situations can harm the people who are trying to do good deeds for the society. For example, because people are not taking the situations seriously due to the memes and are not taking care of themselves, there might be many doctors or people working in the emergency services demotivated. Servicing people might feel that the people who they are risking their lives for are not even respecting them, their jobs, and the seriousness of the pandemic.
I think it is okay to laugh and make memes about the situations like this, but there are definitely lines you have to keep when your joking or making memes about it. Right now there are many memes about Coronavirus and funny situations that happens because of the virus, such as grocery, online school and quarantine. And i think it is actually better for us to make memes and laugh to actually make our life during quarantine more fun and easier to get through. Making memes about the people who has the virus and disparaging other countries are definitely not okay to laugh at because that is a very serious topic. As long as the meme keeps the line and it's not about serious things it is okay to make memes about it.
@Hailey I definitely agree completely. People say laughter is the best medicine and i 100% couldn't agree more. It is important for all of us to come together during these times and just bring each other up. We shouldn't let one another's head hang low, and memes are doing just that. Laughing isn't really being disrespectful unless you're laughing at dying or something. It is definitely okay to laugh to some harmless memes about a bad situation.
@Hailey I totally agree with your stance on why memes can create a community that helps people cope. It really does make light of the existential dread from the recent Corona Virus. From memes poking fun at everything like hoarding toilet paper to going stir crazy while in quarantine, it has dominated social media feeds all over the world.
Humor certainly does help some cope with real world issues and memes do make light of certain situations, which is good but often internet memes don’t depict or convey current situations to its full extent and often exaggerates events or events that may happen, which is why people shouldn’t rely on memes as a source of information.
Memes are funny and bring communities together, sure that is true but this common opinion on memes veils what else memes are capable of. Memes can sometimes cross the line into sensitive topics and make statements that are also very sensitive. Memes are also very powerful because they can be seen all around the internet from almost every platform. Memes can convey ideas that go against common knowledge and give people the wrong idea about a certain topic. For example Corona virus memes. Sure these memes can be funny but they can also do damage to the population in unexpected ways. Some people who see these memes that disregard the severity of the virus might go outside, this risks their safety, the safety of the people around him, and the people back at home. Some people only get their information from memes because they may not go out of their own way to find another maybe more credible source. These people who see these memes talking about “you have to be old to die to the virus” dont know that the virus has started to take younger healthy peoples lives as well all over the world. So there is a serious credibility problem with memes. Memes can be super powerfull, powerfull enough to sway an ellection. Bearnie sanders memes have been going rampant throughout the internet ever since elections started which does play a role in voter turnout. Memes can be made about almost anything. You say one thing incorrectly, you get memed. You mess, up you get memed
@Pranav S I agree with your statement because no one should be making fun of a serious situation. Especially, when there is a global crisis happening. Memes can be powerful but it's not a good thing when it's used in a wrong way.
Yes, I believe that no one should be using offensive memes during global crisis and make fun of a situation where many people tend to struggle to find peace in. Many cases memes are directed to a specific celebrity, someone, or something and it is not always funny as someone else may not find it very appealing. But the article made it sound like memes are made to harass and are made to make the internet a worse place. I may have to strongly disagree with that factor and say that OFFENSIVE memes may surface the internet but does not mean all memes are bad. People tend to believe that many people are not taking many of these situations seriously, and making memes on the internet which “they” find harassment in and the rest of the internet laughs. It is important that we all need to be on the same page and understand both perspectives as many of the meme creators are young and don’t understand the full picture, and adults who find these memes offensive can understand that these kids don’t fully get it and thought it was funny, and that these memes do not make them a stoned cold blooded killer.
Every time I am on Instagram or any other social media I always see different memes, in fact, most of the things that are going on in the real world I find out from across the web daily. Such as the coronavirus, The bombing on Iran, and the amazon fires. Although many people do find out many real-word problems like on the news, memes should not be a news source because it can lead to misinformation about a topic. Not only that but it can also bring race into something that doesn’t need a race to be brought into it, which leads to almost changing the way someone might see the people during this worldly problem. I can see how many people believe that you should not laugh at real serious things happening in the world like the coronavirus but the laughter is very helpful to many people. Laughing at serious things can relieve the stress that people feel worried about what is happening, It is almost like a coping mechanism to calm the brain down. Yes, laughing does help but some memes do take it way to far, in which those are not ok to laugh at because they can be Offensive. Such as the Ok Boomer meme this meme was used to just call people over the age of 65 old, it was very offensive to people of that age as they were being disrespected just because of something they said or did.
I enjoy looking at memes. A lot of them are extremely relatable and funny to look at. I most definitely agree with the article about using humor in difficult situations. I think people are sometimes too serious about a situation, so someone will then create a meme to lighten the mood and make a joke about it. At the very beginning of 2020 many memes about WWIII starting had surfaced. The memes that I saw were only about getting drafted or them doing the “Renegade” on the battlefield. I don’t think it was directly offending anyone, but just making the situation less serious. However, I understand how some people could find certain memes offending. I think it is not okay to use humor when talking about something painful or tragic events because you never know how it’s affecting them so it‘s better to not make a joke out of it.
@Hiba A yes i agree with what you said and in addition taking everything so serious in every situation makes some people to get even tired from the situations they have. Lightening up to mood by making jokes or making memes can help us get through the situation better.
@Hiba A I agree with you because memes never have the intention of offending anyone but you never know how the situation is affecting an individual. Sometimes it is better to leave those comments to our self.
@Hiba A I agree with you what you said and because memes can sometimes help a person relax during a serious situation and kind of have a laugh about things.
It is okay for memes to be someone’s news source as long as they do further research on the topic to understand what is really happening. I personally have learned about many things through memes, but I feel that the information is exaggerated or partially made up. It is important that people do more research on new things they learn from memes or humorous news sources as they are not completely veritable. This would be so one does not spread false news which they learned from the memes. If one is able to learn about serious news through memes which they would not have otherwise known it is a good thing. It is also ok to laugh at these memes because it brings light to a sad situation.
@Neal I agree memes bring humor and spread happiness to those who react to them, however, memes can also lead to insensitivity and people can fall victim to insensitive and rude comments which without context can shine a bad light upon that person.
Humor can be used to cope with difficult situations. Although we are going through difficult and unprecedented times, I believe that we can find comfort in making jokes about it. Jokes are a lighthearted way to make something that is usually scary feel more understandable to everyone. I believe that Jokes do not downplay the seriousness of a situation but makes it easier to approach and can be a catalyst for discussion.
@Mitchell I completely agree humor can take away the pain and bring light to a difficult situation. It is a good way to cope as long as you have boundaries an know when it is ok to joke and when it is not.
Yes, and in fact, I believe nothing in this world consists of just advantages. In the case of memes, a picture and a caption is all it takes to make someone’s day, or bring a smile on their face, or even damage their feelings. Memes serve one purpose, which is to be funny, or bring up a point that people don't notice, and I believe that this use of power is immense. There are various possible advantages of memes, such as making people laugh, spread news in a funny mannar (as long as it does not distort the overall purpose), teach people a lesson, and more. The advantages are healthy, but the disadvantages are currently being seen on social media, how the coronavirus is being made fun of and not taken seriously! People underestimate how deadly this virus is and take it lightly because they think “OH! How can “I” catch the virus!??” The memes are another disadvantages on social media- filled with non-credible people, organizations and various more. One of the biggest disadvantages of memes is the the spreading of the wrong news to people who are gullible or sensitive! People make quarantine jokes, corona (a drink) jokes, and jokes about being dead from it. This in fact happened to me.
@Aryan N A big over looked usage of memes is how quick they are to inform someone about something. A news article can take up to a day to be posted but a meme can be created in less than 30 seconds. A news article takes a few minutes to be read through and to understand. Compared to a meme, it’s time to be understood is sometimes tripled.
@Aryan N Yes, I think that people overvalue the idea that memes are only funny and cant cause harm but what that really does is make them blind to the full spectrum of things both good and bad that memes are capable of. Memes can make points that just arent true and cause someone who doesnt know to much about a subject to get the wrong idea. Memes play an important role in delivering opinions and facts to the public so they have to stay in check because you cant pick who sees which meme.
@Aryan N I agree with you on this. I think people only see memes as something to be humorous which distracts them from the reality. When memes are made about current events they take little time to make and provide little information which can be misleading to the public whereas news articles are more valid and provide more information on several topics. Even though memes can be misleading and spark conflict, they are meant to be funny and they help create humor during tough times.
Everyone has different ways of coping with difficult situations, which makes it hard to come up with a universal guide as to how to avoid hurting one’s feelings. This leads to many — usually younger — people ignoring or hiding away their own feelings or being insensitive to others’ emotions. If the cause of strong emotions is brought up, humor is likely to be used to mask the real feelings and emotions. True, humor could help lighten the mood for some, but it could also hurt someone who is not prepared to hear the joke. That is why humor should be used cautiously, recognizing the specific circumstances of the audience: age, culture, and emotional impact of the difficult situation referenced.
Everyone can think of examples where a joke was perceived as insensitive or stereotypical. I can mention a couple of examples: a meme depicting an obese person eager to sign up for a food aid program or all Muslims being portrayed as fanatics. Memes are an excellent outlet for creativity. Unfortunately, meme authors sometimes lack the sensitivity to identify a potentially offensive material. My recommendation would be to steer clear of stereotypes, or making fun of circumstances beyond one’s control which could render a meme as a type of bullying.
memes shouldn’t be someone’s news source because it can mislead people on what is actually happening. Most of the time I learn about a current event through a meme because I don’t really watch the news. Also a lot of other kids don’t really watch the news so memes are kind of a news source for them too and those memes can give false information. I think it’s not ok to laugh at serious news because you never know what will actually happen. For example there was the ww3 memes and everyone was joking about it, but war is a serious matter and people shouldn’t be making jokes out of it and also the same is about the corona virus too.
@Rosanna J a lot of people tend to forget why memes are even a thing, people started to spread news through memes but was never the correct way and was always made to laugh. Some people pay find them offensive but u cannot blame kids for their perspective and not looking at it from a global crisis.
Memes have always helped alleviate serious situations and they also provide a way for older generations to communicate in the “terms” of younger generations. However, people’s tendency to misconstrue memes can result in disastrous consequences. Early this year, the Trump administration sent a missile strike that killed a high-ranking Iranian general. Almost immediately after the news circuits picked up on this story, memes came pouring onto popular social media sites about the potential World War III. These jokes crossed a major line as they could be seen as offensive to soldiers who have worked hard to defend our country.
In addition to current events, some people use memes to convey dark humor. For example, I had a friend once send me a meme that joked about police brutality against minorities. It obviously crossed a line, but they believed that it made a serious situation funny and that was okay. I think it’s necessary to educate ourselves about the possible consequences of memes and how some people can be affected. Memes are a nice way to add humor to a situation, but could also result in many negative outcomes if they are taken the wrong way. In order to establish a clear ethical line, we need to discuss the various effects of memes and how they might make some people feel. By talking about them, we can better understand each other’s viewpoints and make sure we do not cross any lines with our jokes.
@Dia A I definitely agree that memes are humorous but many of them can cross the line. I have a strong sense of dark humor but I believe that disrespecting soldiers is not dark humor. I saw one video that quoted “Cooking cookies with my grandfather”. The video then cuts into a girl picking up a vase, with what I assume is filled with flour but representing her grandfathers ashes, and dumping it out into a bowl. I guess in some ways this can be seen as funny and dark humor but this one crossed the line for me.
@Dia A I completely agree. In fact, the memes about the World War III would not only affect the soldiers but they might also have an impact on the family members of those soldiers. Also, memes can be used as a way to bully people. There might be some young kids who think that their race is not good enough as others because they might have been bullied by some racist memes. Those young kids might even feel overpowered and scared to keep their say anywhere and no one ever deserves to go through all this.
@Dia A I definitely agree with your point that while memes can lighten serious situations, there are negative consequences associated with them. I clearly remember the day when the news of the Iranian general being killed by the US came, and then many memes flooded the Internet—first on Twitter and then to other social media platforms. Personally, these jokes didn't offend me, but after reading this article, I can see how this is offensive to certain people. Due to teenagers' lack of experience, these memes simply come off as funny, a tool to cope with the serious situation; however, like you mentioned with the soldiers, they are bound to find this content offensive because they would be the first ones affected if a World War III situation ever occurred. I also agree with your solution in discussing effects of these memes and taking into account how others feel. Memes should be created with caution, taking into consideration the person or people who would be targeted. Another solution could be creating memes with the intent to raise awareness. For instance, I have seen people make "memes" about the situation with Uighurs in China to help raise awareness and take action.
While memes’ usage of images and few words makes them enjoyable and humorous, there are definitely dangers to them that should not be overlooked. Since the whole point of a meme is to spread humor with as little words as possible, there is much room left for interpretation. Memes’ jokes aren’t always explained well, and the message could easily get lost along the way. Relatively recently, while scrolling through instagram, I saw a meme calling the Coronavirus the “Chinese Virus”, and although I wasn’t personally offended, I do think that crosses the line between humor and offensiveness/racism. The virus happened to originate in China, but that doesn’t give people the right to joke about it as the “Chinese Virus”, as that could lead to racism. Memes can be funny and help lighten the mood, but only if used properly and to not “poke fun” at the expense of others.
@Ellie Miller, I agree with you about the comments crossing the line and leading to racism, rather than a joke. Yes, it's true the origin of the virus was in China, but it gives no right to people, especially Americans, and our president, to use that term, and be intentionally, or unintentionally racist towards Asians, and Asian-Americans.
I disagree with how the article describes how humor is used. I usually only see memes as funny and nothing more, whereas this article implies that every time someone sees a meme, funny replaces worse emotions, which is very much false. I think it’s always okay to use humor to respond to traumatic events. Stuff like that can be really intimidating to process at first and after laughing about it for a while you can feel much more ready and prepared to process it in a better way.
@Jefferson H At first I completely agreed with the author in that humor replaces other emotions that should not be bottled, but after seeing your explanation I do agree with aspects of your view on the topic. I for one have laughed at memes that may be disrespectful to some people or manipulate the truth about an event, but my intention is never to cause harm to others. What I do wonder is that if everyone understands that somethings are "just a joke", because if not, it would be very rude and disrespectful to laugh at certain memes. I also think that humor is a emotion itself and it should be expressed. Humor can lift you up and make you feel happier, so are memes really as detrimental to one's emotions like the author says?
The first disadvantage of memes is the small amount of text and single response for most memes fails to display the duality of all situations and usually against a certain point of view rather than a middle ground. This allows for it to sometimes be a directed way to of hate towards some people but it cannot just be hate. Memes can offer support for a community and allow others to connect because of the simplicity to understand them. This is the true perceived beauty of memes because of the universality of them. Memes also can be extremely exclusive which allow to have a unique use for a certain group of people. Memes display use of a universal and local communication which shows the versatility of the medium.People often say memes cross a line but to the people who consume them they don’t think do because the desensitization from memes. The continued stream of offensive content can cause the message to lose its meaning. So in a sense memes are a double edged sword because to some it may mean nothing but to others it can be a great offense.
Memes should not be someone's primary news outlet. In today's world of misinformation, no one can be trusted. People should have multiple news outlets and should be able to decipher the truth from all of them, including memes. I have learned about a lot of current events through memes, such as trump scandals, but I also do my research through verified news networks to make sure I have the correct information. I think it is okay to laugh whenever, as long as no one is hurt in the process.
@Yash P Yes I agree, it is ok when memes are news source where people first learn about new things, but this should not be their only source. I feel that the news from the memes should be researched to gain further understanding like you do. And it is always ok to laugh at memes as they are just bringing light to a situation.
@Yash P Yes, and many people create memes to lighten the situation and make it less serious. I think memes have a certain stereotype that they’re unreliable and a joke, but sometimes they can actually be pretty knowledgeable. Of course, you still have to check on verified news networks, whether the meme is accurate or not.
@Yash P Yeah, I completely agree with you about having to back up any information you learn with trusted sources. Although these memes may portray the information in a humorous form, they still give information that one might not have known. They can be a good source of news but should also be backed up like you stated.
Memes are a good way to cope with tragedy, loss, or fright. For example, the coronavirus is spreading right now, so people are making memes about it to take their mind off the fact that its a real-world issue. Along with using memes to cope, memes can also be a way to learn about recent world news. Almost every teenager looks at memes, so it would make sense that they are learning things from the memes they look at. Instead of reading the whole news article or watching the whole news program, they can simply look at a meme. I feel like memes are going to become a more and more popular thing in the upcoming years,
I think people cope differently, if you want to make jokes about how the dead person looks at a funeral then that’s you, but people need to realize that not everyone sees humor as the way to deal with things and they should respect how other people cope too. Like in the funeral context, say that was your dad and you’re making jokes but your mom and sister are sobbing the entire time, it wouldn’t be appropriate for you to make fun of them crying as well. I’ve seen that happen people make “elite humor” jokes about a sensitive topic and when there’s a comment that says “you’re in the wrong and you should respect that not everyone is going to laugh about it” they start attacking the person and making fun of them too. Memes in a depressing situation can be funny and reliving, for me I hate it when things get too depressing but even I know that some memes are over the top like talking about killing people or making “funny” racist/sexist jokes it’s not okay. Those types of things shouldn’t be joked about and I feel that the people don’t have some authoritative figure telling them what’s okay and what’s not okay to joke about. Going back to the funeral, if you want to make remarks and laugh you need to do it with people who cope the same way as you, not with people who are sobbing or reacting differently because they’re just going to find it offensive.
I believe it is definitely ok to have humorous memes as someone's news source. After all, everyone needs a bit of positivity in a dark time. If everyone was worried all of the time, that wouldn’t be good for them or their relationships. If you are only exposed to negative news, you will start to become more negative as well. I do believe that memes can be harmful for some people, but it is just a matter of opinion. On reddit, there are multiple subreddits for different types of memes. On r/Memes, the memes are all appropriate and just humorous. On r/Dark Humour on the other hand, the memes are pretty dark and poking fun at serious situations. People should be able to know whether they can handle not taking these dark memes too seriously, and just always know that they are a joke. If you’re easily grossed out, offended, or sensitive to certain things, maybe you shouldn’t go there. I definitely get all or most of my news from memes. I found out about WW111, Australia’s bushfires, and coronavirus from memes. I find out the death toll, recovery numbers, and total infected all from memes. People have different moral compasses. While some people might think that a few memes go too far, others think that it’s perfectly fine. It really depends on what you as a person think about the world, if you think memes go too far or not.
@Grace Meng I fully agree that it is very hard to come up with a universal guide as to what makes a good meme and what turns one into offensive material. Further, I agree that memes should be a free media for everyone to express their opinion. However, I do believe that everyone can be educated on how to avoid creating or circulating offensive material. And lastly, if you use memes as your main source of information, how do you know which ones to trust? I personally have that issue with “official” sources and imagine that it is even more difficult when you rely on memes to keep up to date on current events.
@Grace Meng I agree, but the stuff that you said about Dark Humor i feel is wrong because as you said “people need to know that it is just a joke”, but i feel that although it is a joke certain things can Be very sensitive for different people. Which means that the people who make dark humor need to put themselves in other peoples shoes to see how they might feel if someone put a joke out like that and they had connection to the joke itself.
I believe that using humor is difficult moments to process scary or bad things could be ok in some circumstances, but also can be inappropriate in others. While looking/creating memes to post can lighten the mood on a dark or scary topic (like COVID-19 for example) and can make someone smile while living through the tragedy to brighten their mood. But they can be bad in some cases: lets just say that someone anonymously made a meme pointing the blame to china calling it the “Chinese virus” or what not, what if that meme was made by a government of some sort to push the blame on to someone else. Or joking about wanting to get the virus or joking ABOUT someone who has the virus, it would be better to comfort them rather than make them into a meme. So it would be best on when and what topic to make memes on.
Use of humour really depends on the social circumstances, and may come off as insensitive to the situation. Making these jokes to a person whose loved one tested positive is tactless. However, delivering news of the unexpectedness with a laugh may soften the blow.
@Kirthi I agree, i think that it depends on the situation of the one receiving the joke. If they have a negative response to the meme, then maybe that meme connected with them an a personal and emotional level because they’ve struggled with that situation. If you told the same joke to a person who’s never encountered the gravity of the situation (if the situation was serious), then they probably would laugh.
I believe that people can use memes as a news source and most times it is accidental they are just looking at a mem and they find one about something that is going on I learned about the toilet paper crisis through memes and I think it is okay to laugh at serious news because it makes it a little less scary. And it takes away from a life threading serious tone that these things may have
@Ethan Yes memes do make serious things humorous, but I think that somethings aren’t okay to joke about. There’s a lot of jokes out there like “dark humor” mostly people laugh at these but sometimes the “joke” has racist connotations or it’s downgrading a certain group of people. If we teach children that saying these types of things is funny then they’re going to think that type of thinking is normal. So yes, memes can be funny and relieving in certain situations but there are times when the cross the line.
@Ethan yes, I agree with you about it being ok to laugh at serious news, and I think that it really releases a lot of stress to be able to laugh at or find humor in something serious.
I believe that people can use memes as a news source and most times it is accidental they are just looking at a mem and they find one about something that is going on I learned about the toilet paper crisis through memes and I think it is okay to laugh at serious news because it makes it a little less scary. And it helps to shed a new perspective of humor on these issues rather than a perspective of fear
@Ethan I agree that news can be a way of resource, although keep in mind that memes can bring a smile on someone's face or take a way a smile from someone's face. The negative side of the creation of memes is terrible; people trust resources, organizations, people, that are often NON-CREDIBLE accounts and people. The severity of the jokes, or how fake a certain news is all, which can lead to incorrect beliefs, or in some cases have people choose the wrong path or make unimaginable decisions in their future!
I think there is possible dangers with making a point with images and a few words. It’s easy to misunderstand things when all your informed with is a few words and a picture. It doesn’t give you the full idea of what’s going on and that’s a bad thing because it can hinder your judgement. To make a proper point there should be many words so people know the true story behind it. I have seen some memes that cross the line about offensive topics like diseases and war that aren’t appropriate given the circumstances. Also there are many racist memes that just aren’t right. These may seem harmless to the person making them and the person laughing at them but they can really do some damage.
@Jackson k I don’t agree to your response because it does not properly display the dual nature of a divisive medium like this. You focus on how memes divide people, but that is an unfair statement because memes also bring communities together and all the niches which have their own jokes. It can be as much or more of a communal tool rather than a hate device.
For me personally I think there are more advantages than disadvantages to memes. The purpose of memes is to bring people together through humor when things are tough. Memes create happiness in people and allow for much needed laughs throughout the day. Though memes have a way of creating a caricature of things that are serious, they still provide a purpose in bringing our humor and easing the tension of the real world. Some memes have even spread good information around, and lets us know about current events. Examples of memes spreading news would be about the coronavirus, and even the almost start up of WW3. Though these memes ridiculed an aspect of those topics, the information present in the topic was not wrong and it served as a purpose of keeping people informed. Now there are certain memes that go way above the line, but keeping a good understanding of perspective can save you from a lot of hate and trouble.
@Neal Desai yes but, most of the memes aren’t always correct so a lot of people can get mislead, which is a disadvantage to people who only look at memes. Memes are also like source to a lot of people and they usually would see the memes first about an event, rather than seeing about a current event on tv. For ex. people made jokes about the corona virus and now it’s actually a serious issue.
@Neal Desai I agree that some memes can be beneficial and spread good information around. However, no matter what the meme is about, someone will take offense to it. For example, the memes that you mentioned about the coronavirus and WW3 could be offensive to people with the coronavirus and soldiers in war. Because of this, I think memes should be avoided as a source of news. Even if a meme seems harmless, it could be greatly offensive to someone else.
I do not think that humorous memes should be anyone’s news source. However, if you regularly consume real and verified news, then memes about current events can be used for news to a certain degree. This is because you have consumed real news that you can fact check the meme against. Most current events I learn about come through the news. Last January I unfollowed both meme accounts that I followed on Instagram. Since then, I haven’t really been flooded with memes. On a different note, depending on the situation, context, and severity of the event, I think that it can be okay to laugh at serious news. That is if you fully understand the situation and don’t insult or hurt anyone by laughing.
Some advantages of memes could be a that they are a fun way to learn about current events in the world. These images and words make it easier for teens to understand what’s happening around the world in a funny way. Many times however, the memes are not appropriate and tend to cross a line. Some memes make a joke out of things that shouldn’t be joked about. These memes mock, harass, and even spread false information. When it comes to painful or tragic events, humor can be inappropriate. For example, memes that joke about war tend to be offensive and cross a line. Many people in this generation don’t know about and haven’t experienced the hardships of war so they shouldn’t be making a joke about it and taking it lightly.
There are not possible dangers that come with making a point with mostly images and a few words. It may be more difficult to elaborate on a point, but it also comes with the advantage of illustration and appealing to a wider audience. This applies to comics, graphics, advertisements, etc. but less so memes, as memes aren’t meant to make a point. They are meant to be humorous or satirical. When people do try to make memes that make a point, that is when they cross the line. I have seen Christian “memes” that are really just homophobic and/or sex-negative. Because they are meant to argue rather than to be humorous, they are not really memes. Images and a few words can definitely make points by themselves; that’s why political cartoons, billboards and comics exist. Graphics and cutlines are also a very effective way to make points. Pictures are supposedly worth a thousand words, which is where the advantage of making a point with mostly images and a few words comes in. The article about memes really seemed to be misinterpreting memes as a legitimate way of making a point and spreading news rather than humour/satire.
@Angela Yuan This article definitely assumes that the overwhelming majority of memes are about controversial current topics, when in fact its not. Memes also rarely show the creators true opinions on the matter. Many of the most popular memes have had nothing to do with news or current events, they’ve been completely random things with very little relation to anything.
I believe using humor as a method to cope with or process traumatic or scary situations can be okay to an extent. Humor is many peoples way of not panicking or thinking the worst when it comes to uneasy situations and it is ok to use humor in these situations to a certain extent. I do not believe however that people should be able to post offensive comments about a topic and justify it by saying that is was just a joke or it is how they cope with things. For example making jokes about the way you may deal with corona virus is okay, however it is not okay to bring in the topic of race into situations. Another important factor about memes is who makes them lots of memes are made by people from generation z, who don’t have the intent to be hurtful or rude but do not know when they are crossing the line. In conclusion I do think it is ok to cope with difficult situations by using humor however it is not okay to be rude or offensive.
By stating your point using images, people are able to perceive and interpret it their own way. While this is an advantage, by giving people the ability to think for themselves, and use their cognitive skills to paint a bigger picture, this could also be a danger. Once one person interprets it for themselves, they might show a friend or family member. Depending on the reaction of that person, word could possibly get around fast. If the image was not meant to be interpreted that way, and the artist had a different idea in mind, that is how fake news and misconstrued information gets spread. Especially if one person in the chain takes it extremely seriously, personally, or it offends them, the artist could be receiving hate and could be in danger based off their (now) controversial artwork.
@Sidonie I think you make a great point about how different people have different reactions. People come from different experiences and background and I think its important to remind those details when thinking of a person reacts to certain issues or controversy.
@Sidonie I agree with everything you have said. While memes are great because of their freedom for interpretation, it also leaves much unsaid that could be taken the wrong way by the wrong person. People could easily misunderstand the point of the meme, or perhaps lack the context behind the meme, and become offended by the image, when the whole purpose was lighthearted humor. When used/written correctly, memes can be a great way to relieve stress and lighten the mood, but there is always a risk of misinterpretation.
@Sidonie I agree with your thought about how an individual's perception affects the information itself. The fact that memes leave room for interpretation and that people are sensitive to certain topics causes misunderstandings and makes them offensive. This not only causes memes to stray away from their purpose of entertainment and humor but also results in controversies.
Personally, I believe that many people are using memes as a way to cope with how severe the outbreak of the Coronavirus is. The people who are making them are doing it in order to bring comedic value to this situation and most likely don't have the intention of spreading any false information. While these memes are intended to be jokes, I can see how other people could feel offended by them. For example, if someone's loved ones were suffering due to Corona, I could see how they wouldn't be appreciative of the jokes that some other people are making about Corona; however, I do think that these people that are making memes are doing it so they don't have to focus on the virus themselves and they can be distracted by humor. I don't think that anyone should be taking memes seriously and they need to understand that it's a joke and that's all. The greatest thing about online content is that we aren't forced to view it, so if someone can be easily offended by jokes over Corona then the solution is simple, don't look at memes.
@David Theoretically, your solution would work, but it's not as simple as it sounds. If someone is scrolling past an image and happens to glance at it, they might find it offensive. And if they do find it offensive, they have every right to let the author or creator know that the meme was inappropriate. Although it might be funny, many of these memes have underlying themes or racism, sexism, and, in the case of coronavirus related memes, xenophobic connotations. If you are saying that the humor a meme provides is more substantial than the negative effect these underlying themes might have, I believe your stance could be corrected.
Memes are now ingrained into young generations today, but some don’t know to not rely on them. Memes should never be a source of news or current events. Yes, they may inform you something is going on but they can be made by anyone, including people who are wrong. There have been times where memes informed or showed me something that was going on, but I always looked into to it on my own later on to make sure I knew the truth. Though the same can be said with any news source though, don’t just trust what’s on Facebook or on TV. It never hurts to look deeper into something, if you have the resources then use them so you can get the full picture. Going on just what you see first cannot help anyone, for example a Facebook user was issued a Pofma for false claims on Resilience Budget. If one had looked at that without researching the truth, they would have been lead blindly. The exact same can happen with memes and our younger generations. That’s why we must teach them about fact checking.
Memes are made so that people can cope with the fear they have about news. So, I think that people should have memes as their news source. Memes should especially be a news source for teenagers, as they’re more attentive when entertained. Memes are also a good way to spread the news quickly. It‘s very concise and goes straight to the point. So, instead of people having to read a whole news article about what happening in the world around them, they can just read one sentence. Then afterwards, if they’re still curious and want to read a more detailed explanation on the topic then they can read the news article. Memes are also more captivating to the audience, so it keeps people engaged. Younger generations are starting to have a lower attention span which is why memes have to be concise and engaging.
@Mayukh I agree 100% with what you are saying. Much like when there was no such thing as television, people relied on the newspaper to get their news. Once T.V was invented, everyone switched to T.V, and I feel like the same thing is going to happen with memes, since they are becoming more and more popular.
I agree that a lot of teens use humor in difficult moments. When there is a scary situation and we aren’t sure how to process it a lot of people turn to humor. Humor lightens situations and helps us gain an understanding of what is going on. There are times when it is not okay to use humor. If you are talking to someone about something tragic that happened to them, it is not okay to use humor. If it is your way of coping that's great, but it’s not everyone's. Overall while humor is a good way to deal with difficult moments, it is still important for people to understand the severity of situations such as the Coronavirus.
I believe using humor in difficult moments to process scary or hurtful information can be ok in certain cases, but inappropriate in other instances . When looking at memes or making jokes about scary and dangerous events, it can brighten the mood so the atmosphere is light rather than fearful. For example, joking about the Coronavirus help people focus on laughter rather than the frightening news about the virus. However in some cases its best not to use humor. Such as when someone loses a loved one recently and are going through a tough time, it is better to comfort them rather than laugh and make jokes. Memes and jokes can be deeply hurtful to people in difficult moments, so it is best to be careful when to joke and when to be quiet.
@Sophie yes I agree with your points about memes being able to relive people especially young people of the stresses in this life
@Sophie I agree with your points and how memes can help people with difficult moments
@Sophie I agree with you there, especially since humour is my most common coping mechanism, and has gotten me into trouble for it in the past. In certain circumstances, would you say it would be better to offer words of comfort or to stay silent?
I personally don’t think that memes should be someone’s news source as entertaining as they may be they can constantly spread misinformation and give out bad ideas about any current serious situations going on in the world. If someone is really trying to find out about what is going on in the world I think that they should use a legit news source because sometimes even news sources can spread humor through their articles in a more polite way rather than memes who can be made by anyone and taken to the extreme.
@Isaiah Nichols I agree with your statements about the ups and downs of memes and how they can help the youths of today
@Isaiah Nichols I agree with you
@Isaiah Nichols yes and memes could be made by people trying to spread rumors like even government officials trying to make you believe things that aren’t true. Also memes don’t give much information about the topic so you could be completely misinformed about a topic and not get the full story
I believe that memes and humor are good ways to cope or express your emotions. However, when it comes to painful or tragic events humor can be inappropriate. I personally spend most of my freetime at home on social media. I like to watch or see memes to make me laugh or to be entertained. Occasionally I come across controversial or “dark humor” that can be offensive. In the comment section of the post there are many people saying that “this went too far’, or saying, “this is messed up”. Some comments I see are defending the post saying that it's just dark humor, and isn't intended to offend others. I can understand why people are defending it because there might not be any offensive intent. But, I think that it still doesn’t make it right due to the fact that the topic is controversial, or that it can offend others.
@Varun Totally agree, sometimes people go too far just for a laugh which really isn't a good idea, there's a fine line between right and wrong with humour and sometimes people find themselves on the wrong side. If there's ever a joke you feel could be defined as "too far" ask yourself if you would tell your mom this joke, and if you said yes then the joke is okay to tell.
Usually, whenever I get home from school I scroll through tik tok, instagram, twitter, etc. Everytime I see someone has made a video or meme about a serious situation happening in the world I usually can just laugh at it. It was world war III for example and now the corona virus. I do not believe that memes are meant to be serious, most people are just joking around because that is just what teenagers do. It is just to make people laugh. If I see a tik tok about the corona virus, I usually laugh and just move on, and I think that is what they are meant for. At a certain point I think there’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed in terms of humor, but that is a different story. Most memes I see are just about a generic topic and not meant to be harmful.
@Brendan Hill I agree that memes aren't created with a harmful intent, and are usually meant to get others to laugh. However, while discussing sensitive topics, people should be cautious about offending people. Memes serve as an important means of communications for teenagers, but aren't created to convey news or information. Also, people should be wary about memes that spread false information and those that are offensive.
Using memes as a news source should not be as trusted as using a well-known news source such as USA Today, New York Times, or a local news channel. Sometimes I receive news via Social Media or through TikTok. Although some news can be exaggerated through social media platforms, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it isn’t true to some extent. Such as the Area 51 Raid, originally it was supposed to be a joke but ended up happening and of course people were arrested. People get through serious news in different ways some, I think our generation uses humor to get through hard times.
@D'Aira I agree that we should not be using memes as our main news source. Lots of information on social media such as Tik Tok are exaggerated and are made to be a joke. I think that memes are meant to be a humorous way to cope with situations that are scary or that we don't really understand.
While I personally enjoy memes, they do cause harm to the “uneducated” audience. Because memes are typically pictures with minimal explanation through words, it often misinforms the population looking at them. Granted, there are captions and comments that are easily accessible to read if there is confusion but I know that those are easily overlooked. For example, after standardized test there a lot of memes pulled from reading passages from AP tests, STAAR test, and even SAT and ACT tests; the creators might post something regarding a confusing question that a majority of people didn’t understand, making fun of it, which creates a bond between people by making them not feel alone. And while some of the joke are borderline offensive, or taken too far, I know the youth appreciates them because it introduces a light hearted conversation that is relatable to the audience it is targeting, the teens, not adults.
@Rachel S I agree and find standardized test memes very enjoyable, but I also think it is worth noting that students are told not to share answers. In this case, memes can potentially cause an unfair advantage for someone who may be making up the test at a later date (and using the same version for whatever reason).
I believe that there are advantages that come with making a point with mostly images and few words since it allows people to state their opinions without going into depth with information. I rarely see memes that come off negatively in anyway but when I ever find one that is inappropriate it usually contains either racial slurs or ideas. Finding these are not common but when someone post memes like these they are not trying to state an opinion rather gain the attention they desire by saying something rude.
Yes, I agree, memes are a good way express opinions, and without having to put much effort into expressing the idea. Like you said, it has few words and pictures, which can have a bigger impact.
@Nick to add on that I also agree that most inappropriate memes always contain some type of racial slur as I see them all the time on social media especially apps such as Instagram or Twitter. But still that is true that memes can get the point across with a photo and a couple of words without having to go into deep detail about the current situation or whatever is going on. So in a sense even thought they are frowned upon and are looked at in a negative light they can still be positive and helpful.
I follow many meme accounts on social media in hopes that I'll come across one that will make me laugh, but along with random harmless laughs I look to escape upsetting realities or problems by finding a way to associate it with something more lighthearted. I agree with the article's view that people use humor to process difficult moments. If psych class taught me anything it’s that people's experiences dictate how they react to different stimuli, and the younger generation doesn’t have much experience in the global trauma department. When people can't handle harsh truth most have to redirect their emotions in a way to protect themselves. My grandpa served in Vietnam meaning my dad and grandma had to deal with the experience of wartime stress which I have no personal relationship to because I wasn’t personally affected by it, but I find talking about war makes me really uncomfortable so joking about it makes me more at peace and makes me feel more in control. People may view it as insensitive but that is where we have to find a middle ground. Being aware of people's feelings and knowing not to go too far is key, establishing boundaries can help all of us better understand how different people may react and perceive different content.
@Claire Yaney I agree with the points you've made about kids feeling uncomfortable talking about hypothetical situations that younger generations haven't experienced. Finding a middle ground is something that seems achievable, so no lines are crossed, both parties feel respected and understood.
Often times a large amount of the things I see are memes ranging from twitter posts being read out loud, people posting and reacting to memes, and just regular meme pictures (lots about current events). While I do find a lot of them funny and can understand how it is all taken as a lighthearted joke, I think there are definitely possible dangers that come with making a point through the use of a meme. Late last year, i remember memes going around about a girl at my school who made a relatively bad choice and ended up getting hurt. While the people who made the memes probably made them all in good fun, they could’ve caused danger to the girl herself if she had felt embarrassed or ridiculed by the jokes being made about her and/or the people who created the memes could have had some serious consequences. Also, the mass amount of memes that are spread lately about the coronavirus can be funny when they are constructed in a manner that does not offend a culture. However, some people take it upon themselves to directly or indirectly insult different races or cultural groups through these memes which in my opinion, is just as bad as the insults that have been heard towards some people of Asian descent on the streets or in person. I think many times, people are fully aware of the possible dangers of these memes but choose to place them in the back of their mind in order to entertain others which in the moment they find more important.
@Lissette Aguiar I agree with you about being careful not to offend any cultures or races when it comes to making memes. I think it is also important to have a boundary between making a jokes to cope and being rude to just be rude. I also agree with how people should think before posting and reacting to memes and think about how they would effect others.
@Lissette Aguiar I like the point you made about memes being used to directly or indirectly make fun of people of the opposite race, now especially with the corona virus many of them being geared towards the Asian community.
I think using humor to process scary or hurtful information can really help, but it isn’t the best way to deal with things. I do it too, so I’m not saying don’t do it. It’s often easier to joke about something rather than deal with it normally. To most, including myself, humor is just a coping mechanism. We joke about things that we’re scared about because, in my opinion, we don’t want to deal with them the normal (or society approved way). I think the only time it’s not ok to use humor when talking about painful or tragic events is when you’re around someone that it impacted. If you want to joke about things that happened regarding yourself, by all means, but don’t joke about someone else’s tragic events without knowing how they feel about it.
@Andrea G
I agree. While it's perfectly okay to laugh at something because you're scared, you also need to think of who it's with and where. The best way to think of it is time and place, if both don't match, then maybe don't say it because other people can be deeply affected.
@Andrea G I completely agree to your point about using humor as a coping mechanism. Sometimes when someone is making fun of me, I usually make self deprecating jokes as well just as a coping mechanism. There are definitely better ways of dealing with things, but personally, I think that those ways are often too scary for me to try and cope that way. I'm not the person to run headfirst into a problem I have, so humor is often the best way for me to deal with that problem. I also agree with your statement that making dark jokes is alright as long as the people you're around aren't impacted by your humor. For example, the types of things I joke about with my group of friends is very different than the things I joke about with my family or little sister, where some of the things I say might be inappropriate.
I think humor is useful in processing scary information to an extent. Humor allows people to view the issue with a sense of detachment, as if the issue isn’t as real or big for a few seconds. Toilet paper memes allow us to focus on a small aspect of quarantine that directly affects us, and forget about the death toll for a second. It’s like escapism or a caricature. The big fraudulent Wall Street businessman doesn't seem so threatening or relevant when his nose is ten inches long. Humor slightly distorts the issue or looks at one aspect of it that isn’t so threatening.
The problem with that is when the aspect focused on is hurtful, or the issue gets so distorted it‘s misinformation. It’s easy for people making memes to focus on what’ll get a laugh out of viewers, and include content that is racist, promotes xenophobia, or is even dangerous. Tragic events should be reported on with a more sensitive outlook. People reporting news on CNN don’t call coronavirus the Chinese virus, and it isn’t okay for memes to do that either. (Or our president, for that matter.) Humor is valuable for making issues seem less threatening and personal for a little while, not the opposite.
Memes should not be used as a reliable news source, I often find myself laughing at a good meme, similar to many people around the world. . They do not contain much information and should only be used for comedy and not to be taken seriously. Despite the fact that they should not be used as a news source, i believe its still okay to laugh at the memes and can be used as a coping strategy for many. They can be misleading and start arguments by people jumping to conclusions, An example is WWlll Memes. Many people were misled into thinking we were going to war only because it was being joked around as well with other people´s opinions that were offensive to others . They were using memes as a news source. Everyone has different viewpoints and different opinions on situations, and they can still be reflected. Even though, you can not compare the two as news and take memes seriously.
@Regina I agree with your comment that memes are not a reliable source and I also find myself laughing at good meme. The World War III memes are just one of many controversial memes that I agree could be crossing the line. But I also agree that memes are used as a coping method for many people around the world.
I really do think humor can be such a powerful tool, and brings so much good to a situation where there is more than enough bad. But I also feel that relying on humor excessively as a coping mechanism may insensitize the person and may make an event/situation lose meaning with a constant joking being made of it. It is never appropriate to use humor when others are uncomfortable with either your use of humor or with the situation, since in the end, everyone processes things differently, and some events mean more to some than others. I do agree with the article, though. Since humor has become such a big part of our generation, I personally cannot imagine processing events without it, and therefore advocate for it. But it is also important (as mentioned in the article) to set boundaries and limits as to what can and cannot be made a joke.
@Ria A I agree with your points over how human has become a big part of our generation and we can't simply get rid of it. However, I do believe that although memes and jokes can offend people, these jokes are all online and everyone looks at them by choice. So if someone were to be easily offended by jokes then they just shouldn't search up any memes. Additionally, since memes are online, no one will hold back on them even if they do "cross the line" because they think that it doesn't matter since it's online and no one can track them. Overall, I agree with many of your points but I just wanted to put in my own imput.
In the article, the author mentions teens making offensive comments like “I want to get the coronavirus,” and “maybe we should just get it over with now, before we develop even deadlier weapons,” to their parents. Although these remarks are probably trying to just cope with scary thoughts about how dangerous the coronavirus or war can actually be, they’re still insensitive in our very tense climate. On the other hand, me and my siblings too sometimes joke and share memes about the coronavirus, but we are still taking it very serious and self quarantining.
Memes were created to be jokes, a form of entertainment. Mixing that into news would just create more problems. In this day and age, controversies and arguments are all around us. If memes were used as new sources. Depending on the news, many people could take offence from that. If however the source was coming from a biased news reporting station such as one supporting republicans, then they could probably get away with making a democratic slander into a meme. Personally I still think that it would be morally wrong since it would give someone offense. But it is America after all.
There are many possible dangers that come with making a meme, that only uses a few words and a picture to express an emotion towards the subject. One of the most crossed boundaries in meme making has been its racism. Currently, many memes are made about the coronavirus and quarantine, but the ones that stuck out to me the most were the memes that were being blankly racist towards southeast asian people, more specifically the Chinese. Recently on the social media platform, TikTok, I saw a video that said “if it weren’t for some Chinese people eating bat soup for dinner, the whole world wouldn’t be stuck at home all day”. This TikTok “meme” was made by a female Caucasian with a healthy amount of followers, being around 95k. It really hurt me, a fellow southeast asian, because not only were there many that agreed, but people who were back lashing against the people who were offended by the Tiktok. These type of memes encourage certain populations, which ultimately encourage racism and other harsh subjects like sexism. Although memes may be a way for people to respond to stress and serious matter, they can be taken too far without regard for the people that they will offend. All in all, memes can cross dangerous and hurtful boundaries that promote others to do the same.
@Edward Kim I agree with your statement that memes can potentially be racist, and often do cross that line of being humorous to becoming offensive. I think that on top of the already offensive subject matter being joked about, the group of people posting it also has something to do with the severity of it. For example, you said that because it was a caucasian female creating the meme, it becomes more offensive due to the lack of experience she has with that. But, if it were an asian male to post the meme, it would be considered less offensive, as they are "allowed" to "make fun of themselves".
@Edward Kim
I strongly agree that there are possible dangers that come with making a meme and that many people cross the line towards racism and even sexism when making memes. Ive also seen the TikTok memes about people having to stay in the house for reasons that are completely racially charged and unfair. Although I saw many people in the comments defending the people that were being put down by these posts I was shocked to see that there were even more comments that agreed with the post or made other jokes that also agreed or were even worse.
@Edward Kim I agree with your statement that memes can potentially be racist, and often do cross the boundary of humorous to being offensive. I also think that the group of people creating/posting the meme can affect the severity of the potential controversy it could cause. For example, you said because it was a caucasian female who created the meme, it was more offensive, as she has little to no experience in that area, and they are different people than she is. However, if it had been an asian male posting the meme, it could be considered less controversial or offensive, since they are "allowed" to "make fun of" their own people.
The use of humor to process difficult topics is not a problem for me, especially as I use it myself. Utilizing what you can to feel better about the world and yourself is easier than ever with the internet, too. Especially with kids being frustrated and bored at home, the internet is a valuable tool for both them and their parents to understand what’s going on.
However, things like memes can be a problem when they become too personal. The use of degrading terms for a disease becomes different when they’re used for the people of China, for example. I feel that kids should know about boundaries while going on the internet, even though they’re technically “anonymous. As long as someone does not go too far with degrading statements, the internet will be a valuable place for people to express their opinions.
@Trisha S. Although I agree that the internet can be a valuable tool for both kids and adults to understand what’s going on, I think it’s still somewhat a problem when younger people don’t know when and when not to joke. Teens often times joke about terrorism, school shootings, war, and the virus possibly as a coping mechanism, but it can still be alarming to hear.
I agree with the article that using humor is a way to bring light into a dark situation and cope with feelings of fear towards hurtful/scary information. Personally, I feel that memes can help lighten the situation in the sense that it can reduce fear of the issue and give hope that the issue will soon pass over and become a story of the past. But I also definitely feel like there is a time and place for memes to show up. In many situations it really is not okay to be joking around because it is something very real and impacted many people. For example, when Kobe Bryant died, I remember there being a few memes online, and in the comments, everybody was saying “too soon”. I agree with that statement but I also think that it is never going to be okay to make fun of somebody’s death or loss. Kobe Bryant was somebody who impacted the game of basketball in huge ways, and also impacted many people’s lives personally, so in that context it is not okay to make fun of something that other people view as painful. That is not the only example, but it is one of the more recent example. Overall, I think that most memes are used to cope with feelings of fear, and they shouldn’t be taken out of context or blown out of proportion because they are made to make people laugh and lighten the mood during a tough time. However, there are certain moral/ethical boundaries that memes should not cross in order to not spark controversy or feelings of hate towards other people.
@Joseph I agree that there is both a time and a place for memes. The death of Kobe Bryant was just one example of memes being used at the wrong time. I also agree that memes can be used as a way to cope with what is going on in the world. However, it needs do remain within ethical boundaries.
One of my favorite pastimes is to get on my phone and scroll through my Instagram feed. I follow a lot of meme accounts and I find them very enjoyable. However, I think memes can be used for a negative purpose and harm others. Even though memes may seem harmless as they are just pictures and words, this is not the case. Once a harmful meme essentially becomes popular and everyone views it, the content of the meme will unconsciously stick with all viewers. For example, currently with the Coronavirus pandemic there has been an influx of COVID-19 memes. Some of these memes are targeting individuals of the Chinese origin unfairly. Most memes are harmless, however, some memes are very racist and are used to negatively put down a race/culture. This is dangerous as it could lead to more hate and racism towards a specific ethnicity. Memes are very influential and make their way around the world through social media. Therefore, when the wrong information is portrayed through a meme and spread, it is harmful. Such as memes about muslims or even the president of the United States of America. In both cases memes are used inappropriately and to bring people down. Memes can offend a variety of a people and it is important to take into consideration everyone when creating a meme. Everyone should respect each other.
@Isha I like your way of thinking about memes and how you also enjoy viewing them as a pastime. I agree with you on how memes can at times go over the line and be downright offensive towards certain individuals. Though memes have the potential to become dangerous, they are mainly viewed as quick entertainment for people and a much needed humorous relief. It’s up to the person creating the meme to not go over the limit and to be considerate of what people viewing this meme may be going through. Though many people think that memes can damage or hurt and entire society, people just view memes as entertainment and don’t take it as seriously as one may consider. I for myself know that when I’m scrolling though memes, I’m not to start to judge someone based off of it, but instead just have a quick laugh.
I think memes should be treated like political cartoons; they simply take a position about an event and make a humorous comment about it. One would have to be pretty naive to take a meme seriously, and the majority of Gen Z-ers have a healthy sense of skepticism coming from growing up under the constant war on “fake news.” Maybe someone might hear about a news event through social media, but they will have to go to a reliable news source to find out more about it.
I think it's OK to laugh at serious news, as long as that's not your genuine opinion about the event. As for where I get my news, I check the BBC every morning. But I did hear about some events like Steve Irwin’s death and the Hong Kong protests through memes.
@Gayathri yes memes are humorous and are made as a joke, but that doesn't mean some people wont take them seriously. Especially when the meme is attacking your culture, language, religion, race, or ethnicity. So, some memes may be made as a joke, but they could have a more damaging impact on society. For example, when the meme begins to spread people subconsciously take the information in and the racist comment is in their mind. They can change peoples perspectives in a negative way.
I agree with the article because everyone has a different way of coping with what they are seeing and dealing with in the world. A lot of people turn to humor because they try to find a sense of calm in a storm and personally I use humor a lot. I feel like without finding the light in a situation you will just be wandering around in the dark and dimming everything that you touch. When people think of humor they usually correlate it with mocking something, but they don’t understand that people are just trying to stay afloat in what they don’t like like or understand. Humor is ok as long as it is not extreme. I mean this in the sense that making fun of someone’s religion or ideals is not ok. This can cause a lot of hurt and fighting between people and takes away from the whole purpose of humor which is to help people relax and have a breather. From experience I understand that humor just reflects pain and fear and it’s important to let it out through something light hearted.
There are memes, political cartoons, and other kinds of mainly image jokes that can easily be taken out of the intended context and be deemed inappropriate. At the start of 2020 WWIII memes were going across the internet and even though it is a very sensitive topic people were making jokes out of it. It is ok if these are used as a way to cope, but these need to remain inside moral ethics, otherwise, there could be unintended consequences. Somebody can take offense to these jokes and if you are not careful you can get in trouble. But again there are positives that can come with this. These images can be funny. If people laugh at these, it produces endorphins which make people feel better, as well as many other positives for the body. All in all, these pictures can be very beneficial as long as they stay inside ethical values.
@James I agree with your point of view. In my experience, memes are meant to make people laugh, not offend people. During dark times, I feel it is especially necessary to make people laugh so that people don't get mentally down, but there is a time, place, and moral code to follow when posting memes. People do have to be careful and consider other people's feelings when posting memes, because what one person may not find offensive, may be what somebody else finds as an extremely sensitive subject. Memes can also get people in trouble depending on how serious what they are talking about is. For example, when the storm Area 51 memes came out, some people could've gotten in serious trouble because the US Government did not take it lightly, and took necessary precautions to prevent people from actually storming Area 51.
@James I agree with your view on memes. Memes are made and posted with the intent to entertain people but as new memes are being created, many of them are being made without the thought of being seen as offensive or unethical towards some people. To add on to your point about the WWIII memes, I think generation is a factor that contributes to how it is seen to certain people. People in our generation might see it as a comedy because we have never been through a time like a World War, but the same meme can be seen as a very serious thing that shouldn't be joked about by someone who has been there during a time of war.
I do agree with the article about using humor in difficult moments to process scary or hurtful information, but humor about peoples’ deaths or racist attitudes is never acceptable. Humor allows us to digest the information without panicking or becoming too sad about the topic. There always comes a point where sadness does not help the situation, and humor allows us to break free from that and use a bad situation to our advantage. That being said, there are certain events in which humor is not acceptable. Where respect is due to people that have done something great or who have died, humor is never acceptable to make light of a situation. For example, it is never acceptable to make memes about 9/11, and more recently it is never acceptable to make memes about people who have died of coronavirus. It is okay to use humor about the situation as a whole, but not about the people dying. For example, memes about social distancing are fine and helpful, but about deaths or promoting racist attitudes are not.
@Rohan P. I agree with your outlook that you can make jokes about the situation and how it affects you, but not about the hurtful aspects of it. Coronavirus memes should be limited to the nuances of being at home all the time, and steer clear of racism and deaths. Firm boundaries are important but positive memes are really helpful to lighten one’s mood. I think there are a lot of people making innocuous memes intended to brighten people’s days, and the minority of harmful memes should be discussed so people know their behavior isn’t okay.
I feel like there are definitely risks that comes with just images and a couple words. Information could be easily misunderstood or misread. I definitely feel like there are memes that have crossed a line. For example, the images of people with deformed faces have been used to mock them or someone else. This very upsetting for the parents and loved ones of these people and I also feel extremely bad for them.
@Tanmayi Akasapu Yes, in certain situations, memes and jokes can be interpreted as rude and disrespectful. It is best to be careful when choosing humor to deal with difficult moments. When the jokes can come across as racist or hurtful, they should not be used.
After a long boring day at home I believe that humor is a good way to process difficult and hurtful information. With this current pandemic, staying at home can be very difficult, but I believe memes make the time at home not so bad. There is always a time and a place for memes. Memes should not be posted about very sensitive topics such as war, abuse etc. For example earlier this year many comments and memes were based around WWIII and how it’s so to happen. Memes like that should not be posted. Overall I think memes can be a great addition to our daily life’s also g as they are appropriate and aren’t about sensitive topics.
I have learned about present and past news events through memes sent by friends of through twitter or reddit. While I have been able to get a laugh out of said memes I still do think that funny memes should not be someone's main newsource. For example at school kids were talking about the coronavirus already killing off a lot of China's population, while in reality the virus only actually had a 1 percent death rate and barley anyone died. The only reason they thought this was a thing was because they found it through a funny meme on snapchat or instagram. However, I can still understand how some kids might just use memes as a source of news info. Since memes are usually quick and easy to read images with text on it or a quick 5 second video summarizing the topic. Plus most high schoolers or kids in that matter do not like reading long pieces of text and are mostly interested in the big title or header at the top which pops to them.
@Sambandh Singh I definitely agree with how memes can express false information. However memes are a way that teens cope with feelings they have. For example when World War III was an threat, many teens used memes in order to cope with the fact that a war might start. And now with corona memes, teens are coping with the fact that this is a very real threat and are trying to bring light to the situation.
@Sambandh Singh I agree with the fact that memes should not be used as news sources. But, I find it hard to believe that people get information from memes. Over the last decade, I have seen a more skeptical response to information on the internet due to rampant misinformation.
@Sambandh Singh I agree that memes should not be someone's news source because often times it leads to misinformation being spread. If people were to take the memes over COVID-19 as news, it would be almost certain that misinformation would become rampant. But, I feel that if everyone does their own research instead of taking information from memes they find through social media, less misinformation is likely to be spread. Of course, this absolutely will not eliminate all misinformation, but it has a higher likelihood of the correct precautions being put into action not just by one person, but by many.
Memes are a big part of our generation. They are a way of relating to one another and making it amusing along the way. I believe that I use humor in difficult moments, but I never find them as scary or hurtful. I find them as a regular joke with its own spin relating to current events. I think it’s OK all the time to use humor when talking about painful or tragic events as long as it's the right time and place. I think taking a big event and making it humorous is the entirety of memes. It’s the culture to be as open and comfortable to be funny and if you cannot handle the meme move on and not make a big deal about it. I follow many meme pages on Instagram and Reddit; from personal experience, there are many memes some people would say that are not right, but other people might think they are just regular. Around January there were a lot of memes surrounding the US drone strike that killed the Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and how it was going to start World War 3, but I thought it was all a joke until later when I actually understood the gravity of the situation. This also happened with the coronavirus. There were memes about the coronavirus in China, I never thought it would become such a big thing back then and now its changed our whole lifestyle. With memes they are not supposed to be taken seriously. They are just there to make u laugh and giggle.
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@Jay I agree with you that memes are just meant for giggles, but I also believe that there are still things that people can joke about which might seem funny to them, yet might offend another person. As coming from the people around me, I have had friends who have gotten made fun in a racist way due to memes about the bombing of that Iranian general. However, he still laughed at it even though he was a target. So I still agree with the fact they should not be taken seriously, but there is a time and place to post certain memes.
@Jay I agree with your stance on how humor is ok to use in most situations. I feel like sometimes memes can go too far and take away from what is really going on, which can cause issues in how the youth sees the event. Like you said it can take away from the seriousness that the rest of the word is facing. Memes are used to spread laughs from person to person, but at the same time it is important to note that everybody has a different sense of humor and we have to be careful with the content that is spread.
@Jay I also believe that memes can be interpreted differently depending on the person, especially if they don’t have the same sense of humor or are more susceptible to being offended. Personally, I’ve learned to accept its comedic approach and that it’s a part of our culture, but others may not feel the same way. Especially due to recent events, memes targeting Asian Americans are being interpreted wrong and causing conflict and prejudice towards the group. Perhaps there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed when it comes to memes.
After a long day of school, homework and extracurricular activities, I enjoy going through my social media to look at memes. I always get a good laugh out of them. Though there are some that are educational and insightful, there are some that can be ignorant. There are some possible dangers to posting memes. Though I don’t know anyone who uses memes as a source of information, there are some memes that can be offensive and harmful. Last year, when there were WWIII memes going on, there were people on TikTok making jokes about how they would avoid getting drafted. For those who have actually gotten drafted and witnessed the horrors of war, these memes can be offensive. Even currently during these times, there are people desensitizing the impact of coronavirus. There are many people around the world suffering from the coronavirus and memes like these can be very hurtful. They can lead to discrimination and bigotry. There are some memes out there that are educational and insightful but there are many that can be offensive. Joking around and humor is a way to cope with stress but there are times when it can harm others trying to deal with stress.
@Mrinmayee J. I Agree with your statement that there are a time and place for different content and that we have to consider people's feelings, but people who know they are more sensitive to topics should avoid searching it out. I am not saying that people go looking for offensive memes or anything but I am saying not looking at memes might be better for those sensitive to the topic. With that being said, people don't need to be posting graphically about topics like people dying, or violence in a way that dehumanizes to photos content, but joking to relieve tension is fine.
I personally love memes just as the next person and I often see them everyday and have group chats with various friends where we send each other memes. Memes for me often can give me new information about modern events and such just like the U.S drone strike in Iran. I had no idea the if even happened until all the memes starting flooding in. However, there are memes that can biased toward certain types of people and be considered racist and can give false information, which is why I think memes shouldn’t be a primary source of information. However there needs to be an understanding between the viewer of the meme that most memes are created for humor and can not entirely be true.
@Alex I totally agree with you. Memes can sometimes be great to attain information. On the other hand memes can also lead us astray with false news and harmful information.
I think it is okay to use humor in difficult moments to process hurtful information because everyone has their own coping way. It is wrong to tell someone that they can’t use their coping mechanism. I agree that is harmful to the make fun of the situation, but the person is trying to lighten the mood to help themselves and possibly others. When we had to be social distanced, people on TikTok were making jokes about it and it helped me feel better about being stuck in my house. Memes also make me feel better because they show me that I am not alone and everyone would get through this together. In 2020, everyone has technology so the way we act is really dependent on technology. Everyone is different and it can sometimes get in the way of humor. Some things that are hilarious to others can be extremely offensive to others, so it is best to keep good intentions before posting your thoughts all over social media.
@gloria I agree with you in that I also think memes and humor are good ways to deal with difficult moments. They allow us to laugh and feel better, when sometime sadness is all we can think of. However, I also agree with your statement that something that is hilarious to one person might be extremely offensive to others. Where should we draw the line on what to post on the Internet? Should we account for people who might be offended, or simply post whatever we want without regard to others' morals?
Memes are important to us younger people, entertaining us with absurd jokes. So do I agree with the article about using humor in difficult moments to process scary or hurtful info? Of course. Because of what the article states, we probably use online humor (memes) to “cope” with ongoing events. That is probably why we may act carefree sometimes. There are times where the use of humor when talking about painful or tragic events is inappropriate in certain topics. If the event is recent and harmful to anyone around you and yourself, then don’t joke about it.
Memes can be used as a way to connect with people, a way to escape from the harsh reality that everyday life can be, and a way to cope with problems that are difficult to process. Parents often believe that a child laughing at an offensive meme means that they raised their child with a heart of hate and malice with no compassion. It is easy for parents to think that memes are the worst way to spread information, but I wonder if parents would have done the same thing if they had access to memes as a kid. I find it hard to believe that my parents didn’t also use humor as a coping mechanism just without a funny picture to go along with what they were saying to their friends. It seems unfair and wrong to tell a child that any type of coping mechanism is wrong, how someone deals with issues that affect their day to day life is personal. Something as silly as memes could help someone feel understood and like they are not drowning in issues, laughing at something relaying the same information as the news rather than feeling helpless. We wouldn’t condemn someone because they are trying to understand and deal with death or something that could shatter their everyday life along with their plans for the future. Instead of parents assuming kids just don’t understand, have faith they were raised right and that they have compassion for others.
@Mackenzie Ya, I totally agree I think we can all say that memes are always a refreshing way to start the day and cope with fear. I know a lot of people sometimes hide their fear in many ways and some of these ways are through memes. With the corona virus many people are making a joke about it. I think most people are actually afraid of what the virus could become and are now copping with their fear through memes.
Memes are generally biased and are not meant for conveying information, but making fun of someone or something. The beauty of memes which people enjoy is there are memes for everyone so there is virtually no limit. Yes digital citizenship is important, but it doesn't apply to memes so much because there is a target audience that might find that humor funny and the ones to are not amused don't have to view those memes. The best news sources are those unbiased such as ABC news. A large problem with the population is they rely on biased news sources (such as FoxNews (right-wing) or The Huffington Post (Liberal)) and meme accounts that do not inform the viewers enough. Memes can be used as an introduction to a news story prior to researching the full story.
@Drew C I guess you could say memes are like a Wikipedia page; you can’t use it as the sole source of information, but it can be a good starting point to begin research.
@Drew C I Agree that memes are just another way of making people laugh. They are often inaccurate and that's what makes it a meme; when it is sarcastic, funny, stupendous. Also, people should never get their news and information through memes. They should know the general topic and research it to know the actual information instead of assuming the meme is correct because in most cases it is not.
Over the years, memes have always been a constant source of entertainment for me and millions of people in the world. Although that’s all memes should be — entertainment. Memes are not accurate enough to be someone's news source. One of the main reasons that memes can’t be used for knowledge is because these illustrations are not credible. Anyone can make them and there is no telling how accurate the fact even is. Other than that, memes sugarcoat current events to an extent that the reader thinks its a joke, and such jokes have had drastic effects on people. For example the “alien raid memes” from last year, got so out of hand that some people actually showed up to the raid. Memes also take a very opinionated stance on every situation, and most of the time, memes take a stance attacking a community of people (as a joke). I am guilty of learning about multiple currents events from memes, but my family has an open line of communication and they help me separate facts from fibs within memes. We also have dinner table conversations where my dad fills us in on all the recent news. Yes, yes it is okay to laugh at meme. They are meant to be funny. All jokes. But we, as a society need to learn to be sensitive about people’s personal beliefs. Most of the time memes are relatable for a large amount of people and when a minority is attacked on, then we all need to unite to make sure that the minority takes it as a joke.
@Tia P Yes, I agree that sometimes people are so accepting of the information in memes that they believe that the underplayed version is what’s actually happening. This isn’t happening to just kids too: many adults who trust the internet a little too much will come to see things like the coronavirus as “just a worse flu”. We need to help each other see the true facts, not just funny one-liners.
@Tia P I personally agree that memes aren't a credible source of knowledge, and how they can have a negative impact on society through "fake news". I think memes give a predisposition to anyone seeing or reading the meme, in which the meme isn't always accurate and makes the person believe what the meme is saying as true. Especially because us younger children and teens are more exposed to many more memes, we receive our knowledge from misleading information and provide our perspective based on what we saw from it. But I also think that when a meme is criticizing or being offensive towards a "minority" or any group of people, we shouldn't just accept it for what i is. We should stand up and let everyone know that what the meme is saying is inaccurate and rude. We shouldn't just "make sure it's a joke" because then others will make more of the same content and excuse it for being a "joke".
@Tia P I agree, memes should ONLY be seen as a form of entertainment. Looking at them as a form of news isn't really smart/credible. Just like you said some people can take it too far and act on memes rather than taking it for what it is (a joke). When those alien memes came out I thought it was funny at first but, after it went on for a while and people had plans to actually storm Area 51, it became worrying. People who read memes should always think, and take them as jokes, never something serious like news. It could result in dire consequences if taken the wrong way and acted upon.
In today’s world, memes are a very influential matter in teens. Memes are pictures that celebrate or ridicule a current event through few words. These pictures seem to down-play serious events and provide false information. This only provides negative outcomes, but memes also provide a haven, where teens can address their real emotions such as fear with jokes. By ridiculing their fear teens can combat emotional stress and de-stress. Memes are not wrong, but should not be taken seriously. As I’m a big user of the apps Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, I come in contact with several memes that lessen the gravity of today’s current struggle. Everyday I view Corona-virus memes, that provide false information and offensive conspiracies towards other nations. Once I read that the Corona-virus was another version of the flu, and that people are taking it too seriously. What they failed to realize is the soaring death tolls and that this virus is very much serious. Memes like this can spread false information to the public and down-play the situation. I watch the news daily, so memes are not something I adhere to, but I use them simply to cope with the situation at hand. Memes are tools I use to pass time and laugh at (if their not offensive or racist). I make sure to follow with current news daily through reliable channels and I am respectful of the situation and heed to government guidelines.
@Vaishnavi V I agree with what you have to say about memes being a safe haven for us to address our feelings and beliefs. There are many memes that I laugh at and that can be educational but some can definitely provide false information. Some memes can definitely down-play serious situations lot and cause us to not take the appropriate action. The situation we are in currently is very serious and we shouldn’t try to desensitize it. Many memes can be educational and funny and we should be able to draw the line between offensive and funny jokes.
@Vaishnavi V I agree with what you have said about memes being a safe haven for teens to address their emotions. Though this is true there have been many memes that I have seen on social media platforms that I have found offensive and have desensitized the current situation. Memes can definitely spread false information and can lead to bigotry and discrimination. I definitely look through memes and laugh at them when I’m feeling down or uncertain about our current situation. But, we should definitely draw the line and understand which jokes are offensive and which are not.
I often find myself browsing memes for my own leisure, similar to many others. These memes, for me, are often only used to get a good laugh and not much of a news outlet. However, there are some possible dangers at getting news from memes. People can jump to conclusions much quicker and they will be getting biased information. Memes are very short humor. There isn’t much information you can place into these which may cause misinformation due to lack of information. An example of this would be the WWIII memes. Many people were unaware of what actually happened and just assumed due to memes that we were going to war. This lack of information can cause many people to jump to conclusions about something if they consider their memes to be a reliable news source. Meme creators are also human, just like us. They have their own political viewpoints and biases, which may be reflected in their work. An example could be when the memes around the presidential election were going around. Many memes influenced a person’s political viewpoint by sharing a bias standpoint. This bias is spreading misinformation and doesn’t allow the reader to create a decision for themselves and doesn’t give them the right of mind to check the other viewpoints.
I often find myself browsing memes for my own leisure, similar to many others. These memes, for me, are often only used to get a good laugh and not much of a news outlet. However, there are some possible dangers at getting news from memes. People can jump to conclusions much quicker and they will be getting biased information. Memes are very short humor. There isn’t much information you can place into these which may cause misinformation due to lack of information. An example of this would be the WWIII memes. Many people were unaware of what actually happened and just assumed due to memes that we were going to war. This lack of information can cause many people to jump to conclusions about something if they consider their memes to be a reliable news source. Meme creators are also human, just like us. They have their own political viewpoints and biases, which may be reflected in their work. An example could be when the memes around the presidential election were going around. Many memes influenced a person’s political viewpoint by sharing a bias standpoint. This bias is spreading misinformation and doesn’t allow the reader to create a decision for themselves and doesn’t give them the right of mind to check the other viewpoints.
@Zaen A I agree with the facts that memes can spread misinformation. Although I think that memes could be a reliable news outlet if people don’t go overboard with them, I don’t believe that a lot of people have a limit on what they think they can say. In conclusion, I think that memes are not the most reliable source of spreading news.
I agree with this article when it says that people make jokes during scary time. I don’t really think it such a bad thing to make joke to make everyone feel better about the situations. In the article it says that teenager make the memes. It’s also said that it’s mainly boys who make jokes because they “need to have the attention“ this week my aunt and I watched these adult guys and their wives make memes about the virus. I truly disagree with most of this article. It’s not just teenage boys it everyone.
@Rylynn I agree with the fact that it’s not just teenage boys, it’s everyone. People just assume that it’s teenage boys because they’re the ones that react to them the most and then people assume it’s them. Other people use memes too, and not just teenagers. My parents, grandma, aunt all use memes or send each other memes to just have fun. They’re not necessarily relating to the virus but in general.
Due to this new quarantine situation I find myself scrolling through Instagram laughing at memes almost all day long. Although these memes provide a entertainment factor, I do believe many memes cause possible dangerous and therefore cross the line. I believe any meme invoking possible dangerous has crossed the line. For example, during the time of Kobe Bryant's death, I was sent a meme of someone mocking Kobe and making fun of his name. As I viewed the comment section, I was prompted with a section of rage. As many followers were enraged sending many threats, ultimately prompting the poster to delete the post. The poster was prompted with a possible dangerous in which he knew he crossed the line. However some may say that memes are advantageous, such as delivering news. Though, you cannot compare the credibility of a random meme maker to a news station, which is directly built to deliver news in a appropriate manner.
@Rishabh yes, there is a fine line and as long as we don't cross it, memes can be a good source of entertainment. However, I don't believe that memes can even be considered a legitimate news source. Using humor to deliver news will most of the time cause offense and lead to severe misunderstandings. I think that in this day and age, we should avoid entirely mixing memes with the news.
@Rishabh Yes, but memes can shed light into a bad situation and can help bring positivity to a bad time. But yes there is a line that should not be crossed and some memes are straight disrespectful. There should be a period of time before making a meme about a tragic event, like right now even though there are so many memes about the CoronaVirus, in a few months after this all ends there is most likely going to be more on how everyone was overreacting over a variation of the flu.
I personally believe that humorous memes can be a news source for some. Though it isn’t the most reliable, it can be a good introduction to certain topics. For instance, if you didn’t know what the Corona Virus was, but saw a meme about it, it may prompt you to research more on the topic. Memes can be harmful however. Memes can spread false information on topics, which can lead to bad behavior. If a person read a meme that spreads false information, such as: You don’t really need to wash your hands during the COVID-19 pandemic, it could lead to the spread of the Virus. Not only can memes spread false information, but racist, sexist, and homophobic ideals as well. This can be very harmful to others, and influence people negatively. Laughing at certain memes is okay, but others may go too far which is important to realize and consciously try to avoid. I realize that sometimes the jokes I make laughing about certain topics can hurt my step mom (she doesn’t like my dark humor). For me, I don’t realize how harmful those jokes are to others until I use them in front of people and get a negative response. It’s important to be aware, and to be conscious about jokes you are making. So, while yes, memes can be a good way to get news on certain topics, they can be harmful or spread false information and/or negative ideals. It is always important to read up on more information from multiple credible sources.
Memes are great ways for people to get in a good laugh about conflicts or ideas in society. However,, there are also drawbacks to memes concealed by the laughs created by the memes. Memes do spread information but also some misinformation. For example, this other day I was looking at Coronavirus memes on how kids vibe because COVID-19 only affects older people but I knew that there are new strands which could affect younger people as well. This meme have been used for a funny and informative purpose but spreads misinformation and could lead to danger because now children would probably go out and, god forbid, get infected. Another example was with WW3 memes: one day I found memes on how President Trump sent missiles to Iran instead of telling Siri how many miles he ran that day. Even though this is funny it spread misinformation on how Iran got attacked and attacked our president which could’ve lead to consequences. When viewing memes, validate them before spreading them and have a good laugh.
@Aneesh Murala yes, there is an exception when it comes to memes about serious situations. I also have seen theses memes and I agree with your viewpoint of how they might be considered funny, but they can be not appropriate. And I agree with your claim that misinformation provided through memes can lead to danger.
Memes are a huge part of today’s younger generations. It’s how teens communicate and express their emotions. Memes are usually known for being funny and relatable. However humorous memes should not be someone’s news source. Memes are made by a variety of people that have a variety of views and opinions. Memes can spread fake news about a real world topic even though it is funny. I have learned about a few current events through memes, such as the toilet paper and hand sanitizer shortage. When I first saw the memes, I found it funny because you would expect people to stock up on food instead. Later through my parents telling me about it from article they read, I realized that it is actually an on-going problem right now. My initial reaction didn’t understand the severity of the situation. The same happened earlier this year when talks about WW3 and getting drafted were spreading. I found this out through TikTok and the many memes about how kids will fight with their COD skills. I also initially found it funny, but later realized that a potential war could break out affecting many lives. I started to think about the issue from other people’s perspectives and thought that many others could be scared about this happening while younger generations are ridiculing the issue. It might be O.K. to initially laugh at a meme, but it is important to understand what is actually happening and the extent it might have on our lives before making fun of real world events.
I definitely do think there are advantages and disadvantages that come from memes. Personally, when I have free time and I have nothing much to do, I go on my phone and see all the posts of memes because I like them. However, this might be different for everyone. The advantages to having memes is a way some teens in this generation communicate and cope with the outside world. These memes often have something to relate to and that’s why they are so widely shared. I have learned many things that are occurring in the world from memes that I didn’t know which leads me to start reading the news or search for any updates on that topic. There are some instances where the meme is way too offensive to someone but teens wouldn’t understand why it would be. There were WWIII memes going around and since kids don’t understand the gravity of the situation, they mock and make fun of that topic saying they are prepared for it. In some cases, memes completely change the actual news to make it seem funny even though it is not accurate. Many people consider to just remove memes. I think that it is important to limit something that could potentially be highly offensive or false rather than just cutting off memes presented on almost every social media. It is a way teens communicate their feelings and it is okay that they don’t understand the gravity of the situation. It is also equally important for the kid to talk to someone like their parents to clarify and to understand the situation.
@Sandi Mitra Yes, I agree that memes are very relatable, but the are not necessarily credible in the first place. Anyone can make memes and post then; there is no credibility filter. I also agree that memes cannot portray the gravity of the situation. One of the biggest advantages to memes are that people get to know current issues on the basic level. And if one wishes then they could go research it better afterwards. For example, I personally don't keep up with news but when I saw the WWIII memes they caught my eye and I read more about the topic on CNN and other sources. Overall I agree, memes have a-lot of advantages and disadvantages as well.
@Sandi Mitra I agree that memes are funny and a way to cope with the outside world. I think that memes help teens deal with emotions they feel they can't talk about so they release it through humor. Some humor can be can change sight on the topic and it could be taken less seriously than it should (e.g. WWIII or the corona) and that isn't okay. Memes aren't an accurate source of info, but can relieve stress and aid teens with dealing with their emotions.
@Sandi Mitra I also agree that memes serve many purposes including coping with stress for teens and a matter of passing time, but have many disadvantages too. I have personally seen those WWIII memes, most spreading false accusations and offensive conspiracies towards different nations. Memes should be restricted to an extent to stop the spread of false information, and should be communicated with guardians in a less formal manner to express and clarify information. It's important that memes should not influence anyone and should be taken lightly. News should be heeded from reliable networks like the New York Times.
I think that a lot of teenagers deal with a lot of stress about the coronavirus, and not being able to see their friends, and a good way to relief some of that pressure is by laughter. Sometimes, i agree, the memes can go a little far by insulting some people, but a lot of teens do have the respect and knowledge not to share what’s really hurtful in the online community. Whenever i see all of the coronavirus memes going around on instagram, twitter, Tik Tok, i laugh at almost everyone i see. It’s nice to know that other people your age are going through the same thing, even if we all know the whole country is going through it. Especially on Tik Tok, when you get to see people reactions to the memes, it kind of calms me down and takes my mind off of the seriousness of the situation. However, if you are talking with your family about things needing to change around the house, or maybe while they’re trying to explain the situation to a younger sibling, that’s one example of not a good time to throw in a joke. It’s all about timing and the way the meme is presented, but for the most part memes are mostly harmless.
I think there’s a definite visible advantage in having a picture and few words (a meme) for making points, especially the serious topics. I find it can act as a really great stimulus for thinking about the topic, and having few words ensures that you are coming up with your own thoughts for it. The disadvantage lies in the fact that only seeing the image isn’t always the best source of information. If the image is leaning towards a bias, then you may not get the whole picture (excuse the pun) as you would a fully fleshed out article. I have seen a couple of memes that I felt crossed the line, but the people who posted it were my friends. I can’t remember what the meme exactly was, but I know that it led to us actually talking about it. Once I pointed it out, a couple members of the group also voiced their opinions, and we ended up taking it down. I think memes, as much as they are for humor, are good talking points and springboards for good discussions. I know for myself, if I saw a lot of memes about something I didn’t know, I’d go look it up to figure out what’s actually true. Especially when paired with an informed view of the topic, memes are a great way to tackle today’s issues.
No, memes are not a good news source.Memes, rarely, can inform you on the topic. It can either tell you that the topic just exists or it can tell a small node of information. However, it is a detrimental mistake to rely memes as your news source, because the person who made the meme is mostly likely not experienced in that field. Who knows what’s going to happen if you follow instructions from a meme? Also, memes are mostly vague. We can take the most infamous or dare I say vogue topic: the coronavirus. As you may know, there is a constant surge of misinformation going around, sometimes spread through memes. If one were to use memes as a news source, they would accidently remedy themselves in harmful, or even fatal ways. For example, drinking only lemon water isn't going to help you even though a meme stated it. If I studied memes, and only memes, for my debate tournament, I am mostly likely going to be laughed at. I remember someone mentioning a web show and someone questioned them whether it's possible the show exaggerated the events. Memes can also make one underestimate and overestimate a topic.
@Agnus While I do agree with you that they can't always inform you with the right information on a topic, I believe that memes can be a good starter news source. If you view a meme for instance, and you had no clue that the COVID-19 pandemic was going on, it might grab your attention. It's a good way for younger generations to know what's happening in the world. I do believe more research should be done by an individual after learning of a certain topic by a meme, but this doesn't mean that memes are the worst news source out there. Memes don't claim to be a serious news source like certain fake news sources. I view them more of just a way to know that something is going on, and a beginner news source to influence me to research more on a topic.
@Agnus Yes, I completely agree with your argument, memes do, in fact, over exaggerate and underestimate a situation in society. Even though memes aren't the best primary sources for news but few memes may be a sufficient secondary source because many memes giver relevant and factual information. Let's take your Lemon Water example: Hot Lemon Water may not be the ONLY way to prevent Coronavirus but it is a good way because it is scientifically proven that Hot Lemon Water removes toxins from inside your body. Another example would be memes on washing your hands- this is imperative at a time of crisis like the one we are living in right now. Overall, Memes aren't the best source to get factual and relevant info but some are a potential second source for good information to store in the back of your head.
@Agnus I understand what you mean that “memes are not a good news resource”. Of course it’s not because it is meant to be joked upon instead of taking seriously. Yes, there’s always going to be misinformation from memes, but no one will use it for an actual resource. They would go to a professional site like The New York Times and maybe even from books or magazines etc. If someone was to go straight over to a meme for information, then that person needs to start changing the way they think and get a new way of finding answers. I am agreeing to you that memes are not a good source of info, but in the end, it is not meant to be taken seriously.
Memes should definitely not be someone’s primary source of news, as they are not meant to be seen in this way. I sincerely doubt anyone would get their news from a meme, as most teenagers that make up the target demographic of a meme are smart enough to know that a meme is simply commentary of the news that is meant to be funny. The concept that teenagers get their news from memes is simply wrong; many people view memes, but not a single person would look at them as an unbiased news source. I may view a meme about the lack of toilet paper during the Coronavirus, but I would already know about it through an online news source. I think this is a misconception propagated by adults (typically 40 years of age or older), as they are unfamiliar with the concept of a meme, and are unable to view the meaning of the meme in the way that a teenager would. A meme that would be funny to a teenager might be viewed as inappropriate by an adult. The minority of teenagers that get their news from a meme is over-represented, and ideally they would receive the skills to tell a satirical piece from a genuine news source through the school system. In 2020, it becomes increasingly difficult to imagine someone who struggles with the interpretation of a meme so much that they confuse it for a news source.
I think that people use humor in difficult moments to process information. In times of grief or worrisome news we seek refuge in humor and laughter because it distracts us from the fear of what might happen. Some people don’t know how to process the fear of the unknown, but looking at a funny meme or picture can take some of the pressure away. I believe that you need to make sure your in front of the right group of people before using humor when talking about a tragic event. Because people your age or younger might find the comment or joke funny but someone older or has lived through something like that event might find the joke horribly offensive. You just have to know your audience before you say anything.
Although memes are an efficient way to acknowledge many people, especially adolescents and younger, about the news, memes are not credible and should not be someone’s news source. Memes can be enjoyable and something to laugh at, shedding some light on a difficult topic, however, it can spread misinformation about such a serious topic. For example, coronavirus memes showcase people panic buying, with the caption “Me during coronavirus”. This can cause others to panic buy as well and to not follow the CDC’s advice because they don’t know any better. Additionally, memes can be disrespectful. COVID-19 was discovered in China and has since spread all around the world, causing a pandemic. Everyone should be focused on how to stop the spread of the virus by social distancing and staying clean. Unfortunately, many people are racists and blame the Chinese for spreading the virus. My mom sent me a Facebook post from a Chinese women sharing her experience of someone yelling at her to leave the supermarket because she has corona. This is extremely hurtful towards the women, who was born and raised in the U.S. and had not visited China at all. Memes can lead to these encounters and can cause more harm than good. For these reasons, memes should not be someone’s news source. People should look toward the news channel or the newspaper/ News app for reliable and factual news.
@Clarisse Tan I agree that memes should not be a persons main source for news. Memes can be a fun and a good way to spread humor in tough times, but they should never be someone's main way to learn information especially during a pandemic. Jokes on the internet can be taken the wrong way which could cause the spread of racist jokes like the harassment to Chinese people which is brought on by not understanding the situation at hand. People should definitely stick to using trusted news publishers for information.
I think it’s true that teens use humor to process fear and deal with scary situations. Many of the memes I see every day are often a form of dark humor. I think teens use humor as a coping mechanism because the world can be pretty messed up especially thanks to older adults like Boomers. It is a way of dealing with the issues in a way that we can relate to. This humor can go to far if you are not careful but overall it doesn’t have racist or offensive intentions. In fact, around the time the coronavirus memes started I heard a chinese student make a joke at my Taekwondo school. He said something like, “I just got back from China.” and started jokingly coughing. The memes aren’t hate towards the Chinese, it’s simply a way for teens to deal with the fear of the situation. There is a difference between a dark joke with no hurtful intentions and a racist comment. As long as you can tell the difference you should be safe from hate influenced by memes. Of course it is possible to be offensive through something that is ‘’just a joke”. These “jokes” have true hateful, sexist, and racist intentions behind them and can in fact be hurtful. It is important that you understand the true meaning of a meme.
Even though memes can be a good laugh they should not be anyone’s news source because most of the time it is inaccurate information. People who make memes take information and adjust it based on their thoughts, point of view, and opinions. Real news sources are much more reliable than memes made by teens. I remember first seeing the World War 3 memes on TikTok and Instagram. I was confused because I couldn’t tell what information was true and what was made up to make the situation funny. I looked at a real news source, and learned that half the information being spread on social media about this was false. Another example would be anti-Asian coronavirus memes that cross the line. These memes have an underlying message that create a stereotype and is harmful, not funny. On the news I heard Asian-Americans telling their stories of experiencing racism personally, one girl was walking down the street and heard a lady six feet away from her say, “stay away from her she has the Chinese virus.” I was shocked to learn about this and how what we see on social media, like memes, can affect us and our opinion without realizing it. I think its O.K to laugh at some memes because that is what memes are for, to laugh at, not to use as a news source or target other people. I don’t think it is O.K. to laugh at serious news, but I think many kids my age do because they don’t realize the danger of these topics such as war and sickness since we haven’t had to experience it face to face.
@Shaaya Patel I agree that memes are not a reliable news source. Memes often are associating humor with a certain topic, no matter how serious. Memes also exaggerate the situation, such as toilet paper corona memes. This can confuse many people, especially younger people. Looking to factual news resources, such as the New York Times, is definitely a much more reliable source to get facts on a serious event.
Humorous memes shouldn’t become someone’s new source of information. Memes aren’t a reliable source of information, they may be biased or falsified in order to create a humorous statement. As a teenager, I don’t have much exposure to news channels and sources to relieve news, and as a result I have learned about current events on social media multiple times. One of the major events I learned about was the prospect of World War III. I usually check my Instagram in the morning and many people were talking about this new WWIII so I went to a more reliable source to see if this was actually true or not. It was surprising to find out it actually was and tried to learn as much as possible about the topic at hand. Like this, I have stumbled upon multiple current events because of the fast spread of information and I use social media as a source of information, albeit false or biased information. I also believe it is okay to laugh at serious matters. If it comes in the form of a meme, it was manipulated to create a humorous outlook on what otherwise would be a bleak or somber topic, as a meme, it was purposely made to elicit a humorous response.
@Sownthar K. I agree, memes are meant to be humorous and can create a more positive outlook on a situation that may seem outwardly negative. Typically, when someone hears about an event (like the possibility of World War III) on social media, they tend to research this event more in-depth on more reliable sites. Memes can definitely be biased, and it is important to find alternative methods of research into these topics. I sincerely believe that memes are a good "coping" mechanism when dealing with sensitive topics, and they might inform viewers of current events, although research on these events should be done elsewhere.
@Sownthar K. I agree, I think it’s because kids who make the posts on social media will try and make a situation sound funnier or less scary because they are trying to process the situation itself.
@Sownthar K. I agree with you on using memes as that starting point to find out about a topic, and not necessarily the only source. I also think it's interesting when it comes to your point about being able to laugh at serious matters. I can definitely see why, and obviously the meme was made to do so, but I think at some point we have to draw a line. Some issues aren't meant to be laughed at, and when they are, it makes people not take it as seriously. Of course, we need laughter in trying times to make it through, but we just need to make sure that laughter isn't distorting our view of what could be a serious issue.
While I do believe that there is something that can always be a lesson to learn through anything I do have a hard time of taking news by memes as serious, in my opinion, is a way to talk, make jokes, and even to lighten up your day but at the end of the day, you should not rely upon your primary news source to be humorous memes.
@Sharad Patel I agree with your statement because memes can be a biased and are instead a source for humor. I believe that memes can guide someone towards a news source/story, but a persons main source for news should not be through memes. Also, some memes are created as a response to a news source, specifically WWIII. I remember looking though reddit and seeing countless memes about a suspected WWIII. These memes guided me to look at news stories from more reliable sources so I could obtain the full story.
Memes have become a staple in today’s teenage culture. Memes are being made about almost everything, from political jokes to jokes about being quarantined, you could find a meme about anything. Memes are great, they provide humour and relieve tensions while satirizing or poking fun at a topic. While memes are entertaining and can provide certain information,They definitely should not serve as someone’s primary news source. The information provided from memes are hardly ever truly representative of a situation, presenting parts of the truth or significantly stretching the truth. I learned about coronavirus from a meme on Instagram, and when I searched it up on Google I got completely different information. Memes are meant to be humorous, making the information from them usually misleading, and in most cases untrue. If you took all these memes seriously and got your news from them, then in most cases you would have the wrong information. Not only are memes usually misrepresentative of the truth, a lot of times they are made with the goal of pushing an agenda, at the expense of certain groups. Memes are jokes, not sources of news.
@Anirudh K Yes, and memes are a great way to spread information. While they should not be used as a source of news they are a way of spreading information. However further research should always be done on that information before it is taken seriously.
There are definitely possible dangers that come with making a point with mostly images and few words. These memes can be inaccurate, racist, discriminatory, and hurtful. I’ve seen so many memes lately about the Coronavirus that make racist claims and assumptions about Asian people. If we aren’t careful and perceptive, these kinds of memes can influence our ideals and opinions without us even realizing. In addition, many memes spread misinformation which can cause people to believe things that aren’t true. Some memes even have discriminatory attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community and people of color that can be hurtful and cause feelings of embarrassment. While some memes are abused and used to spread hate, the vast majority of memes are lighthearted takes on everyday life that are intended for people to take a step back and laugh. One just has to be careful about the kinds of memes they get when scrolling through social media.
@Sarah I agree that some memes may be hurtful to different people and I think it's important for meme creators to be careful and aware of their audience so that they know how to make a joke without crossing the line. Like you said about how a vast majority of memes are intended to be taken lightheartedly, I believe every meme should have that same purpose since they can be so controversial.
@Sarah i agree that there are a lot of memes out there that are discriminatory and hurtful, and especially in this day and age, its really not necessary to our community. However i don't think most of the hurtful memes are totally serious, and it can be hard to think how people could joke about serous things like racism, but i think people can just get caught up in the moment. If a person thinks that others would enjoy what they put out there, and they think there’s a chance that they could gain followers, and likes, it could cause them to not think about what they’re actually posting. Most likely, if you’re bothered by a meme on social media, if you express why you want the creator to take it down, they will.
Memes are funny and they draw teens to focus on whats going on in the world. However, they don't portray a proper tone in certain situations. They should not be viewed as a news source since they're not always reliable and usually talk about the side effects of a crisis rather than the main issues. I understand where parents are coming from when they see their child being insensitive towards an issue because they shouldn't be using memes as a credible source. I think its very helpful to have parents discuss important situations with their teen so that they can understand the severity since a lot of teens that don’t watch/listen to the news on a daily basis. The media uses memes to make problems tolerable by bringing light to the situation through humor. Toilet paper memes are very popular at this time, and while the shortage is a result of the coronavirus, someone who uses memes as a news source probably wouldn't view this situation as serious as it actually is.
@Anna Yes and this is so true because to other teens and young people, they are seen as more lighthearted and not entirely accurate. I think that adults and parents don't always understand that they are more humor focused and less news focused. Some memes do get taken too far and that's when it's definitely appropriate to discuss the seriousness of the issue with an older family member.
This generation has a huge connection to memes> we have liked them so much that it is now a sub genre and there are words for memes like "meming" " meme culture". These memes play a huge role in our life and my opinion is that memes should not change the way you think. They are just jokes and shouldn't change the way one thinks but they are slowly becoming influential. Memes are starting to get inside people's heads which isn't a good sign. Memes make fun everything, no matter how serious the situation is. The corona virus situation is a global wide pandemic, which is really hard to stop and contain. The situation right now is very critical and all memes do is lower the gravity of the situation and make people relentless about the situation which makes them go outside, party, and meet friends. Right now if I look outside my house for the next 2 mins, I'm sure I will see somebody walking with friends. There are people still going outside for unnecessary reason. I look at the outside and get annoyed by the fact that people listen memes made by strangers online rather than listen to actually qualified doctors and the government.
@Sid you are completely right, people are putting way to much weight on Memes it's just jokes the term "It's not that deep." cannot be more applicable to anything else.
@Sid I disagree that memes should not change the opinion you possess. As most people get there initial opinion from memes. For example, many people's initial reactions to Corona were from memes, as most people including me did not understand the seriousness of the situation. As the situation developed we can see the seriousness of the situation build, overall changing the initial opinion we had.
After school, I usually come home and begin to scroll through my various social media apps such as Tik Tok so that I can enjoy a small part of my day looking at funny skits and memes before I have to go to work. However, many of these Tik Toks and memes are opinionated and only shows one side of the coin, much like other social media. Social media that are meant to provide entertainment through funny skits, usually show their creators' opinion when sharing news. This year was an election year, and many tik tokers used this opportunity to voice their opinion on Trump and any other potential candidates. One particular subject was about abortions and many of these tik talks went famous. However much of them only looked at abortions being wrong and that having abortions was the same as killing a child. But, many forget what the mother must be going through or whether she was forced or not to have that abortion. Another example could be the drama in the hype house. The hype house was the main place where all the famous tik tokers lived, and as such many people began to create drama over the situation. In the end, I think that proper news should be taken from a reputable source so that all the information was portrayed rather than memes or skits.
Anytime a random situation like this rises, I first turn to the memes to see if they’re joking about it and to what level. This helps me gauge the intensity of the event.I do agree with the article about using humor in difficult moments to process potentially scary and hurtful information. In my opinion, memes reflect current events, but in a funny way, which is how I would want to hear them since the media can potentially make it seem more scary than it actually is. For example, there’s many TikToks about what people are doing during quarantine and how it’s affecting them, but the point of them is that it’s important to stay at home but you can also have fun and not be as bored. I think humor also helps give us confidence that everything is going to be okay. In a way, if people have more confidence that the government is doing something about the situation (in this case, Covid-19), they’re going to make more memes out of it because they know that higher authorities are doing something and will make sure that this virus will go away.
Also it is okay to use humor when talking about painful or tragic events because that could be that person’s coping method. Keeping that in mind, they should also be aware of everyone else who’s either been through the same/similar events and who’s watching or reading them because they might not share the same point of view, especially if they post it somewhere where more people can see it.
@Nikshita K. I understand your point that memes can help cause relief and be a coping method, but not everyone reacts the same to a meme as another would. It is important that you keep other’s feelings in mind when creating, sending, and laughing at memes. Most teens don’t do this or aren’t aware how others can be sensitive to certain topics. For example, a teen with a parent in the army will not react the same way as other teens would to the WW3 meme that spread earlier this year. The teen will be scared that their parent might face harm if a war breaks out, while other teens ridicule the war by saying their video gaming skills are enough to win.
Memes were originally made to humor people. As they developed, many memes became focused on topics in current events and poke fun similar to political cartoons. Most students don’t actively read or watch the news on tv, which is why memes are keeping them updated with real life events. Memes are simple pictures with small amounts of texts, similar to an infographic. They don't require lots of time to understand and also do a proficient job in explaining what is happening. There are countless examples of times that I have learned what was going on in the world from the memes on my instagram feed. For example, I have seen many of Trump’s decisions and wherabouts through social media. Although it is true that memes can be discouraging, students should when certain memes cross the line. As the article states, parents should teach their kids about how to pick out funny memes from rude ones. Overall, memes can be someone’s news source as long as they accurately describe the situation.
@Ashrith I agree that memes nowadays have become about the news and current events, however, memes have to be created by someone and that person must have very strong opinions over the topic in order to create a news feed out of it. Unlike a journalist whose writer the newspapers, these creators can openly voice their opinion based on their beliefs, so we shouldn't rely on them to provide us news rather than entertainment, which was their purpose in the first place.
Memes are usually used to make people laugh and feel better, I've always liked memes because they make me laugh a lot but there is some advantages and disadvantages.There an advantage because it might brighten someone’s day with a joke and will the disadvantages would be that it could be a possible danger because that meme could be rude to other people or just offensive to them ,that could bring serious discussions. I have seen memes online that have crossed the line and I’ve just ignored them or I even laughed at them because I don't take them as serious. There is a lot of people who would take them more seriously and probably leave a comment. For example all the coronavirus memes I laugh at all of them but there is other people who take them real serious and don't like them at all. I just think you could take memes seriously or you could just take it as a joke.
I believe there are advantages and dangers that come with making a point with mostly pictures and a few words. One advantage is that people who usually don't keep up with current events can see a meme and begin to become curious and dig deeper into actual research. This becomes dangerous though when people rely on it as their only source of information. Meme culture, i think, has its benefit as a new form of comedy that keeps people informed in an entertaining way. If people start to rely on it as their only source and live by that information it can become dangerous. I feel some memes cross the line using racism or jokes that are just all together not appropriate in the situation. I feel adding some light heartedness to a stressful situation can be good but not with the spread of misinformation. Information is spread by people, their are different ways to spread that information so that it appeals to different audiences but like any information you get, it needs to be checked and compared to different sources, whether it comes from a meme or the evening news.
Memes are the thing of our generation, and they're all over the internet — Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, the likes. They're mostly made for humor and entertainment, but needless to say, a lot of teens gain concurrent information from memes. I think there isn't harm in learning current event from memes, but if you're going to do that its also necessary to read the news to look further into the subject and develop your own opinion on the topic. Additionally, sarcasm and tone are not carried in text as well as it would during a normal conversation — both of which are prominently used in memes. They can cause a lot of misinterpretation and end up giving people some critically wrong information.
@Eden I agree with the fact that memes shouldn’t be your only source of information/news. However, memes can give you exposure to current events. For example, the WW3 memes back in January. As a person who doesn’t read the news as much, I didn’t know that the US and Iran were having tension. After looking at multiple memes/tiktoks about the potential world war, I looked it up to see if it was the real deal, and sure enough, it wasn’t. I agree that it’s also important to not take the memes seriously as their purpose is to convey humor, not information.
The presence of simple memes on teenager’s social media feeds presents a widespread amount of potential advantages and dangers. Memes that make a point with only a few images and words can come off as quite easy to formulate, meaning almost anyone can create them, especially the teenagers that experience and read them daily. With this advantage and freedom comes a large potential danger; these messages being taken the wrong way by those outside of the creators generation. For example, nowadays, a teenager can create any meme they please by simply writing their idea into a meme generator which automatically shoots out a variety of stencils that they can post on any platform they choose. Reposting these memes between different social media apps such as Instagram and Snapchat will eventually cause them to land on more adult used platforms like Twitter and Facebook. This is ultimately where the danger of controversy and backlash begin, as a majority of the time the generational gap between adults and teens causes an incapability for adults to understand and accept the meme how it is written. Personally, I don’t really notice and I choose to ignore memes, so I have never come across one that I have dubbed inappropriate or having crossed the line. With that being said, the use of memes by teenagers as a way to cope or simply have a good laugh can present both advantages and dangers to people in society, it just depends on what age group you look at.
The presence of simple memes on teenager's social media feeds presents a widespread amount of potential advantages and dangers. Memes that make a point with only a few images and words can come off as quite easy to formulate, meaning almost anyone can create them, especially the teenagers that experience and read them daily. With this advantage and freedom comes a large potential danger; these messages being taken the wrong way by those outside of the creator's generation. For example, nowadays, a teenager can create any meme they please by simply writing their idea into a meme generator which automatically shoots out a variety of stencils that they can post on any platform they choose. Reposting these memes between different social media apps such as Instagram and Snapchat will eventually cause them to land on more adult used platforms like Twitter and Facebook. This is ultimately where the danger of controversy and backlash begins, as a majority of the time the generational gap between adults and teens causes incapability for adults to understand and accept the meme how it is written. Personally, I don’t really notice and I choose to ignore memes, so I have never come across one that I have dubbed inappropriate or having crossed the line. With that being said, the use of memes by teenagers as a way to cope or simply have a good laugh can present both advantages and dangers to people in society, it just depends on what age group you look at.
There definitely are dangers to this method. Some advantages that I see, however, are that they convey an idea using a couple of words and a relatable image to make someone laugh, if the words don’t already do that. Yet, those few words can create a multitude of different meanings, and what would’ve been viewed as harmless has suddenly become too offensive to a particular audience. I personally haven’t seen that many extreme memes, and even if I may have come across one, I’m more laid back about it. There have been instances, however, where I felt that some memes were offensive to a particular group of people, such as certain WWIII memes and even some racist memes about the coronavirus. While I’ve never seen these memes actually be reenacted in a public setting, I’ve come across news where people make stupid decisions, which ultimately lead them to tragic outcomes. For as long as memes have been out there, I’ve noticed that there’s always those few that go too far, and I feel as if even though they can serve as coping mechanisms, they shouldn’t be thrown around carelessly in public, where many people could take great offense to what someone thought as harmless.
Memes should not be someone’s news source. Just as it is not appropriate to use the Onion or Facebook as a credible news source in debate, it is not appropriate for an individual to use memes, which are inherently comedic or satirical, to learn about current events. Like the Onion, memes are comedy, and should not be taken seriously. Personally, I have never learned about current events from memes; in my own life, it’s hard to picture a situation where I would learn about something first from memes and then from the New York Times or Washington Post. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s not alright to read the Onion or scroll through memes on a social media platform. Laughter can be the best medicine — humour has been shown to strengthen the immune system and diminish stress. Laughing releases endorphins, which are one of the human body’s key “happy” chemicals; endorphins can even temporarily relieve physical pain. It’s okay to laugh; it can even be okay to find humor in serious news. Humor is a coping strategy; shows such as Saturday Night Live prove this much. When the crushing reality of the current presidential administration becomes too much for me, I often turn to the Today Show or SNL to feel better. Taking a moment and laughing at the predicament of the United States helps individuals cope with the stress of the current political situation. This being said, while it’s okay to laugh, it’s also necessary to address the underlying problems and take action.
As a teenager myself, I would be lying if I said that I didn’t view memes/use humor to process serious situations on a daily basis. But, I don’t view them because I feel scared or worried, I view them just because it is my way of seeing how other people are coping with it and because a lot of the content out there to view is entertaining. I find that if I want to cope, I can openly talk about my feelings to my parents. The article suggests that teens have trouble opening up about their feelings, resorting to humor online to cope, leaving parents confused on why kids are belittling serious events and making parents question the ethics of the things that their children are viewing. The article says that parents should use this opportunity to teach kids how to express their emotions and maintain acceptable behavior on the internet. Although this makes sense, I think that a better way to deal with this starts early on. If parents had more open discussions about mental health and feelings with their children during normal times and instilled good behavior and morals early on, I think the situation during these times would be much easier for parents and children to handle. Personally, I don’t feel overwhelmed or scared during this time because I know that I can express my emotions in a more “professional” way to my parents instead of resorting to memes on the internet as an outlet. I believe that humor is an acceptable way of expression as long as it does not target people.
@Raghav I agree with your statement that parents should build a good relationship with their children from the beginning, but it still doesn’t change the fact that the newer generation belittles serious events. Even with a good relationship with parents, teens still make comments that seem unacceptable to adults, which is most probably due to information gap between current adults and teenagers. As we are immersed in a different society than what adults are used to, the comments and ideas teens usually express are from that society, leading to a difference of views between the child and adult.
@Raghav I agree with your opinion on memes, but most children don't have such great parents or can be too insecure to talk their parents or friends about personal problems. I think the major problem with memes are that people that make them post them on the internet as a joke but many people take them to seriously. There is also hate in memes. One person's hate of something just spreads through memes leading towards somebody hating a whole minor community. These were meant to be jokes but when memes are taken seriously, they can cause a lot of damage. Memes make the internet a place where people can make jokes and relate to others' lives and all types of social connections, but the way people take in the jokes matters too. So I think memes do make the internet a better place and the people who mistake them from something else b=make it worse.
Memes can be used as someone’s new source. Most of my information and daily news comes from memes on social media platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok. Using memes and social media as ones news source can be beneficial. I find out about certain events and global news hours and sometimes days before my parents who use news channels as their main news source. Memes also can turn news into something funny that can downplay certain events to make them less stressful. Toilet paper memes make people laugh and they question why people stocked up. Using memes as a source of news is not harmful, but only younger generations could do it. Older generations wouldn’t understand the memes. Memes can be used as someone news source, but if someone wanted in depth news and a variety of information then it should not be used. Memes do not provide in depth information about events. Memes provide information about major events and not little details. Memes will tell someone that there is a toilet paper shortage and that there should be social distancing, but it will tell someone details that California and New York are in lockdown a lot less than the bigger picture of the event. Memes can be used as someone’s news source and I will continue to use them as mine.
@Bailey P I also can relate to getting news from the social media apps like Instagram and TikTok. With our generation, it’s easy to interpret memes and that allows us to have a deeper understanding of them. While the older generation will see memes now and then, they didn’t grow up with the culture, so they won’t really understand what it is about. This is where the older generations kind of criticize what we are looking at. They want a full story from a news channel and don’t want something from a teenager trying to be funny. With teenagers though, we usually don’t want the full story because that will bore us or scare us. This is why we revert to memes.
Humor is a great mechanism for dealing with stress. Memes in general is a great source to vent out and have a few good laughs. Jokes in a way makes you feel closer to the people around us, laughter brings people together. But this does not include making fun of serious or controversial topics neither making/having fun at the expenses of somebody’s feelings. The sad part being that memes on current tragedies are the ones that spread like wildfire. Most of the time, its either misinformation or rude in a racist, sexist or homophobic way. Even though many people use humor as a coping mechanism to handle their anxiety on certain topics, they must refrain from making impulsive comments on pressing moments and rather express their concerns in a responsible manner. An example would be the current pandemic. There are so many memes about the struggles of being quarantined and some memes actually deliver safety tips in a fun way. But on the other hand, derogatory memes on asians is a step too far. Even though the pandemic is scary and has millions worried, bringing other people down in order to make oneself feel better isn't the right thing to do.
@Naksha Nair I agree with you, because even though memes are sometimes dark, it shouldn't cross the line. I can take some dark humor here and there, but if its tasteless and extremely offensive, its just not worthy of sharing that meme. And yes, it is indeed sad that people are making derogatory memes on Asians. I can't tell they're making it because they like putting groups down or they just have unjustified anger and overgeneralize a group of people. When we use dark humor, we have to know when to draw the line, which sadly many people don't know how to do that. But other than that, I feel that a meme's purpose is to make someone laugh or at the very least lift their mood. However, if one laughs at someone else's feeling getting hurt, then that is very problematic.
Yes, I agree with the article about using humor in difficult moments to process scary or hurtful information. It’s not okay to use humor to ridicule or bring down a certain population for something that is out of their control. For example memes that spread racist ideologies about coronavirus or racist ideologies related to terrorist attacks shouldn’t be tolerated. It’s okay to poke fun at things about something that is controllable. The ’O.K. Boomer’ phrase wasn’t trying to bash on older people, it was to make light of older traditional ideologies that might go against current values and beliefs like, ‘girls can’t play baseball and have short hair’. Humor is used as a huge defense and coping mechanism for many teens today. We are bombarded with so much bad news and all the chaos that is going on around the world 24/7 that, we can’t help but joke about it to reduce the mental damage it can have on us. Climate change is happening, amazons are on fire, Australia is on fire, the caps are melting, the polar bears are dying, more authoritarian rulers are coming into power all over the world, WWIII scare and finally coronavirus. With so much negative stimulation around, teens are still trying to laugh about things and stay positive.
@Tresa I agree with a lot of what you have to say, but regarding the 'O.K. Boomer' phrase, while it might have been making light of older ideologies, it does target an entire generation to where some of these people can take it as derogatory and even offensive, primarily because they may not have agreed with such ideas and disliked the generalization. While it might be healthy to cope with worldly problems through memes, it would be best for them to be kept on the internet and, if used in real life, as something that wouldn't spark controversy towards a general public, who might take them seriously.
Should Humorous memes be someone's news source?
Some people like me, I’ll admit, don’t like to read books or articles. However, I find short stories that are humorous to be interesting, I look at memes not only for fun but also gain knowledge of what’s happening, which is why I suggest that memes should be someone’s news source if they don’t watch other news sources. For example, I discovered the recent coronavirus outbreak that is considered a pandemic through reading memes on Instagram. Even though memes are intended to be funny, I can see different perspectives from the creator, and what their views are according to the issue. By knowing that, I can get an idea of how I should feel about the issue, whether its important or not. I feel like it is ok to laugh at a meme, but I don’t think it's a really good choice to make memes about negative things like World war 3 and the coronavirus. However, I have seen people make memes about panic buying and how useless it is, which is definitely a good way to prevent people from panic buying. Overall, memes can be good and bad news source depending on the creator.
@Ryan Chen I never really saw the different perspectives of the creator I just saw the joke. But from reading this response it really showed me how their could be more than one more perspective. Also I feel like yes its bad or negative to make jokes about the coronavirus or World war 3 but I just feel like you shouldn't take it so seriously. I also don't like to read books nor articles but I do like to read a short memes that would make you laugh for hours.
After school I usually have time to look at various memes that my friends sent me or just scrolling through and finding some from various accounts. Memes can definitely get me laughing but can have a dark meaning to them and sometimes people cross the line in writing memes that would make people laugh but are so hurtful. Memes have content that makes people laugh but sometimes kids and people then take it as a joke and then that is when problems happen. Their are some memes that I have seen were I understand why someone would be offended by the content. Sometimes people even change the meme or alter it so that it is funny and is changed a big part or crucial aspect of the actual news in order to make it funny, to the point that it takes away from the seriousness of the actual event. I see how there are both advantages and disadvantages that come with memes. I think it’s faster to communicate with someone when you use few words.
Memes are commonly used to find humor in both light and serious subjects. Many people who struggle choose to see the good in what's happening and use humor to deal with their issues. This is a method that works for some but doesn’t work for everyone. Sometimes using humor to deal with something may seem innocent but you have to always think about what you are saying. Recently lots of WWII memes went around, these started off as little jokes but later evolved and become more violent with people ”joking” about death. Due to these WWIII videos becoming more popular there is also a stigma growing, if you don’t agree with these video you are seen as “overly sensitive”. I believe that it’s your choice if you choose to process hurtful information through humor but if its a very sensitive topic, always keep in mind the feelings of others and don’t post something disrespectful.
@Aunna Brie I agree with how some memes over serious situations can be taken too far. I think everyone should be careful about the memes they share and create because one might look at a meme and see it as a joke while someone else may see it as upsetting. I think there is a limit to how far memes should be taken as jokes but if it’s under the limit then some people just need to learn how to keep scrolling and ignore. Many posts on TikTok are about animals and how people are treating them. There are videos of horse vets putting shoes on the horse or trimming their hooves, but when you look to the comment section, there are many comments about how the vets are mistreating the horse which is completely wrong. The vets are helping them. That is an example of people being too sensitive on the internet. At the beginning of the WWlll memes, they were funny and seen as jokes and maybe as a way cope with a stressful thought of actually going into a war. As the meme kept developing they became more serious to where I though that there is a possible chance this could happen. The memes were becoming more serious, where I also though if the Iran government saw how average Americans were joking about bombing them, this could cause serious trouble. That would be an example that I agree that was taking too far.
@Aunna Brie Regardless of your emotions and opinions as a person on the internet, there will always be times that you may come across something that you dub “inappropriate” or “disrespectful”. We can avoid conflict by choosing not to act on these comments or videos, especially in the form of memes, as their purpose was in fact to help the creator cope with issues occurring in the world or in his/her personal life. Although some of the topics mentioned in memes found on teenager’s social media feeds may be seen as irrational by those outside of their generation, like parents who may use the subject as a way to bash their children regarding important global issues, it is important to remember and take into account the inexperience of a teenage girl or boy when it comes to the things that effect people the most.
@Aunna Brie Yes I agree that memes are not for everyone. Sometimes memes are taken too far and can be disrespectful. Especially with coronavirus, memes that spread racist ideologies can encourage anti-Asian racism. Even if it’s just a joke, discrimination is never okay. You never know the harm ‘jokes’ can have on someone else. Even if it’s not seen as something serious, it could create a lot of stigma around the subject. On the other hand, memes can also help people who use humor as their coping mechanism. Using laughter to cope with painful things can help lighten the burden of the subject.
Should memes ever be a news source? This one should be painfully obvious. No, of course not. Memes are often bent in one direction or the other, not giving straight information, or only telling part of the whole story. Memes are nothing more than a funny picture, satirizing a situation, or creating some extreme version of it. Memes shouldn’t be your main news source, much like the Onion shouldn’t be your main news source.
While memes shouldn’t be a news source, they can be used to make light of anything and everything. Yes, you should be able to laugh at dark or heavy news. Anything can be a joke, as long as you don’t take it seriously. A heavy dose of humor can keep spirits up during trying times, and can comfort those who need it most. Looking through the lens of dirty laundry that the news often portrays, the world is an awful dark place. Sometimes things are that bad, so why not try to lighten things up a bit? There are times for laughs and times for tears, but sometimes they are one in the same. Everything is about perspective, you can take COVID-19 incredibly seriously, revolving your life around avoiding it, stuck in an almost clinically paranoid state. But you can also take it in stride, and laugh it off. Heavy news is a gash, and humor is the band-aid. You can put it on to reduce infection, or you can let it wallow and poison you slowly.
@Carter I agree, memes are jokes not meant to be taken seriously. The fact that memes are so easy to digest and rapidly accessible to everyone makes them popular. Although I agree memes are usually funny jokes, however I never thought of memes as an escape from a sad reality. However, I can see memes as an escape for a lot of people, especially during hard times when they don't have a lot of other ways to deal with their stress or manage hard times.
Scrolling through various varieties of memes during free times throughout the day is a common pastime of our generation. And although I won’t deny that memes about current events are some of the funniest ones out there, they are also some of the most hurtful and potentially dangerous ones as well. Many teenagers often use memes as a source of news rather than an accurate and esteemed news source. This leads to the spread of false news, which can essentially lead to an entire generation being misinformed on a certain topic. I won’t lie, many times I have learned about global events through memes I saw while scrolling instagram. However, at least 50% of the time the meme has distorted or changed a crucial aspect or the actual news in order to make it funny, to the point that it takes away from the seriousness of the actual event. If I see something in a meme, I always make sure to double check it with my parents or the real news before I take any sort of mental stance on the subject, or even talk to my friends about it, and I advise other teenagers to do the same. Moreover, laughing at a serious meme could seem like a joke at the time, but it could be really harmful to the mental stability of the one (or group) being targeted with the post. Making sure you know the difference between right and wrong is essential when innocently browsing memes, or unforseen problems could arise in the future.
Whenever I’m not having the greatest day or I’m feeling down about something, memes are usually something that can brighten my mood and take my mind off of what’s bothering me. I agree that people, especially teens, use humor in scary or sad times in order to process the information. Although memes are funny and can really make you laugh, you need to know when and when not to use them. It is okay to use humor such as memes in tough times to brighten the mood, but it‘s not okay to hold in or hide your feelings, and it's not okay to make fun of a person or group of people or to make one feel worse about themself. I've seen lots of memes that make a genuinely great joke, but I’ve seen others that are also really offensive and I could definitely see how people could feel insulted or hurt by them. When talking about or going through hardships and sad times, one needs to express their emotions rather than hiding them with humor, so it is better to talk to somebody about things if one is stressed or scared. If I had a rough day at school or felt like a test didn’t go well, I would come home and finish my homework and just laugh at memes on instagram which lowers my stress level. The reason memes aren’t okay ALL the time is because to fix a problem or to heal from sadness or stress, one needs to either do something about it or talk about it rather than using humor as an excuse or runaway option.
@Wes B. Yes, but a lot of the times, kids don't know how to approach these kinds of situations. They might feel uncomfortable talking about how they are feeling, whether it be because of lack of communication and trust between them and their parents or simply not being able to put feelings into words (which can be very difficult sometimes). I think that when people use humor to cope, it's not really running away, rather it is simply expressing your feelings in a non verbal manner. I think that this is a good way of coping in certain situations. Like you said, when you're in a bad mood, memes can be a great way to brighten your day. But, I think that when in a more serious situation where your mental health is being seriously affected, people resort to memes not because they are running away from their feelings, but because they haven't learned how to express their feelings verbally. I think this is where parents need to step in and talk to their children about things like mental health, but this discussion needs to happen before their children end up in a situation like this. If parents take this step early on, then I think that this wouldn't be as much of an issue.
One of the main aspects of memes is the minimization of text and the heavy use of pictures. This simplistic structure carries with it some advantages and many disadvantages. Because of the limited space, memes often are forced to provide concise bits of information that reaches a wide audience. However, this has many more disadvantages than benefits. The brevity of memes also leads to oversimplification of important topics, such as the coronavirus or war. This leads to the issue being overlooked or downplayed, as it is presented in a humorous format that few people take seriously. They also promote the spread of fictitious and satirical information, as it is almost impossible to fact-check memes—this presents a problem for those who obtain knowledge of the world around them from memes. The lack of words also puts larger emphasis on the pictures, which can be misleading or downplaying—juxtaposing a picture of a cartoon or kids’ show while mentioning a serious topic helps to downplay a topic, and eventually leads to ignorance, outright discrimination, or vulgarity. At this point, memes cross a line because they start to offend people(such as creating an Anti-Chinese meme about the coronavirus). Overall, while an emphasis on images over words has some benefits, it has many more harms as it can dowplay an important topic or lead to prejudice.
@Rudra I agree that memes are very useful as news sources due to their brevity that makes them easy to understand. I never thought that it would lead to problems, but I have now understood that through your comment. I disagree about the ability to fact-check memes. Personally, when I see questionable memes, I almost immediately type out a question in google. For example, when I first saw Kobe's death I believed it was a joke, but unfortunately I soon came to realize that it wasn't. I also saw a meme about the death of my favorite artist, Lil Uzi Vert. Within seconds I checked with google and disregarded the meme. In the end, I believe memes are useful because they lead to the public learning more information.
I think that there should be a limit to express humor because it can influence a teen’s perspective differently on very dire issues. One issue we are facing today is the Coronavirus pandemic and there are tons of memes posted so far on this virus. Some memes on social media display disobedience to important norms that keep us safe during the Coronavirus pandemic. For instance, they portray people mocking the government and discourage people to venture going outside. Mainly, memes can also induce a false sense of nonchalance about serious events that have, can or will occur. Some posts on Instagram have captions like “#CoronaVibes”. Is the “Corona vibe” a joke? It's a parasite that is killing millions of people at a rapid pace and it takes just a second to get infected from someone else. And here we have memes in the form of another parasite that is killing our wisdom and practicality to understand the gravity of this virus. At times of serious events like the Coronavirus pandemic, we must understand what makes a meme mock the seriousness of an issue and what doesn’t. Is a meme on a virus that has decimated a large population really something we should LAUGH at or take light-heartedly?
@Shruti I agree that there are advantages and disadvantages of memes. I think that a limit should be added since many of the memes can be highly offensive to someone or even deliver false information across. However, I think memes should remain no matter the gravity of the situation. Yes, given the situation right now, it is not the time to fool around, but I don’t think kids who maintain isolation have anything better to do during this time and therefore read memes all the time. Today, we can not just take away memes because we think it is not serious enough. It is a way teens relate to and a way to cope. There are memes that help people understand what is going around too. Yes, some things would be offensive to laugh at, but no teen really knows what’s going on since they have never been through a pandemic right now. The corona virus is something very unexpected and it’s a confusing time. As long kids know not to make impulsing decisions to go outside and catch the virus just because they thought “it’s corona time”. Health is obviously a top priority, but also teens who express their feelings through memes are also equally important since they can relate to the given meme. So if the memes were taken down, are we only isolating from the disease or from the fact that we could relate to something or communicate?
One advantage of making a point with mainly images and not many words is that it’s better able to convey emotion than just text. However, this is not a good thing when that point itself is discriminatory and offensive. One example of this would be the memes about the coronavirus that target Asians and associate the entire race with the virus. This is racism, but that may not be as clear. While discrimination isn’t inherent to memes, making this point in a meme format makes it worse. When racism is meant to seem “funny,” it sometimes doesn’t look like racism. So when kids see this meme, they begin to adopt that attitude without realizing that it’s offensive. That’s the main problem with memes; they propagate/lead to the spread of offensive attitudes. Though this might not always happen, this possibility outweighs the possible advantages of memes. An example is WWIII memes, especially the ones about being drafted. Being drafted is a scary situation, for the person and their family. But when memes were made about this topic, that was forgotten. Then, this meme was taken one step further and people made videos pranking their girlfriends that they were getting drafted into the military and had to fight in the war. Though this was probably fake (which I hope it was because that’s an awful thing to do to your significant other), it crossed the line and was very offensive. It also provides another example where memes, and the viewpoints associated with them, were taken too far.
@Chandana I definitely understand where you are coming from. In a world of animosity, it would seem we would not want more floating around, but that is where your opinion and my opinion start to derivate. I have always thought that the easiest way to make something pressing or offensive dissipate, is through humor. The draft is a great example, in my opinion. Scary situations, that would otherwise loom over people’s heads, are now quelled and dismissed as a joke. This relieves the anxiety of the situation, keeping people light in dark times. Morale is important to upkeep, especially in times of great threat to our population. Now, there are some situations where this joking is poor form; however, they are quite niche and few and far between. The day the government instituted the draft, is the day those memes stopped dead in their tracks. Memes often die off if the situation comes to fruition, so why not lessen the serious attitude leading up to that point and time. Again, I definitely understand where you are coming from, but I think humor is an inherent human reaction to anxiety.
I think there definitely are both dangers and advantages that come from the brevity of memes.
The advantage is fairly obvious: how short the memes are. This means that anyone can get a point across using memes very efficiently. But because of this, people can distort the meanings, something that can be accidental, but dangerous. If someone were to make a meme involving a certain identity, if the meme was not deliberate enough (which they rarely are), people might think that the meme is mocking/ridiculing the identity, and they might go as far as to spread the message. As one can see, this can have far-reaching consequences, so the brevity is both a disadvantage and an advantage.
I personally don‘t look at many memes, so I haven’t really seen any that cross the line of humorous vs. rude, but I do imagine that there are certain memes that do. Sensitive topics relating to a group’s identity can be a very touchy topic, and if a meme crosses the line on a such topic, then people should immediately recognize it as something that crosses the line.
All people (especially teenagers) should be aware of this distinction between “funny” and “too far”. When viewing ”humorous” content, then, they will be distinguish which side the content falls on, and how to act accordingly.
@Om I agree that brevity can be a problem by not providing enough opportunity for people to deliberately express their opinions. In addition, brevity could lead to people disregarding important information or treating serious topics as humorous. This in turn leads to insensitivity, which can become serious when people are insensitive to other races, nationalities, and so on. However, I think that upon exposure to memes, the line between humor and insensitivity blurs and forms a gray area. For example, a coronavirus joke downplaying the outbreak may seem insensitive to someone who lost a family member to the outbreak but trivial to someone self-quarantining at home. Therefore, I think people should always be aware of others’ experiences and understand how the humor in memes affects everyone.
Memes are something that I’m exposed to every day and they fill many purposes in my life such as entertainment and education. They are definitely something I rely on after a long day to unwind and relax. I don’t think that humorous memes should be one’s news source because they can often be manipulated and inaccurate. When World War III memes were going around on Reddit, I didn’t know what was true and what wasn’t. Some memes said it was almost guaranteed we were going to war, some were dissing Trump’s “decisions” (which were never made), and there were so many that those were the only kind of memes I could look at. Additionally, some memes have an extreme level of sarcasm which can often be interpreted as misinformation and can freak someone out. When I read too many memes about a more serious subject it makes me more scared than relieved because it feels like no one is taking the problems in our world seriously. Personally, I often encounter memes before the news so if I see a meme about something that seems like a noteworthy event, I search it up and look at more information from notable sources. Essentially, memes are what prompt me to get trustworthy information about an event.
@Anika I completely agree that memes should not be anyone's news source as they often exaggerate the truth or talk about things that didn't happen. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but the problem arises when people take the memes too seriously. When people use memes as their news source, they gain a flawed perspective of the world. This also extends to viewpoints and beliefs. If memes are all you look at, then you begin to adopt the viewpoints of the memes, which could be dangerous as memes can be biased or discriminatory towards certain people. That's why I believe that memes should just be used as entertainment and that's it. If you want to really know what's happening around you, you should read real news.
@Anika Yes, I agree that memes can very easy to interpret in different ways and potentially be providing misleading information about a topic. Not only that, I also think it could solidify someone's opinion on a topic without having enough background knowledge and stance. Not only that, I think memes are a powerful weapon in that it's possible to easily spread propaganda about a subject.
Humor in memes is something I always try to look for when trying to send one to my friends. If it can’t make you laugh, then it’s probably not a good one to send. I believe that humor is a type of coping mechanism that some people just have to use because they have a hard time expressing their feelings. I agree with the article about using humor in difficult moments because sometimes people are just going to be able to understand it better if they see it as a joke, and then later on see it on the news or word of mouth and they will realize how much of a tragic situation it is at the moment. Instead of making the memes all “boring”, humor will add some touches to expand what the original circumstance is and then help the people or teens approach the situation a bit better. For example, my little brother who is only ten loves looking at memes on several platform. The only way he really knew that the coronavirus was a big deal was because of a meme that said it was going to kill off everyone -- as a “joke”. He laughed about it for awhile but later started to be concerned if that was actually true and seeked my parents for approval. Of course, they reassured him that we were going to be fine but without that meme my brother (who sent it to all his friends) did not think of this as a big deal until now.
I agree that humor should and can be used in tense moments to relive everyonder or the tense subject that is being talked about. Humor is an excellent way to relieve tension in hearted moments or the bearer of bad news, however there are certain times when you shouldn’t use humor and those are in times of deep bad news like someone passing away or someone being diagnosed with a illness. For example when coronavirus i would share the memes with my family and it would help us relax and distress about the spreading virus. Seeing how humor relieves stress and takes weight off your shoulders by making people laugh and feel happy shows that humor is a useful aid to help process bad news.
I do agree that humor can be used in difficult situations to help process scary information. However, when it comes to memes, people do not often have personal experience with these scary events, and that is the reason for why so many memes are being made about it. For example, the memes about coronavirus are most likely being made by who haven’t been personally affected except for having to quarantine which is not that tragic. However, people that have a family member would be less likely to make a humorous meme about the virus because they have first hand experience with someone who has the virus.
I think there are many advantages and dangers that come with making a point with mostly images and few words. Advantages include that it gets the message across efficiently along with it adds some humor. A danger includes that because it is so few of words, people may interpret the message in the wrong way. Personally, I have seen a couple memes that have crossed the line. For example one was about Kobe’s death. I didn’t think it was appropriate, as it was very short after his death which I was personally affected I think there are many advantages and dangers that come with making a point with mostly images and few words. Advantages include that it gets the message across efficiently along with it adds some humor. A danger includes that because it is so few of words, people may interpret the message in the wrong way. Personally, I have seen a couple memes that have crossed the line. For example one was about Kobe’s death. I didn’t think it was appropriate, as it was very short after his death which I was personally, heavily affected by.
I believe there are both advantages and possible dangers that come with making a point with mostly images and a few words. Memes have become a major form of communication as they tell heartfelt and funny stories. Memes are are able to make a serious situation not so serious by adding humor to it. I think memes are a good way to let teenagers take things lightly and not get too serious about worldly things. However, memes can influence your mindset to believe in negative thoughts. I learned about the toilet paper shortage in America through memes. At first, I would laugh it off, but as they kept on showing up on my various social media accounts, I began to worry about it. They are constantly transferring information from one person to another through social ideas and trends. These trends can impact one’s behavior and view on serious topics in life. Memes are considered powerful because they capture many people’s attention all day long, even changing their perspective on issues. In all, memes should be able to ease tension as long as they don’t spread frightening thoughts.
The humor of these kids in the article is rude and mostly uncalled for. But nobody, who knows better, will act like that. So a logical conclusion as to why they act like this is that the boys don’t know any better. But as Daniels said there a many ways a parent can work on this with their child. Another reason why they could engage in this humor is to use it as a coping mechanism. But I feel humor is not a good coping mechanism. Humor only puts off trauma and doesn’t get to its root to solve it in my experience. So either way this type of humor doesn’t fit the bill for any reason. The article mainly centers around how memes produce this humor and the associated apathy that are found in teens. This may hold some merit but I feel that teens today will still mature like the teens of yesterday and the ones before them. Memes will not inhibit maturation or puberty; the same chemical changes that caused Millennials and before to mature will still occur in teens of Gen Z.
@Aayush I agree with you when you say that memes can be used as a coping method. When World War 3 memes started circulating, I know many people that were truly scared that they could get drafted as they were eligible. Many of them saw these memes and then began to think that this whole thing was just a joke and nothing was going to happen. However things did happen, but they weren’t aware since they never read the news. Attacks continued, however they never led to serious battles which could lead to war. They used memes to comfort themselves, which could’ve been dangerous had something happened and they were required to join the army. Generally, memes do not give us knowledge nor truth, which can make them potentially dangerous to those unaware of current event.
@Aayush I agree, humor isn’t a good coping mechanism, and it’s only a way to run away from problems, stress, or fear. Instead, people should talk to trusted adults or their friends about how they’re feeling in order to try and solve the problems they’re having or lower their stress. Adding on to what you said, people in their right mind shouldn’t post such offensive things and it just comes from the lack of maturity in teens. All people have been immature at some point in their life, like you said, it’s not just the teens of today’s world that are immature. In other generations, teenagers were also immature, they just didn’t have the freedom and availability on social media that we have today.
I definitely think that humorous memes should never be someone’s new source. Memes are a way to relieve stress after a particularly long and tiring day. They are never a way to learn more about the events in the world. Personally, I have almost always obtained my news through reliable sources and not through memes.
Truthfully, some current events have been brought to my attention through memes. However, instead of solely depending on memes for information, I seek other reliable news sources to confirm the information passed on through memes. A couple of my friends do fully acquire new information through memes but I try to correct them whenever possible. I tell them the veritable source and they usually agree with me. In this way, we can start a chain of people correcting others when they notice wrong information on memes.
Another highly-debated question about memes and news is if it is O.K. to laugh at serious news. I believe that it is perfectly fine to laugh at serious news. We never know what someone else is thinking or who someone else really is. A person who seems to be laughing on the outside can really be crying on the inside. A person who seems to be callous on the outside can really be sensitive on the inside. Therefore, for many people, laughing is a coping mechanism they can rely on. We should accept everyone as they are and not make fun of them or ostracize them just because they have a different way of dealing with emotions.
@Ananya Yes, I agree because I think memes are meant to communicate situations in a funny and light way, not to be used as a serious news source. Memes can twist the truth and people can be misinformed. I don’t know if I agree with humor being a good coping mechanism, couldn’t it create more fear and stress inside that others don’t see?
No teenager is a stranger to humorous memes regarding sensitive topics. I believe this exposure increases teenage awareness but also desensitizes the topic. I think people should try and understand a topic as much as possible before indulging themselves in reddit, twitter or instagram memes regarding the subject.
Personally, I find a lot of information and new topics that I am interested through these memes. The language in them can be specialized and may include terms that make the meme difficult to understand. In these cases I tend to search up these terms and try to make sense of them. Subconsciously, whilst trying to understand a meme, I educate myself on important matters.
Furthermore, I feel as if these memes are impossible to avoid. I think many people will end up discovering something through memes. By trying to avoid sensitive memes they may end up cutting out an entire source resulting in ignorance or lack of information.
I was introduced to the universe of memes in 9th grade when I got an Instagram account. Before that (in middle school), my friends would send me memes about various things that were supposed to be seen as funny. I didn’t understand the humor but went along with it so that I wasn’t viewed as an having no sense of humor. Most of my memes come from TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter and I’ve noticed that the wholesome content has been replaced by creators mocking current events like the Australian fires and the Coronavirus. Anyone can get a good laugh from a meme but I agree with the stance taken in the article: too much is always going to be too much. Using humor to cope with tragic events (like the fires in Australia) is ok till it becomes hurtful or disrespectful. Saying things like, “Meanwhile in Australia, the weather forecast is DEATH!” is extremely inconsiderate and hurtful to the people, animals, and wildlife that died due to the fires. That shouldn’t be a joke. And speaking of jokes, the Coronavirus. However ironic or funny the situation is, that is not an opportunity to spread anti-Asian hate comments, mock those who didn’t stock up on toilet paper, or ridicule the 700,000 infected and the 35,000 who are dead. Humor can only be funny to some extent.
Do Memes Make the Internet a Better Place?
There is both an advantage and disadvantage on memes. The positive side of memes are that it always brought humor to us whenever we are in a stressful situation or to cheer us up when we had a bad day. The negative side of memes is that whenever it’s about sensitive topic like war or the COVID-19, the meme makes it as a huge joke even though it is a uncomfortable topic to talk about. It evens gives people my age an bad impression. For example, if we see a meme that is about ww2, then we will be given the impression to make jokes about ww2, which is offensive. Memes are meant to cheer people up, not to be offensive to others.
In my opinion I wholeheartedly dissuade anyone from using memes as a news source. I’ve seen my fair share of satirical memes that are sure to make anyone laugh, but I never really saw them as a way to learn something. Sure, you can learn information from memes, but that’s not the main purpose of why you should be looking at them. News should come from a reliable source, someone that has credibility, or even your parents, but not from a funny picture with words on it. Currently memes are all about the coronavirus outbreak and different countries reactions to the problem. This could be seen as “news” but if each one can be seen as a copy of one another then I don’t see that as news. If you want to get the latest news, you should go onto a trusted news website or station, not on memes.
@Gana V. I agree, but through my personal experiences with memes, I have been able to learn some interesting things about global issues and more.
I see that there are both advantages and disadvantages that come with making a point with images or a few words. I think it’s faster to communicate with someone when you use few words. I also think an image gives them a visual as to what you are trying to communicate. However this could be a danger as well if someone interprets it in a different was. For example a few years ago, I remember there was a store that posted a picture of their brand new shirt on a black child. The words on the shirt said “straight out of the jungle” and some people in society thought it was racist. The company interpreted it as a different idea then some people in society.
@Rohan N. Yes I agree that There are both advantages and disadvantages that come from making a point with few words. I guess people don't realize the damage they have done with their racist post instead they are trying to make people laugh instead.
Using humor is a good way to stay positive through tough times like these, but there is a time where the humor goes too far.
For me, I like to laugh at memes about the coronavirus. Even my parents, who are very paranoid, also like to look at funny twitter, instagram, and reddit posts. It helps lighten the mood a lot, and it can also help create stronger bonds between people, although they may disagree on other things.
I laugh at many offensive memes that are labelled as “dark humor”, but I do think that there is a line. When the memes get racist, or start hurting other people, I think that it is going too far. I’ve seen people make fun of Chinese restaurants for being desperate, people ganging up on Asian people and laughing about it, and other things that hurt people badly. In my opinion, those people forget that you have to be responsible when it comes to humor. Being offensive to some people may seem okay as they would enjoy the humor, but being rude to people and hurting others who aren’t joking around is not acceptable to me.
Although every person has a different sense of humor, I still think that we should stay respectful to people who may be hurting.
Everybody copes with pain/fear in different ways. Often the way we cope with things varies by the generation we are apart of. My generation primarily expresses their emotions and opinions on important news using memes. While I love laughing at a good meme and sharing it with my friends, I think that they can sometimes be over the top and hurtful. I do my best to not be solely informed about current events through memes because I understand how the truth can be distorted so that a joke can be made. However, this is not the case with many people I know who “inform” me on the seemingly life threatening news they just learned about from a meme. These things typically have some truth to them but are so grossly over exaggerated that it conceals how severe the problem is in reality. Memes can be a really great way to add laughter in times like this and I think that it’s ok to joke about painful subjects as long as the joke doesn’t go so far to be hurtful to someone else. Humor can be used to cope as long as it does not put a target on someone’s back or wrongly cast blame on them. An example of this happens frequently with the new coronavirus crisis. I always have a good laugh about the memes or tik toks about being immune because your underage or “needing a lime” but it goes to far when these “memes” start to bash China and blame them for the virus. Or when people joke about having corona when it has been really devastating for many families worldwide.
Many people use humor instead of expressing their true emotion, I know many people who use humor in serious conversation. I personally have used humor when I probably shouldn’t have. So many people only find their information from memes so they don’t know how scary it is so to them it is a just a joke and they treat it as such. I think anything involving death or people suffering should not be joked about because that’s just inhuman. I also know many people who will tell people it’s not funny to joke about that type of thing. Lots of people who joke about things have usually heard it from someone else and they are just trying to fit in or be liked even if they don’t agree. Many adults know all the horrible things that have happened and know it’s not ok to joke about it, teens on the other hand don’t actually read through articles and they haven’t created a personal connection to it. Everyone thinks it’s harmless to joke or laugh at certain things for many reasons, but I agrees it’s mostly a way of hiding their emotions.
After a lengthy day of virtual learning, I slump onto the couch in hopes that something entertaining will allow me to escape from reality on TV. I am instead greeted with the overwhelming statistics and heartbreaking stories broadcasted over all the channels. I open my phone and am instantly brought back to joy with the sarcastic and exaggerated memes filling up my screen. Although some may proclaim memes as inappropriate, especially when using humor to refer to painful or tragic events, I believe this emotional coping method to be extremely beneficial. During the possibility of a third World War a few months ago, I only experienced positivity and healthy humor across all social media. Of course I understood the gravity of the situation, but memes enabled me to appease my anxiety and emotionally relate to people across the globe. Although I have never used memes as a source for factual information, I have found that this medium allows me to connect with others and process unsettling information. Currently, during this surreal time, dealing with a pandemic can be stressful with the daunting numbers and tragic stories broadcasted over the news. Especially while quarantined, being able to relate with my friends and people across the globe, and express humor in such a dark time, has proven beneficial to my mental health. Although some memes may represent unhealthy behavior, cause offense, or spread misinformation, I think that healthy humor can brighten the global attitude.
@Meher S. I totally see what you’re saying. We aren’t being negligent of the serious topics at hand by making Memes and laughing about it. We are just using Memes to help us experience positivity from all the surreal news. Especially with being quarantined since we can’t go out and do anything, memes can be very useful source of positive energy by making us laugh and feel happy.
I believe memes have many advantages especially in this day in age where most people view memes in their everyday life. Whereas 10 years ago people probably wouldn’t be as accepting of the idea of making comedy out of serious situations, through people now have become accustomed to going on social media and seeing memes about anything you can think of. In this case there are lots of quarantine and corona virus memes going around and from my experience most people if not all have refrained from bringing a negative light to memes about the situation. Wether it’s a meme about a serious situation or not people will just think of it as another source of comedy.
Memes are a way to convey emotions in a humorous way and it is a way a lot of adolescents get their news. I believe that memes can be someone's news source but it cannot be someone’s primary news source because memes can convey the main idea of the event but they can also spread misinformation and often spread very negative messages about other groups of people. I myself use memes to understand the worldly events that are happening around me but I know when to draw the line of what is funny and what is crossing the line. An example of that would be of the coronavirus pandemic. I saw a funny meme earlier of people using toilet paper instead of real money to buy other things and I laughed because I saw the message they were trying to convey but minutes later, I saw a very derogatory meme of a Chinese person getting beat up because they were the ones who spread the coronavirus. This shows that there are memes that can humorous while teaching you something but there is also a very dark side to the world of memes.
@Anuj Parikh Yes, I agree with your point that memes should not your primary source for news. I feel like the real reason a person would make a meme about a subject, is to make you laugh rather than inform you. Therefore, that person can oftentimes overlook the negative sides of the post and spread misinformation. Getting news from a nightly show or newspaper is more reliable as their main priority is to inform the viewers.
There are both advantages and disadvantages to expressing yourself via memes. Memes are one of the most popular types of expression, and the simple format of pictures and words make making memes a quick and easy task. Memes are almost always made to be funny, but sometimes they can be used to deliver a message. Looking at memes can be relaxing and enjoyable to people of all ages, making it a somewhat popular pastime. However, the unique format of a meme can also lead to issues. The lack of words in a meme can also sometimes lead to misunderstanding of the point, sometimes even offending the reader with the message they perceive. Detecting sarcasm in memes can also be difficult, and a meme meant to be sarcastic can be easily interpreted as something offensive. I have seen very few memes ”cross the line“. Not many memes are blatantly racist or offensive, as most tend to use underlying messages to show their view.
There are topics in this article that I agree and disagree with. I agree that memes can be a coping mechanism when there are difficult moments in life. Humor has always been a way to help calm oneself down. However, the article portrays memes as a means to communicate misinformation, which shows the author doesn’t understand what memes are. Memes are like jokes; they are not meant to be taken seriously. Some memes can go far, but most memes actually stay in boundaries. An example of this is Reddit. Reddit is an app that is like Facebook that consists of many subreddits. These subreddits all have moderators that will remove posted content that hosts any offensive content. The subreddit moderators are very clear on what is meant to be in their subreddit. If the subreddit is dedicated to fake history memes, then those are the only post going on that subreddit. Everyone in that subreddit is aware that the historical content in each meme is fake. There is also the point to note that some people are just to overly sensitive about certain topics. Memes are just meant to make fun of and laugh at something. If someone gets offended by it, then they shouldn’t read memes entirely. Being highly sensitive has been a key problem in identifying what is really offensive. Memes may be funny to us, but offensive to all these highly sensitive people, but that does not make it right for these sensitive people to erase these memes because they can’t handle it.
@Abbas K I totally agree with you that memes are supposed to be read as funny and entertaining. However, you said that people should just ignore memes when they get offended, which I disagreed for many reasons. For example, a few months ago, when the coronavirus just started, many people in areas of the world other than China were making memes that targeted Asians for starting the virus. But after a few weeks, I started to see a decline in the number of coronavirus memes because it's not only in China anymore, and people become "overly sensitive" on those memes. So I think it's very important for meme creators to think about the viewers when creating their memes, even if they are "highly sensitive", instead of viewers wanting to erase those memes.
Memes are primarily used as comedic relief in what may be an otherwise mentally draining time. Although I have learned about new events occurring in the world through memes multiple times, such as WWIII memes lead to finding out about to the U.S. drone attack, or toilet paper memes lead to finding out about the real extent of the Coronavirus pandemic, memes should not be one’s primary news source. Learning about an event through a meme can be detrimental to one’s understanding of it, as a meme can be biased or perpetuate harmful stereotypes, as several Coronavirus memes had in relation to the Asian population. While it is okay to be exposed to an event for the first time through a meme, one should make sure to take the time to thoroughly understand the event using reliable news sources before making any hasty judgements.
@Lily A. I strongly agree that memes shouldn't be someone's primary source of news and that they can cause much harm to people when they get too dark. With the coronavirus memes that went too far and were racist, many Chinese and East Asian businesses in America were impacted harshly. Many people avoided their businesses because of the fear spread from the coronavirus which partly stemmed from memes. This is a real-world example of why we must be considerate and not quick to assume when it comes to huge events.
@Lily A. I definitely agree. Although memes can share information about serious situations, they are only able to entertain. For serious topics, memes have to twist some things to make it funny, but also making them sources of misinformation. In addition, memes can also have bias, which can spread negativity and in this case, racial discrimination. Memes are definitely funny and can provide awareness on problems, but if you take them seriously, your views may be skewed from potentially hurtful statements.
Memes are like air to this modern day society that we are living in. As a teenager I find memes hilarious and funny. My friend always sends me memes and there was not one time where I did not laugh. Although I do find memes funny , I personally think that there can be some possible dangers to it. One time there was a meme going viral on Instagram and it portrayed a picture of a Chinese man wearing glasses and the caption read “Who said one man couldn’t destroy the world”. It almost had two hundred thousand likes and I was kinda shocked by this. With this Coronavirus going around a lot of people are blaming the Chinese people for this pandemic and are being racist to them. I read an article stating that a Chinese woman got severely beaten up by black mobs due to them assuming that she has the Coronavirus and they were being extremely racist to her. I felt that this kind of behavior crossed so many boundaries and when I saw the meme, I thought we were spreading the same mindset of those black mobs to teenagers. I mean what if tennagers also start to view Chinese people as the cause of Coronavirus and be racist to them just like the black mobs did. So I personally felt that this meme had crossed a line and should not have been posted in the first place itself.
@Aparna Yes, I agree with you completely on how memes have their pros and cons and although they are funny to look at, they do come with their consequences. A meme can be portrayed in many different views and it is up to the person creating it to make it as less intentional as possible to not stir up any confusion between others.
I think there isn’t really a yes or no for this article there are memes out there that are funny and can help people stop being stressed and make people smile and can help the world but there is a point where memes draw the line and they can joke about things not meant to be joked about and that is when memes aren’t helping they are just provoking, so I think that memes are kinda a win lose kinda thing you just have to know what memes are good and what’s gone too far and isn’t appropriate.
@Charlie B
Yes, memes are a source of comedy and are meant to be taken lightly, though if there’s a point where there’s a sensitive or uncertain situation occurring that people should probably refrain from taking the situation so light heartedly and not undermine it with memes.
Memes are often used to make fun of situations, even serious ones. I do agree with the article on how memes or humor can be used to help process scary or hurtful information. It is often said that laughter is one of the greatest gifts anyone could give. Memes making fun of something like the Coronavirus helps people, especially teens be able to relax and not stress over the situation. Memes can also be used to help cope with previous sad events. There are definitely times when is it not OK to use humor when talking about tragic events. The first would be too soon after the event when people are still in a shocked or very over emotional stage. Also, some are just predisposed to the issue. Humor is a great “medicine” for making people feel better.
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@Landry Fee I agree 100% but I also don’t think it is appropriate to make memes or joke about any situation where someone has died or suffered. I personally joke about a lot of things but try to stay away from any jokes about people who had to suffer. I also agree with you that you have to wait awhile after a tragic event to start making memes or jokes.
I believe that there are negative outcomes that can occur due to the influence of memes because people say that “a picture is worth a thousand words”. This means that pictures are very manipulative and deliver concrete messages. Social media is a source of memes and teenagers, like me, are constantly intrigued by memes. Reality has been a roller coaster of events in 2020 and it has been a hard time for everyone. Although memes are a source of entertainment, it is important to acknowledge what serves a comedic purpose or offensive purpose. I know that many teenagers turn to social media to cope with stress and peer pressure, but limits need to be established. I have seen some hurtful memes about COVID-19 saying that China is responsible for this and the whole world is suffering because of it. However, there is no way we can know for sure if China is responsible or if God just wanted coronavirus to happen, there is uncertainty. Credibility and boundaries that individuals set for themselves contribute to a balance between receiving entertainment and being influenced by hurtful comments that teenagers may be oblivious towards.
@Varshitha I agree that the credibility of such memes that spread hatred and racism are still oblivious. I think that memes should not be posted if they target a particular race, caste, religion, etc. I also agree with the fact that it's manipulative and has a vague interpretation. We can't stop these memes from disseminating around the virtual community. Therefore, we must be able to distinguish between offensive and light-hearted memes based on what topic it is targeting.
I think that there’s more disadvantages than advantages with memes. Memes can be interpreted in so many different ways because of the limited words. It’s like art. Art can be interpreted differently by every individual because it’s only an image. This is partially true for memes. People with limited experience with memes especially have a hard time understanding the intended meaning of the meme. This means that what should have been a harmless joke all of a sudden becomes one that’s offensive to that person. I don’t blame the creator of the meme because I understand the joke that they’re trying to convey, but the way others think may cause a different message to be conveyed.
@Daniel P. I disagree because many meme creators and people who read memes understand the joke. If some person is offended by the joke than it isn’t within their right to go and try to erase the joke because they are offended by it. If a meme was actually offensive, people would take notice and call it out. On Reddit, moderators state their rules clearly. If their subreddit is meant to have highly offensive content, then sensitive people should obviously not visit this subreddit. If a subreddit does not condone offensive content, then the moderators will take down any offensive posts. It is also important to note what qualifies as offensive. On Reddit, moderators state out their definition of offensive in their rules. Reddit is a very controlled environment and is perfect for finding memes. For the other apps like Instagram and TikTok, I don’t personally go and read memes from there because, in my opinion, Reddit is the best place for that.
I think there are many advantages to making a point with memes because it is a form of information on a very accessible platform that is accessible by many kinds of people. When it comes to memes, sometimes the more serious topics make the funnier ones as long as they don't undermine the intensity of the issue. It’s very easy to see someone else’s and your own fears expressed in a humorous way that can then make you feel less alone. I don’t think it‘s ok when people ignore the populations most vulnerable in certain social/political issues, and then joking about them without empathy to those most affected. The memes that cross the line nowadays are ones that try to justify racism by using coronavirus fear. This has caused real life harm to the east-Asian community as seen in London where a singaporean university student was assaulted under coronavirus scares.
@Purvi D. I completely agree with you point. I feel like memes have become a very important part of pop culture that even the inappropriate ones have come to be viewed as acceptable when they really are not. Just like with the racist east-Asian memes, all the memes made about WW3. while funny upon a first read, are super insensitive to the soldiers who would have fought and the countries involved. War has to do with justified murder, and then death of people isn't a laughable topic. I understand memes can be helpful in making situations more bearable, but there is a limit.
The recent toilet paper shortage that happened, (i can’t lie about this) I learned about through a meme. Now I know this one is real because I can actually go to the store and see that there’s no toilet paper. Anyways I do believe it’s ok to laugh at serious news. Though I don’t believe in most news anyways so that’s why I say it’s ok to laugh at the news. I say this because I know in my mind that nothing will happen to me, my family, and my friends. Not only this but to lighten up the mood a little bit and make everyone laugh. For example when the ww3 news came out. All of my friends and family were worried about it. I had no worries because I knew that nothing was actually going to happen. By February all the news about it had blown over and everyone forgot about it. All the memes on the internet about it were extremely hilarious and making everyone calm down a little bit. Now with all the coronavirus news that’s going on everyone is in fear about the virus. I’m a little concerned but not really but all of my family and friends are very concerned. I know many of the news channels sell out fake news so I’m not buying everything they say.
@Karthik Chavali Yes, I agree that memes are Helping everyone calm down and finding humor in the current issues but many people are easily offended, due to this I feel like certain people should also be careful about what they post so they don’t cross the line.
Memes have always been something I grew up with. I enjoy viewing them on sites such as Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit. They allow people to create comedy in the world, and I personally love comedy. Although memes are a great way for people to get a good laugh, they should never be used as a news source. Think of memes as political cartoons, they are both making fun of a real-life event. That means they are there for laughter, not information. Take for example the WW3 memes. Many people are aware of the threat, but people do not go to any memes to find out more information about the situation. They would go to a reliable news station such as CNN, Fox News or the New York Times. Memes are a great way to lighten up someone’s mood, but that's all there is to it. Memes in any way should not be used as a reliable information source as there is always some sort of false argument that is supposed to bring humor. Memes should always be used for comedic purposes.
@Krish Chanda I agree with you because memes are something I have enjoyed for a long time as well and they can make me laugh and they are very funny. But sometimes they can go a bit too far and it’s not really a good thing
@Krish Chanda Yes, but it sometimes does turn into a news source because it may not be the specific reason that something has happened, but it can still give a person a general idea of what is going to happen. I agree with you when you said memes are things you use to lighten up your mood but that is not always the thing because some memes can be very offensive and hurt other people's emotions when someone is just trying to play it as a joke. An example that you used was WW3 and I agree with you when you said that people were being misled but some people just wanted the main idea and that is the power of memes.
With memes, they're mostly a picture with a small description. There are some disadvantages to pictures with little words. Nowadays everyone gets offended by every little thing. But whether you get very detailed or very bland with descriptions, someone will get offended. With memes, it can be very difficult to identify the “limit.” Every person has a different limit based on their own morals. Personally, I don't get offended very easily and I try to understand the other side on who made it or the why a friend that sent the meme to me.
@Marianne R Yes, I agree with what your saying but nowadays most people get offended by the same thing. But people like me, it’s very hard to offend. You can’t really find any people like that nowadays where it’s hard to offend. You say one thing and suddenly a horde of people are all over you. That one thing I disagree with you about.
Throughout my day, I spend a lot of time on Instagram, Snapchat, and Youtube. Since TikTok is a major app used by the majority of adolescents in the world, all I see are memes, more specifically, about the coronavirus. Although I find these memes humorous, I don‘t think that they should be someone’s news source. Back when there was the World War III scare, there were many memes about being drafted to Iran and people actually thought that they were going to be drafted to the war. I think that is very misleading information and actually causes more fear than there should actually be. In more recent events, like COVID-19, there has been many videos about toilet paper and quarantines. In addition,, I saw a TikTok about mosquitos transferring the virus, causing a healthy person to be infected. Which is not true! Through research and background knowledge of viruses, I knew that the coronavirus is an air-borne pathogen not blood-borne. In other words, the coronavirus can only be transferred through coughs and sneezes, not through blood transfusion. Almost every time I go into social media I see a coronavirus meme. Most of the memes are harmless and are ok to laugh at, but I believe that there are some that need to be taken down because it is too serious of an event to be taken lightly. The reason is because we are living in a international crises where people are dying to this deadly virus.
I believe that memes typically are harmless in nature but potentially may mislead or expose kids to a false narrative of an event. Memes have been used as a form of propaganda for a lot of political parties, especially in today's era, however memes themselves are a good way to humorously bring kids into the realms of politics, without frying their brains in the process.
@Erik Yes, I completely agree. Memes can make a event seem funny when it is serious and that can mislead kids into thinking that’s okay. It’s a certain age group that cannot handle memes maturely. I agree, memes can have a positive impact when politics get crazy theses days, often times memes can bring kids into politics not so heavily on their brains. However I do have to add that memes are harmless sometimes. Depending on the meme and what age group views it, it definitely could be harmful. Parents may catch their kid laughing at a meme that is mean and hurtful but the kid has no idea. That’s why I think memes can only be positive past a certain age group.
I do agree with the article about using humor in difficult moments to cope. I believe it can really help a person get through tough times, because sometimes strong emotions can disrupt daily lives, and being able to get through that is really important. I personally use humor to cope often. It’s kind of like how in horror movie, there has to be some comedy breaks (in my opinion), otherwise, the whole thing will just be too intense and possibly too much to handle as a viewer. I believe people using humor during hard times is much like the same thing. It doesn’t have to be used all the time, but every once in a while it can lighten up the mood. While humor is helpful in coping, it can also be hurtful. I personally think that the place to draw the line is if you start making fun of another person, rather than the situation itself. I also believe that making fun of other people in general to cope with a situation is just wrong. An example of this would be the racism that has come with Coronavirus memes. East Asian people, whether Chinese or not, are being made fun of, and have sometimes even experienced physical abuse in public - largely as a result of internet culture. Essentially, the humor can be good, in fact, helpful - but only if it doesn’t cross the line between lighthearted and mean.
People post memes with the purpose to entertain others, not to spread false information necessarily. I don’t think memes should be used as a news source because people don’t know who to trust. Accounts that post memes have no credibility in comparison to verified accounts on Instagram or valid news sources such as ESPN or CNN. I don’t know how many times I’ve fallen for false news but enough to the point where I can’t trust memes to deliver me information other than fake news. Since NFL Free Agency just began, there’s been fake reports abou top agents signing with bad teams which has angered lots of NFL fans on social media. I usually get my current news information from my parents and the evening news but very rarely has it been from memes. People like to joke about shortages but it hasn’t affected them fully either. I don’t think it’s right to laugh at serious news because it could very well affect us the next day or any given day. Memes are fun for relaxing and to de-stress but not trustworthy enough to deliver world-wide news to people.
@Anshul Shah I agree with you, it is very important that people who look at memes only look at it for entertainment purposes. We do not know the person who posted the meme as well as his intentions. I feel like since quite a few memes have to do with real-life events, many people confuse themselves with what they are looking at. They question themselves because they don't know if it is real or photoshopped. I feel like people should be aware that memes are for comedy purposes and not a reliable source for news.
Throughout my day, I spend a lot of time on Instagram, Snapchat, and Youtube. Since TikTok is a major app used by the majority of adolescents in the world, all I see are memes, more specifically, about the coronavirus. Although I find these memes humorous, I don‘t think that they should be someone’s news source. Back when there was the World War III scare, there were many memes about being drafted to Iran and people actually thought that they were going to be drafted to the war. I think that is very misleading information and actually causes more fear than there should actually be. In more recent events, like COVID-19, there has been many videos about toilet paper and quarantines. In addition,, I saw a TikTok about mosquitos transferring the virus, causing a healthy person to be infected. Which is not true! Through research and background knowledge of viruses, I knew that the coronavirus is an air-borne pathogen not blood-borne. In other words, the coronavirus can only be transferred through coughs and sneezes, not through blood transfusion. Almost every time I go into social media I see a coronavirus meme. Most of the memes are harmless and are ok to laugh at, but I believe that there are some that need to be taken down because it is too serious of an event to be taken lightly. The reason is because we are living in a international crises where people are dying to this deadly virus.
I totally believe that memes are a solid source of current events. I learned about most of the major events in recent years, including the tiger king documentary through memes that caused me to look further into these topics. On the other hand, they shouldn’t be a person's only source of news. Often times memes will distort these current events to make them into a meme to entertain people, so you usually aren't getting the full, real story. I also believe that it is ok to laugh at serious events. It keeps you from taking life too seriously and lets you have some fun every once in a while.
Memes have been popular, and on the come up since the 2010s. Starting off as simple jokes, ad I’m sure they still are meant to be, but it can be taken a bit to far. People’s humor is also different, resulting in arguments online and posts reported. But on the other hand, memes do bring us all together. People may also find the same memes funny, a lot I bet. But there’s always people who will get offended no matter what, just because they simply overthink it. Or it’s actually offensive to them.
@Will K Yes, I agree that as memes have developed into different humor categories and become more widespread that many more people view each type of meme differently. I also agree about how memes bring people together. Some memes really do get the whole squad laughing. I think that you have to be careful with memes because you never know someone's full background and/or how it could offend them in any way.
A meme is simply a piece of culture that is meant to amuse and interest people, and should in nor regards be a person’s foremost news source. Memes can be factual, but basing your view of the current state of the world on them can be dangerous, as memes not only lack specific detail but can also be used to spread misinformation. However, a meme may be used as a secondary news source; their basic structure and likable format can be utilized to draw attention to a topic, prompting the viewer to do their own further research. I myself have learned about new things from memes, but further research was required in order to fully understand the topic at hand. As far as memes containing serious news, I think it is okay to laugh at them, as laughter is one of humanity’s most powerful defense mechanisms. As long as the meme is not offensive, a meme that makes fun of a serious situation will not only boost the emotional state of the viewer but bring people together. Memes can be a powerful tool, and if used and viewed wisely, they can help humanity persevere through anything.
@Adarsh P I agree with you that memes shouldn’t be used as a primary news source. The brevity of memes and their use of humor can definitely distort the actual news they are representing, so it is not a good idea to use memes as your primary news source. When it comes to serious memes, I think people should laugh at them when they are sure that the meme doesn’t mock a certain group of people. In other words, if the meme is making fun of a certain kind of people, then it is best not to laugh. When one laughs, they are essentially agreeing to the message, so if the meme is ridiculing a group, then, by laughing, you are ridiculing the group as well. It all comes down to the old cliche, “treat people the way you want to be treated”; if you would be okay with how you are viewing a group, then it would be okay to react in that manner.
Do Memes Make the Internet a Better Place?
I feel like memes nowadays have gotten so popular that it would almost be normal to make jokes about serious things going on in the world. I think that having humor, especially when you know that there's some bad things going on, is a good thing because it makes you less scared about something. I see it as taking out something positive from a negative situation. I think it is okay to use humor when you talk about painful or tragic events so that way you don't feel as much pain as you would if you didn't have humor. The only thing is that you have to know when the right time to use your humor. I agree with the article when it says that using humor in difficult moments can be a coping strategy because even though you are passing through a hard time in your life, it's always good to have some humor. Another way that I think you could process intense emotions or fears about the world is just by simply not overthinking the situation.
@Meli Reyes I agree with you in the sense that humor helps people unwind/cope in far away, abstract situations. As in humor will help dealing with the prospect of a new World War or getting Corona. While the ethics or joking about these topics are up in the air, I believe that humor will not help with more personal issues and trauma. As in humor will not help very well as a coping mechanism when a loved one gets cancer or dies in an accident. Humor may put off dealing with the trauma, but I do not believe it deals with it.
I like the examples in this article, and I agree that memes can cause someone’s behavior to change based on what they see on a daily basis such as hurtful and misunderstanding memes. But yeah I think that memes are not a good source for news on a situation south as COVID-19
@Leo I agree with you, especially with your thoughts on how memes are not a good source of information.
Today in society, technology has all of us connected through all social media platforms. Nowadays, news can spread with a click of a button. I see meme posts everyday and often laugh at them. From this article, I can see how memes can be interpreted wrong. I began to realize that memes can cause harm with the jokes being to far. For example, with hand sanitizers going out of stock. Yes it can be funny but if you think deeper a lot of people are affected by this situation which can be very sad. Even though memes can cause harm I think there is more positive to making people laugh then the negatives.
@Ryan Sim Memes can be powerful if used the right way, but a lot of the time, especially during times of tension and crisis, they can become offensive to some people. I agree that memes are tools to cope with all the negativity and fear surrounding certain events. That said I do believe some memes do push it too far and people should take more caution with the way they interpret it.
I look at memes everyday, especially during quarantine to keep entertained. Memes are used as a way of entertainment in bad times like these when we have nothing to do. However, memes can cross the line. A meme I saw earlier was a meme ridiculing the asian population. I’ve also seen memes belittling the coronavirus which can lead to a sense of invincibility when it comes to catching COVID-19. Personally, I think most memes with the coronavirus stay light and not offensive, but there definitely have been people who have used the memes for evil during this crisis.
@Clayton McLean I totally agree with you because I have also seen some memes that have totally crossed the line, and it really sucks that something that started as lighthearted fun is now about making fun of people.
@Clayton McLean Yes I agree that memes can be funny at times and that they can speak to people if used correctly. I actually think that most people now, in a time of confusion and fear, would take offense to memes that make COVID-19 a joke and shouldn’t be a big deal because it’s something that we should not take lightly. I still do see some memes though that still make me laugh but I still don’t approve of.
@Clayton McLean I agree, I feel like mems have lead kids to feel like the coronavirus doesn't impact them. I feel like the pictures and few words attract a younger audience who may believe that they are invincible from the virus without taking the people around them into consideration.
Memes can be very dangerous because of the information that they can spread because it could be false. However I believe that it is a way for a generation to help express how we feel without having to get too far into the world. Right now people are using memes as a way to spread awareness that other people have families and needs of their own to take care of. I don’t often watch the NEWS but memes on social media have helped me get a basic understanding of what is happening in the world. Right now I feel as like people don’t know how all of this will turn out so memes are a way to look at the brighter side of life right now.
@Nicholas L I agree with you about memes being very dangerous and they can lead to misleading information. The reason why I agree with you is because when there was the World War lll scare people thought that they were gonna be drafted into the war. When I did further research about the actual situation, I figured out that no one is gonna be drafted and those memes were fake. I realize that memes are a method for teens to cope with serious events, but I disagree that social media should be the basis of our news source. As stated before, there is just too many things that can be false. Therefore, I believe that watching news networks like, Fox News, should help people get a basic understanding of current events.
@Nicholas L I definitely agree with you. Not all memes are a threat to the society as some of them actually are funny and it helps engage teenagers. I think that spreading awareness through memes is a great idea and everyone should start following it. But, there should be some boundaries set to memes as it can be harmful to the society. But , other than that memes should be embraced and laughed at.
I believe humor is often used during difficult times to make those times feel less stressful. For example, when I first heard about the coronavirus in December I was extremely worried about it. However, memes were able to relieve my stress and make it a topic I could talk about with my friends easily. When typically political or serious topics are not easy to talk about with my friends. But, I do think that since these coronavirus memes were so popular a lot of people didn’t expect it to spread around the globe. This could have caused people to be less concerned about it thinking it would never reach them. I do think it is ok to use humor when talking about painful or tragic events however, you must know what is a joke and what is actually harmful to somebody else. If you are able to find a good balance where it’s funny rather than harmful I think it is ok to use humor.
@Jaideep Sarma I also think that humor during difficult times is good because it can relieve their stress. I also agree with your point about knowing your limits when it comes to joking with others because there’s people who cross the boundary and hurt others even if they don’t mean to.
@Jaideep Sarma I agree with you that memes can be taken too far and that can cause some other problems. For example, some people may have seen the coronavirus memes and thought that it would be ok to travel to a high risk area. If too many of these memes circulate on the internet, it could prolong the entire coronavirus situation and cause unnecessary extra harm. I also agree that memes can help make people less stressful about the situation. I look at memes all the time on reddit and I have not been stressing as much as some other people about coronavirus; however, I think people still need to have some level of caution otherwise it will only spread further and make the situation worse.
@Jaideep Sarma I couldn't agree with you more. The way you described the reactions of people looking coronavirus memes was how I felt back in December. At first, I thought "It's going to be over by the end of the month or so." As time passed I kept seeing more and more cases. But I played delusional and tried to ignore it as if it was a big joke. "It's not that serious." As of right now, although I'm afraid of what's going to happen next, I try to keep myself calm and informed with actual news
I think there are some dangers of posting things with not a lot of context and just a picture and two words, sometimes different types of memes can have different types of humor like dry humor which not everyone will understand and you could get in trouble for posting memes people might find offensive or if they just simply don’t like it, although I also think there are a lot of advantages that memes can bring to the table as well. Memes can make anyone laugh and there a lot of different types of memes, there are meme accounts in social media that have millions of followers, memes can also raise a lot of awareness for things and many teens can see what’s going on around the world from memes, but, I feel like the most looked at memes are definitely the more offensive ones who mock things and people, this has always been the case for memes and I feel like memes aren’t made for people who look too much into it and are made for people who understand that whatever the meme is saying is for comedic purposes only. Memes have a lot of good and bad advantages and disadvantages but overall I feel like memes ARE the internet now and they should be respected
@Luis V I agree varg, a picture with two words can be dangerous. Especially when most memes will have hate, mainly because people get offended. This telling us that people of society have different sense of humors. But at the same time, lots of people have the same sense of humor as well, so I agree on that memes can be good and bad.
Memes are a universal outlet for the younger generations to express their emotions. However, I recently saw this meme about WWIII and I laughed, but I thought to myself what if this war actually occurs and how disrespectful is this meme to all the veterans who served in previous wars? Furthermore, can these harmful and trendy memes have a detrimental impact and sadden others when we start spreading them? Another time, one of my friends texted me a meme talking about how the current coronavirus pandemic is basically a joke and how we don't have to worry about the pandemic. Many of the memes today are spread through social media such as Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok; most of the social media platforms are used by teenagers and young adults that tend to spread these viral and harmful memes. To solve this problem, doctors now suggest that parents simply talk to their children about the story of the memes and how they can be hurtful. Moreover, doctors are now telling parents to enforce their family values on kids at a young age so their children will act responsibly according to the family values. Overall, these recent viral memes have been pretty offensive and have been trending all over multiple social media platforms and I think that these memes are hurtful to the older generations and to others in our society. However, this problem of harmful and offensive memes can be resolved if parents talk to their children and if the child listens and respects their family values.
@Sharan Sethi I agree, I think it's important that parents speak to their children about sensitive memes however, I think these memes are a little difficult to avoid. Even if parents try to talk to their kids about hurtful memes, they may not be able to avoid exposure altogether. Having a conversation might be helpful in developing perspective regarding the magnitude of these problems but memes about these subjects will always exist.
A picture is capable of voicing a person’s opinion more than any blog post would. A trained eye isn’t required to analyze and identify certain elements of an image that attempt to convey a message. Yet while a picture can contain a thousand words, most people like to gloss over anything that has more than a hundred words. And when something is merely skimmed over, it is likely victim to misinterpretation. An argument with images is very likely to be taken the wrong way, as everyone comprehends and understands pictures in their own way. Yet I’ve yet to see a meme that I thought crossed the line. For someone who follows prominent Instagram meme pages and has spent hundreds of hours on meme subreddits, I haven’t found a meme that, in my eyes, has offended me. I was conditioned to understand that internet memes are a form of “pseudo-media.” Memes are meant to satirize the serious and misinterpret the meaningful in order to get a laugh out of someone. It stimulates curiosity and creates a sense of control in the person that sees a meme and laughs at it. Most teenagers who laugh at a coronavirus meme feel a sense of power, as humor is a powerful coping mechanism especially when facing such a situation as a pandemic. Those who get offended at memes either don’t understand the humor in satirizing a world issue, or refuse to do so.
Images can be more powerful than words, a sentiment echoed in the common saying “a picture is worth a thousand words.” I’ve found that art can mean more to the viewer than anything the artist can say about the subject, so I don’t think that’s where the issue with memes arises. The problem is that memes replace the gravity of a situation with humor. When that becomes the majority of the content a person takes in, it’s easier for them to ignore the real issue at hand. I’ve seen a lot of memes about smoking weed, drugs, and rape that I feel weren’t funny enough to justify their caricature of important issues teens deal with in real life. Especially given that many teens live under pressure from their friends to smoke weed or juul, seeing content that endorses these activities encourages teens to take part.
@Trisha A. Yeah I agree that many memes often undermine the depth of an issue. I think sometimes it can be useful to convey a point like the memes about people hoarding toilet paper. It’s funny because it’s true and it makes a lighthearted joke about people treating the pandemic as the apocalypse. Many of them don’t ignore the intensity and in a way, those kinds of memes keep us sane by giving us something to laugh at.
@Trisha A. I agree with your opinion. Memes can be harmful to a person’s perspective of a prominent issue. I feel that people underestimate how much memes influence teenagers especially during difficult times like right now. It is important for teenagers to consider what type of information they receive from memes and how they react to them. Although many people know that memes serve comical purposes, memes can lead to a biased mindset or beliefs based on minimal factual information.
@Trisha A. Although some may proclaim memes as inappropriate, especially when using humor to refer to painful or tragic events, I actually believe this emotional coping method to be extremely beneficial. I do agree that some memes may represent unhealthy behavior, cause offense, spread misinformation, or influence others negatively, but I think that a daily dose of healthy humor can significantly brighten the global attitude on a particular situation. Though I have never used memes as a source for factual information, I have found that this medium allows me to connect with others and process unsettling information, positively.
I feel like in some situations, using humor in the form of a meme in a difficult moment to process scary or hurtful information is ok, as it can lessen the emotional effect on someone trying to digest it. It can show someone the positive side of a tragic or stressful event, such as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Some memes promote things like social distancing in a humorous way, which can help spread awareness. Other memes mention staying at home, and they might give you things to do at home, which can help cure boredom. On the other hand, if humor is used when someone dies, I feel that it is not appropriate. When a family is trying to cope with a loss, making a joke out of it is disrespectful and can make the situation worse.
I feel like in some situations, using humor in the form of a meme in a difficult moment to process scary or hurtful information is ok, as it can lessen the emotional effect on someone trying to digest it. It can show someone the positive side of a tragic or stressful event, such as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Some memes promote things like social distancing in a humorous way, which can help spread awareness. Other memes mention staying at home, and they might give you things to do at home, which can help cure boredom. On the other hand, if humor is used when someone dies, I feel that it is not appropriate. When a family is trying to cope with a loss, making a joke out of it is disrespectful and can make the situation worse.
@Rohit Kondareddy I personally use humor to cope with hard times, but I do agree that sometimes, it can be hurtful to others. People making lighthearted jokes about toilet paper is totally okay, but when it comes to disrespecting others’ opinions or struggles - such as dealing with deaths caused by the virus - it becomes insensitive and mean.
L. St. Remy Maury High School Norfolk, Va
Internet memes are not only an outlet for teenagers during an important chapter of their lives, but they also provide a sense of unity and comfort amidst an increasingly isolated high school experience. Humor is found to be a coping mechanism, and memes give a mental break to those who are facing academic demands and social pressures. With their world now veiled in the COVID-19 crisis, teenagers may turn to jokes to liberate their minds from a serious situation. Many individuals would prefer to view a meme that satirizes the virus’s impact on their lives, rather than watch traditional news with its distressing information.
With school closures and canceled SATs, I was among the thousands of American high schoolers concerned about their academic year and how online learning would affect them. I found comfort on apps such as Tiktok and Twitter, where countless others shared my concerns through jokes. However, not all Internet memes are utilized positively. Many purposefully spread misinformation, and allow for the purveyors of hate to claim innocence with the use of memes as a vehicle. This poses a challenge for young adults to identify false sources, bias, and exaggeration intended to influence their opinion on certain issues. As adolescence is a time for significant cognitive and moral growth, the use of memes to normalize hate and prejudice has a significant impact on the future of our generation.
In today’s society memes are a universal thing that you’ll see on all social media platforms, and in the hands of people ranging from ages 10-60. Whether it’s a Tik Tok ridiculing the coronavirus, or an Instagram post making fun of a TV character, the spread of that one post will reach thousands. After school when I just need a break from work I can be scrolling through Instagram and all I will see on my feed would be memes that I share or laugh upon. Personally I can say that I enjoy watching or looking at them, but this article had me truly think about the reason behind my laughter. Was it really me escaping the fear of the world or my personal problems? The harm brought upon by these simple posts can be detrimental. I began to reflect on the day to day memes that I go through, and realized my enjoyment was just to avoid the problem it addresses whether it was serious such as the World War 3 Tik Toks or something about hand sanitizers being sold out. I feel as if the variety of memes that are created for public enjoyment is to cast away the situation truly behind what’s actually happening to deter the public from the seriousness of an issue. They take a simple statement such as the fact that 2020 has brought upon issues piling on top of each other and make it into something for society to laugh upon.
@Jyoti Patel I strongly agree that our society has developed means of nullifying our fears about a serious issue that may affect us negatively, like memes. Memes can be manipulative and have a vague interpretation. But we cannot have a stalwart perspective on what memes are trying to convey. The meaning can be anything. That's where the actual detriments initiate. We may call it brainwashing or we may also call it showing us what the real world is -like some people think the Chinese community is responsible for the Coronavirus and now we know the reality of the origin of the virus. But who are we to validate the credibility of this information. This is making a lot of people even more racist. Therefore, we must be pragmatic and be able to differentiate between offensive memes and light-hearted memes to prevent further misunderstanding and hatred.
Yes, I believe that memes could be a replacement for important news as long as it’s appropriate for the certain subject. In a lot of cases, memes can be offensive to peoples races, religions, or personal practices. However, I believe it shouldn’t be used in all cases. Some news are very serious and do not require a type of humorous meme to spread it. Certain situations could be certainly inappropriate for humor to come into place and hurt people's feelings as well as make them angered in ways. News sources should be particularly careful to what type of news they make into “memes” due to the sensitivity level of individuals.
Internet memes are not only an outlet for teenagers during an important chapter of their lives, but they also provide a sense of unity and comfort amidst an increasingly isolated high school experience. Humor is often viewed as a coping mechanism, and memes give a mental break to those who are facing academic demands and social pressures. With their world now veiled in the COVID-19 crisis, teenagers may turn to jokes to liberate their minds from a serious situation. Many individuals would prefer to view a meme that satirizes the virus’s impact on their lives, rather than watch traditional news with its distressing information.
With school closures and canceled SATs, I was among the thousands of American high schoolers concerned about their academic year and how online learning would affect them. I found comfort on apps such as Tiktok and Twitter, where countless others shared my concerns and experience through jokes. However, not all Internet memes are utilized positively. Many purposefully spread misinformation, and allow for the purveyors of hate to claim innocence with the use of memes as a vehicle. This poses a challenge for young adults to identify false sources, and bias intended to influence their opinion on certain issues. As adolescence is a time for significant cognitive and moral growth, the use of memes to normalize hate and prejudice has a significant impact on the future of our generation.
@Lily Yes, I do agree that memes are a way that teenagers can express themselves and can also be used as a coping mechanism for the harsh circumstances they face in their everyday life. I also acknowledge that the internet, as well as memes, have to lead to the spread of misinformation as well as the spread of very negative ideas and beliefs. Many of my own friends have learned about things happening around the world just through memes rather than trustworthy news sources. However, this isn't always a good thing as sometimes they may learn false things about a very serious topic. For example, when corona virus was becoming popular one of my friends saw them and then assumed that all Asian people had carried the virus. Which obviously isn't the case but, shows the power and influence memes have over teenagers nowadays.
As much as people love laughing things off, there is always a limit to everything. It isn’t bad to laugh at memes about serious situations, although sometimes things go too far. If something is so serious that it is killing someone or tarnishing someone’s reputation, it most likely isn’t the best thing to laugh at. Viral memes on social media spread like wildfire, often reaching almost everyone who uses social platforms. Several times, the information conveyed by these memes is fake or untrustworthy. It is not smart to base your knowledge simply off of memes, as many things you learn from them could be unfactual. Using memes to make fun of someone is disrespectful, especially if it's because of their race or appearance.
@Ayushi Sharma I totally agree with your viewpoint on this topic in the sense that there is always a limit to the way we view a meme and react. Sometimes we aren't aware of it, but we don't realize that the things that we laugh at or share out of humor isn't always the right thing depending on the topic its ridiculing. I feel as if people forget that when they look at a meme it could be fake and try to spread news that can trick individuals into thinking wrongly and cause disruption among a family or society though fear. I really liked your comparison to the wildfire due to the fact that I feel like once posted a meme can be spread quickly whether it is meant to or not, and can cause serious damage.
An advantage is that memes are mainly good for humor. However, memes are not very nuanced and can give people misconceptions about a certain topic. It can also foster disrespect and a lack of tact. For example, using the phrase “Ok boomer” or making insensitive comments after viewing WWII memes.
@Goutham yeah memes can be a good for humor but, are they a good source for information are they?
@Goutham Yes, I agree with the insensitive comment portion of your original comment. I believe that people can also misconceive the idea of memes that are in their news. This could eventually lead to people being mentally upset and backlash in the news provider.
i like memes as much as the next person but i think they can catch you off quard or be scary. lEts take maybe the caronavirus its very bad and making memes can make relif anger scary thoughts or funny laghs.
@jimmy Yes, but sometimes teens do not watch the news and only get their information through memes, which can give misconceptions. This is especially a risk during our current pandemic where things like social distancing are very important.
@Goutham I totally agree that memes can give misleading information but, sometimes people don’t watch the a NEWS because of thing going on around them. I personally feel that memes arrest really used to try and give information on important topics but to try and get people to smile and not worry about all the bad things happening.
I enjoy memes as much as the next person, but I think they have the potential to be dangerous. Let’s take the coronavirus for example. Before this quarantine really started and the coronavirus was just reaching the US, I saw so many memes about how the media was over exaggerating the virus, how it only affects old people, it’s just another flu, it doesn't affect children, etc. I think we can now all agree that this virus is just as serious as the media was telling us. In my opinion, memes contributed to this popular mindset that we have nothing to worry about and that this would all just blow over soon enough, which is dangerous because the reason we are in the situation that we are in now is because we were ill prepared to begin with. Obviously this isn’t entirely due to memes, but they may have contributed. One of the biggest problems with memes is that many young people don’t regularly follow the news, and the only “news” they come across are in the form of memes. It could be hard for people to know what is real and what is fake, because it’s really easy for fake news to be spread. That’s the most dangerous aspect of memes, or the internet in general, in my opinion. Sometimes it’s easy for us to make fun of or over simplify complicated situations in the real world, but it’s important for all of us to keep sight of what's real and what’s not, what’s okay and what’s not okay.
@Anjali Kota I totally agree with your comment. Memes should not be the sole source of news someone relies on. Many memes come across as untrustworthy and they can create havoc in the society if everyone starts believing them. Many times memes serve a humorous purpose, and it is okay to laugh at them. Although, taking memes so seriously that you start believing every bit of it isn't a smart choice, as a lot of the information that you come across could be incorrect.
I think learning about new information through memes are not always reliable sources, so I wouldn’t trust what it says. If I ever look at memes, I see things I never hear about such as the specific details of the coronavirus which may or may not be true. Although I may learn things from memes, it is mostly just jokes and something people can distract themselves with from the actual pandemic. I rarely learn anything from memes. Although many people think memes can be inappropriate, I believe that we should be able to laugh at these jokes and take our mind off of what is happening Also memes can be a fun way to talk about current events or a way to tell the next generations about what happened in a funny way.
@Shota K Yes, I agree with you, especially when said that we should be able to laugh at these jokes and take out mind off of what is happening. I also agree with how you said that memes are not always reliable sources. This is true, as many memes are created just to make you laugh, and distract you from what is actually happening. It is true that some people may think memes are inappropriate, but people should put that aside and take it as a joke.
@Shota K I agree, however, the memes that we see today on the internet are about current world events. While the memes might distort the story or the news of today, they can still educate many people who are uneducated about the topic. Nevertheless, memes can provide entertainment and humor while allowing many to express their emotions. All in all, memes can be very harmful and offensive if created the wrong way or about the wrong topic; in contrast, memes can make many people laugh and can brighten one's day.
@Shota K While I agree with most of your comment, I think there should be a line drawn when memes about a certain topic do more harm than good. In general, memes are hilarious and they help teens communicate and appreciate humor, but this isn't worth it if memers don't recognize the potentially harmful impact of their meme. Take vaping, for example. Millions of teens are subjected to peer pressure to try vaping, and seeing encouraging content online (many times in meme format) will influence their decisions and make them more susceptible to things like vaping.
There definitely are both advantages and dangers that come with the meme format of making a point or joke. I believe that using memes and humor as a coping mechanism during hard times like these or during current events is generally not harmful and is simply an outlet for people. The main advantage is that the format of memes is one that is very easily accessible and available to teens and the masses in general because it takes very little brain power or time to comprehend. One of the dangers however is that when these memes take a stance on a complex idea, problem, or controversy, this simple format could just not be enough to adequately describe or speak on the situation. I definitely have felt that people have crossed a line with some of their memes, particularly the ones that pertain race. The majority of meme creators are teens or just adults just trying to make people laugh, so 99% of the memes out there are not ill intentioned, however sometimes some of these creators can go too far on a touchy subject and their jokes may come off the wrong way. Somebody may see these sensitive memes and get offended, and although it was most likely just an insensitive joke, it can be hurtful to certain groups and people that the joke may be pointed towards.
@Alejandro Lopez I totally agree that memes and humor are used as a coping mechanism by many young people, and that sometimes they can be offensive and racist. I wanted to add that it's also really easy to spread false information really quickly through memes and social media. If people don't watch the news or keep up with current events, it can be hard for them to tell what is true and what isn't from what they see online or through memes. This could be dangerous in times like these with the coronavirus.
I have mixed feelings about memes and when it’s appropriate or not appropriate to joke around about serious topics. I am very much guilty at laughing at memes and jokes about topics such as coronavirus and the situation it’s put us in. I believe that memes are a coping method for many teens especially people my age. I don’t necessarily think it’s to be disrespectful and careless but it’s a way to get a laugh in during these tough times. It personally takes my fear of things and puts it in a joking way for me to see it as light hearted and ease my anxiousness. However, I do believe that sometimes that line can be crossed. Even memes that I laugh about, those are probably crossing the line yet we still laugh? I think that when people are actually facing the struggle or have a person experience with the topic, it can be very sensitive to others. And I would like to believe that the memes created by people aren’t targeting people who are sensitive to those topics rather than the people who aren’t. I’m a strong believer of people seeing things differently and having their perspective changed when they are affected by the situation directly. Conclusion, I see the controversy and the different point of views because memes can make a person seem careless towards the situation but they might just be needing an outlet to laugh of their fears. It’s just how people view it and their perspective on things.
@Mariana Lozano Yes I agree, especially on the fact that you said there is a certain line that can be crossed. I think all the points you made were valid and I also feel as though people, especially teens like us, can get caught up in the joke and the meme and not necessarily realize that some people are actually affected by these topics and may be more sensitive towards those serious subjects that the rest of us simply laugh at from a distance. I really think that the most important thing to keep in mind when considering this topic is to simply be mindful of what is too far and what is acceptable, and to think about how others might feel about the joke.
Memes are a good way of being able to relieve stress after a difficult and long day. I think that there are both advantages and possible dangers that making a point with memes. Some advantages of making points with memes are that they are easy to read, entertaining and can usually be relatable. For example, instead of writing a paragraph to get your point across you can use a meme “format” appropriately to have people understand what you are trying to say. Most people can also relate with one another through memes because most memes bring up a topic that everyone already knows about and can relate to. This sense of being able to relate to something satisfies most people's urge to “belong”. But not all things should be said through memes. Sometimes people can’t understand what you are saying or misinterpret what you are actually trying to say. For example, saying something as a joke can be misinterpreted as something very serious by others and make them target you in the comment section or at least keep an eye on you. In the world we live in today, we should be able to express ideas with few words and pictures and still respect the ideas and mindsets of others.
Memes have been a thing even before I knew what instagram was. Memes can range anywhere from silly cat memes, to dark humored memes. I feel like since memes are only presented with an image and a few words, it can definitely have its pros and cons. Memes can’t definitely be misleading, as everyone processes things differently. Since there‘s limited information in memes, every little word can lead to miscommunicated information. Many people, including me, were given the idea that people were getting drafted for WWIII, which was a big deal in the mem industry. One misleading meme led to the next, which led to a mass of fake news. An advantage to memes is that they are very concise, as they can give a lot information in one picture. Memes make a whole point with a single picture or video and a couple words, which makes it very easy for people to access and comprehend. I have seen an infinite number of memes throughout my life, and I have also seen many offensive ones as well. I thought the memes that joke about diseases, such as cancer, are the memes that cross the line. The people that have had to experience those diseases would take the memes in a different way than someone who hasn’t experience those diseases.
I believe that using humor in horrific events such as these is a good thing to an extent. Humor can alleviate pain from events like the corona virus by diverting someone’s attention to memes instead of them worrying about the pandemic. Humor, however, has a downside to it. Sometimes people make memes that take it too far. An example of this would be praying to get the coronavirus, or wanting to get drafted into the war, believing that they will win since they have experience from Call Of Duty. These type of memes may hurt others rather than humor them which was their original purpose. I believe that humor can be taken very light- heartedly or very seriously. People must know the boundary they must not cross to humor people so the person who made the meme won’t hurt anyone with their joke.
@Ethan T. I totally agree with your comment. I believe that memes can be taken very light heartedly or very seriously. Some people who aren’t experiencing the situation first hand or have a direct experience affecting them might think that it’s okay to make jokes and laugh at memes but I think people need to be considerate of what others feel and are experiencing during this time. They might think it’s okay but there’s a very clear line between being funny and then being offensive towards others and what they are experiencing first hand.
@Ethan T. I definitely agree with your points and I would like to add that people who have not experienced something very serious should not make a joke about it as they do not know how that might affect people who have experienced it. Using your example of someone saying that wished that they were drafted if someone who was in the military or is still in the military and has experienced unthinkable situations were to see that post, they would most likely be very stunned or surprised because they have actually experienced the horrors that someone else is just casually joking about.
@Ethan T. I agree, think that this kind of humor can go two ways, in the positive direction and in the negative direction. Some might be able to alleviate pain but others might find more pain within these memes. For some, these memes might remind them of painful events that they may have been involved in. However, I also believe these memes are impossible to subdue entirely. It's important that people respect each others boundaries but should they come across something that crosses the line, one should have a coping mechanism to resolve any pain caused by these memes.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with getting your news through a meme. Often times, when I find myself looking at a meme I don't understand, I begin to research the topic. However, I never base all of my news off of memes alone. I always go through multiple sources. As far as laughing at serious news, I think it depends on the severity of the news and severity of the comment. Everyone has a different opinion on each current event so you never know who your comment may make laugh or may offend. In Jennifer Finks article, “Do memes Make the Internet a Better Place?”, she persuades parents to understand the memes from a kids perspective and how to better relate to their children. I think this is important for parents to help establish their child’s ethics.
@Hally L. I also think getting information from memes can sometimes be accurate, but most can have a biased opinion or purposely use wrong information to add humour. Most memes purposely make it false to the point everyone knows it's a joke such as the meme which says that drinking the corona beer will give you the coronavirus. I think memes can gather attention to a topic but isn't successful towards giving accurate information.
I think that humor is a great way to deal with a difficult or emotional situation in a way that lights up the mood and makes everyone feel better about a certain subject. However there is always a time and place to do such things, and i believe that you should not joke about something if you have the intention of offending anyone, but other than that i think that humor can be used in any situation. For example, WW3 memes, obviously people were scared they were going to go to war and did not want to get drafted, which people made memes out of. Most of the memes are funny and i know people got into a better mood because of them. I can see where people are coming from when they say that some things should not be joked about, and thats true to an extent, because purposely offending someone isnt very cool, but if there is no malicious intent then i dont see a problem.
@Chris Conger Yes, I totally agree with you on the fact that humor is a great way to deal with difficult or emotional situations. I feel like there is no better way to deal with rough situations than to laugh and keep yourself happier. I also agree with what you said about memes not being a problem if there is no malicious intent, but I think majority of memes offend at least a small group of people. I think its hard to make a meme that makes everyone laugh and also doesn’t offend anyone at the same time, so I think making a meme that was made to intentionally offend a group of people is fine, but making a meme that is intended to hurt someone’s feeling is not okay.
As I scroll through tik tok on my phone, I find so many coronavirus related videos. There are always some I know they have crossed the line. Humor can be used for people who have good intentions in mind and not for people who do not think through their actions and words. I remember looking at a video about two guys who went around Walmart trying to sneeze on elders’ carts. This is extremely disrespectful to elders because they are more susceptible to the disease than minors. These actions are disgusting and should not be used in a big crisis like this. This is just one example of people using humor in the worst way possible. Not all people are like this, there are some who use humor to further elaborate on good skills like washing hands or staying indoors. Especially during a crisis like this, people need to think about using humor the right way and not use it to invoke fear or frustration.
@Varshini Korapati Yes, I agree with your views because some memes can be very funny if they don’t cross the line but due to some people, memes can send very bad messages to anybody who watches them. There is a certain boundary that people cannot cross in order for their meme to not harm anybody.
I love memes. They have kept me up through some hard times and I think they’re here for nothing more than a laugh. I know it may seem that we shouldn’t be laughing at things that make jokes about what’s going in in the world but I’d rather laugh about it than think about how something could potentially kill me.
I know for a fact that the majority of my peers look at memes daily, as do I. They do brighten up a frown or even change someones mind on an opinion. But I believe laughing at the memes is completely fine, depending of the joke. Making these jokes and laughing at them is most of the time coping mechanisms for fear or sadness. We are living in a crazy world at this moment and kids, teenagers, and even adults will probably need to cope. However, the humor can cause you to re-imagine past trauma or fear. And most don't! I haven't seen any memes go too far other than the 'tide pod challenge'. There may be news coming from memes but a kid or parent should know better than to get news from them. All parents don't have Facebook or Twitter, so an adult can make these same mistakes as a teen.
@Samantha I agree with this, as some people take memes too seriously, and not many go too far. Although they may seem like odd coping mechanisms to many (especially those who were born in an age without the technology we have), they are very easy to share and relate with. However, some memes can be taken too far. One such example of this would be some forms of 9/11 memes. It was a tragedy in which many lost their lives and many families are still coping with the loss of lives. However, some people on the internet try to denigrate those trying to cope with eh disaster by downplaying the situation or making fun of those who were killed. This is not a meme to me, even if its original intent was as a joke. Overall, memes are good coping mechanisms for millions, but sometimes, the joke can be taken too far.
Memes are a very open subject, it's a joke that can be used in every scenario and it can be directed to a group of people. Memes are jokes that have the ability to be spread over the whole and with that power anyone can make it offensive or wholesome as they can. As memes stand though, it makes a world a better place, it spreads laughter throughout the world. Sometimes memes help people feel better in time of crisis, like the current virus outbreak, people have made memes and that has made some laugh in the face of fear and feel better about life itself. Memes make others happy and it's part of the reason why humor to this day is constantly evolving and shaping. Memes makes the internet a better place, without them users of the internet and the internet itself wouldn't be what they are.
I believe that memes go both ways. I personally don't look at memes very often, but sometimes while I'm looking at something on my phone I might see one or my friends might one to me. Usually they're funny but sometimes the can be hurtful to other people. Memes can make the internet a better place, but can also be hurtful to some people.
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@Olivia Memes can definitely go both ways, but I believe that memes are a very broad form of expression on the Internet. You may view some memes as hurtful to other people, but to some, that meme could be seen as funny. Im sure people who create memes don't usually do it to offend anyone, and when they offend people on purpose, thats where I draw the line. However, memes are meant to be jokes, jokes than can ease any situation.
@Olivia I agree that memes can be funny to one person and offensive to another person. After all, one's perception about some content varies according to experiences, childhood, age, and social standpoint. For example, the elderly will definitely not laugh at memes involving "OK boomer" because it is very insulting to them. However, teenagers and children laugh at those memes daily because the memes are not directed towards them. Also, someone who grew up in a warring country will have a different reaction to a war meme compared to someone who grew up in a stabilized country. Memes are very open-book in the sense that they can be interpreted any way depending on the reader. Therefore, memes are both beneficial and harmful to the internet and its users.
@Olivia I agree that memes can be funny to some but not all. You may see the meme to be hurtful while someone might else might not. I am sure that people don't make these "funny" memes to be hurtful or so but someone else might not be thinking the same. However, memes are meant to be jokes but nothing more.
I think memos make the internet a better place because they’re not upsetting and they make kids happy.
Yes, I do think that memes make the internet a better place. Memes make people laugh and joke and it can also make someone be happy! I think everyone need at least one Harambe meme or a Shreksophone meme in their everyday life. ﴾эωэ﴿
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I think memes really make the internet a better place. Even if there's a lot of hateful posts, its a way for the Young generation to talk about serious issues with humor and it allow them to not stress and have bad feelings. It can be a way to escape from school life and comfort sad friends. Cause there is a lot of différents types of memes. There is memes filled with kindness and love and other memes which create private jokes that make bonds and friendships
@Raphael I agree with you on the way that the young generation can use memes to talk about serious issues and deal with the stress that accompanies them, and one relevant example of that right now is the Coronavirus and the memes spawned due to it. The Coronavirus is a scary new virus that we can't control, making us feel helpless and panicked. The majority of memes circulating right now about Corona make light of the situation and provide a way for people to move away from their panic and helplessness, helping humanity as a whole get through this crisis together.
i think memes make the Internet a better place because some memes are really funny and just make peaple smile. Personally, I use Instagram a lot just for memes because it's so funny.
@lilaaa Yes, and I also use Instagram a lot to look at memes. I think memes make the internet better my making people laugh and shows the positives to the internet than the bad. However from my past experiences I saw how memes could start conflict. There was a meme about a football team and how bad they were and in the comments I saw how people of that football team were offended. However, I think memes have more positives than negative reactions from the public.
I think memes are (personally) a great part of people’s life. Yes, some memes are not the best. But others just make people smile. I dislike that news is shared in such a joking way but, it takes a bit of the shock away.
@Mega UwU I completely agree, memes are an easy way to be informed about current events that may truly be shocking in a way that some of the edge is taken off. However, with the way it softens the blow, it may cause others to be misinformed with biased information or to not take some things seriously that definitely should be (i.e. social distancing).
I think that memes do make the internet a better place, and here's why: I usually get my news from memes because I don't watch the news but I look at memes all the time. In fact, I found out that the creators of the new "Sonic the Hedgehog" movie had to basically reanimate the entire movie through a meme. I usually do find that humor helps me to process hurtful information because I might be worried about a particular thing and a meme might help that anxiety go away, but sometimes I do think that it's not okay that use humor to talk about hurtful or tragic things because it could offend someone that is actually going that particular event. For example, the coronavirus. I've seen tons of memes about the coronavirus and I sometimes think that people that actually are suffering from the coronavirus might see a meme about it and be offended. Other ways that you can process intense things about the world are by talking to friends or family.
@Mikayla Pereira I agree with your point. Memes are a great way for our generation to express emotions in a light and humorous way. I also agree with your point that memes during events like the Coronavirus get taken too far and can even end up being offensive to those suffering more personally in these events. I think that because of this its important to try to verify big news that we first se in memes with friends and family who gets their news from a different source.
In the article titled “Do Memes Make the Internet a Better Place?” by Jenniffer L.W. Fink, the ubiquitous presence of memes and their role in our society is questioned. Though most memes are made lightheartedly with intentions to make us laugh, the seemingly harmless form of internet entertainment is challenged by the consideration of how it affects youths and their ability to identify sensitive subjects as well as the possible contribution it has in the increase of false information and toxic social media behavior. For example, the more recent struggles with Iran and the killing of general Qassim Suleimani guided the world into a panic about a possible world war, however, during this time it was hard to avoid the spread of memes finding humor in “WWIII” and the death of Iran’s beloved general. Memes like these, which make humor out of war and global struggle, give us a furnished mindset, causing a lack of sensitivity regarding important topics.
I believe that memes do make the internet a better place for many reasons. First reason is that they can make one happy. You can be having a hard day and the you check the internet and see these precious things called memes. You can either enjoy the memes, laugh at the memes, or be offended by the memes but it depends on what memes they are. Another reason is that a lot of people go on the internet to see just memes either on websites such as Reddit or social media like Instagram or Facebook. If memes were not around, I can say that people like myself would be having days that just go by without being able to feel entertained on their me time" that they can have not all the time as I don't not saying everyone doesn't but in my opinion.
i can say that memes definitely make the internet a better place. Without them our internet would be just a place with non interesting posts and scary news. Memes make the internet more fun and interesting. I think that sometimes I like to use them as a source of all the information: education,news and interesting facts. I like the way they give us hard information in the simplest form.
If you had the chance to look through my phone gallery, you would find selfies, group photos, screenshots, but most of all MEMES. I love looking at and collecting memes. I also love sharing them with other people. Memes can make someone laugh, can make their day better, or can be something to relate to. When something is going on in the world, and everyone is on the edge madness, there is always a meme to turn that situation into something funny and relatable. Now, I can admit, there are some memes that go a little overboard, but sometimes you can't help but laugh at the dark humor so much that you forget how messed up it truly is.
@Aaliyah Butler
I agree that memes can be beneficial, as they can make you laugh, releasing endorphins that will help boost your mood. However, jokes that are racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic, etc., are never appropriate. While you may laugh as a coping strategy, it is never okay to regard offensive comedy as okay. In my own life, I have seen people use memes as a mechanism that allowed them to discredit and disregard entire groups of people. When memes enable offensive “comedy”, they have absolutely gone too far. It is always important to examine a meme or joke critically before retweeting or otherwise distributing it. Memes have the power to make us laugh, but they also have the ability to cause significant hurt.
Do Memes Make the Internet a Better place?
Absolutely! Memes are made to make everyone laugh. Memes enlighten my day as well as others. The internet is all one big inside joke and I love it. Memes are what can draw kids our age together. As 80’s kids bonded over arcade games, teenagers now in days can bond over memes. If you are offended by a meme, keep scrolling. Take it easy boomer, it’s meant as a joke.
I think meme are ok because the meme community are soo cool because everyone can make each other laugh.Also memes can be bad to because people can laugh at serious stuff but for other people its not funny so memes and serious news should not be together.
memes are okay to laugh but so memes can be to far to laugh at. Memes that you create can be hard to do but when finish. you can watch your own memes it can be good. to look at. they should be separate by funny memes and serious memes.
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I think memes alright since it does help me when I'm scared of something it really helps me calm down. Also memes and news should be separate because memes are something to laugh to and news tell you important stuff.
memes are bad and good because some of them a dark and weird
and some of them are funny and not funny but most of the time there not funny
yes i know when a meme has gone to far look at dark humor there just messed up things
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Yes, I find and use humor to help me process scary or hurtful information because it get my mind off the real thing; It depends on how serious the subject is; I agree with the article saying it helps to cope with things; I don't, only memes help me.
For much of the younger generations, memes have become a staple of social media activity. They graze every social media app, being commonly found on instagram, twitter, and, most recently, tik tok. While most memes are lighthearted and silly, some of them carry more emotional baggage. Memes have given our generation an outlet to talk about serious, and possibly personal, issues online. By presenting it in the form of a meme, it becomes joke and is easier to talk about. However, this comes with a downside. Making a joke about serious and or personal situations can lead to some people veing offended, so it is important for one to think about what they post before they posit it.
I think that memes are fine.The can be fun and relaxing. they can show diverse views. Sometime they might be offensive, but people need to tolerate different types of memes and it will not go away. Even if you try to block an account, other people will post it so you cannot make it go away. Memes can also show you different point of views of other think.
@Diannah I like how you said that memes were diverse. It is interesting that many people get offended by the smallest things. It's important to understand the society we live in today that everyone has different opinions and everyone's beliefs should be valued.
Memes I feel make the internet a better place. Considering the amount of negativity and hostility one can find on there making their day harder, it’s always nice to be able to laugh at something meant to make you laugh and smile. They’re also not meant to be taken seriously so those who do get offended by memes that’s on them. Personally I’m a victim of watching TikTok videos but most of them are meant to entertain and ease one’s mind so I find myself going on the app when I’m done handling things I’m accountable for. They make the internet a fun and better place.
@Panorama Angel I agree with your opinion because I have the same perspective as you about memes; they're meant to entertain you and make you filled laughter and I believe it accomplishes that goal. Also, I completely agree with you on how some may get offended by some memes when it really just depends on how great your humor is.
I think we can try to reform from using on offensive content, but I think memes can offer a happy place in the world. Memes can offer a laugh to anyone. I think memes can also bring people together with certain societal issues or topics. I think memes have a powerful impact in the political world.
@Ben McGrath Yes, but I think there are some people who cross the line between what is ok and what is a bad meme. Memes can be used to express opinions, but there are some people in the world who use this territory in a bad way by adding rude comments against people and color. That is not tolerable and we need to create a safer environment for people who create and look at memes.
I look at memes pretty often i like reading memes, they're very entertaining to me. If you ask me i think meme make the internet more entertaining depending on what the meme is saying or doing. some time i go out looking for memes if i am having bad day or i need to be cheered up.
@beeg I agree with your statement, because i also look at memes to feel more relaxed and makes me laugh all of the time.
Memes and the internet in general are beautiful things. During 20’s the radio was found throughout every home in the United States, allowing everyone to have some form of similar entertainment no matter where they were. This similar form of entertainment allowed the whole country to collectively laugh at jokes said over the radio, collectively ponder about societal issues, and collectively mourn over tragedies. This unifying force managed to do something no American saw before: a national form of unity. Now during this blessed age of the internet we once again see this unity, but this time at a much larger scale. People in Europe, America and in other places laugh at the same memes, use the same formats, and chase the same likes. Memes have united the world as we know it at a scale we never seen before. Of course many memes are targeted to specific regions and those of us from other regions may become confused at the intended joke, the comment sections make up for it with people willing to explain the joke and why it’s funny allowing people across the globe to better understand culture and current events going on at a particular location. Due to memes becoming a unifying force globally, I can say I fully support meme culture.
I definitely think that humor helps process scary or hurtful information. I believe that it’s a negative to positive effect that takes place. As it pertains to others, I think that you
shouldn’t use humor when talking about painful situations because you never know the affect your words/actions have on others. I do believe that using humor can be a coping strategy as it helps take people's mind off the negative things they may be experiencing. Others ways that I process intense emotions or fears about the world I usually don't tale about them because I don't fear or have any thoughts about where the world is headed. Everything happens for a reason and whether things are good or bad people will be the thing to change any and every situation.
I sometimes get my news from memes. I don't think its alright to laugh at serious news unless it's a made up situation. Most teenagers do use memes as a copping mechanism. It all depends on the tragic event if it's OK to use humor.
Memes have been a mainstay of the internet since it’s early days, but never have they been more prevalent in politics and overall general media. We use it to express opinions about governments, social ideals, comment on the mortality of man, or to crack a quick joke with some friends. Everything should be allowed to joked about as if you start putting limits about what is or isn’t socially acceptable, you end up with a similar situation as china, who has banned Winnie the Pooh from all forms of media because of a meme relating the president to the famous bear. Even a massacre done so by the Chinese government, Tiananmen Square, has been outright denied multiple times and has since become a meme to exemplify the government’s censorship policies and attitudes. We need this freedom to express people’s ideas and thoughts, no matter the subject matter. They represent much more than just current events and can go all the way into subjects matters such as depression and anxiety springing from being a human living in this messed up world. We even use it to meet like minded people, joke about our favorite things from movies to books or games. Memes stem from the idea of Charles Dawkins and are the genes of culture and they are can’t be killed as they are art and everything we consume. Sure, memes can carry ideas and attitudes with them, but I think that a majority of internet users are somewhat aware that “Nobody is immune to propaganda”.
I believe that memes make the internet a better place. Memes allow people across the world to relate to others and have a good laugh. Memes bring people together and create many different communities. Personally I am a part of many communities in the form of subreddits and they each have many different styles of memes and types of humor. Each one of them has one thing in common. The people making the memes like to express themselves through their memes and appreciate the memes of others. However, there are some memes that many people may find offensive. Many topics are very sensitive such as race, mental illness, disability, and disturbing events. People who are offended by these memes need to remember that they are not made to make fun of people, but for people to cope with things using humor. Even if they do not find it funny themselves, they should remember that other people do find it funny and they should stay to their own style of memes that they find funny. Communities with many potentially offensive memes should also remember that not everybody finds their memes funny and keep those memes to themselves so other people do not get offended by their memes. Basically people just need to be respectful of others’ tastes in memes and not force their kind of humor onto others who have different kinds of humor.
Memes are often funny but not much to truly tragic events. When they're are truly tragic events that have effected the world and memes are created based off the event are often informative,supportive,and a place to vent expressing how you feel. They give one a safe and easy way to communicate with others. Even when a humorous meme is bad its rarely offensive or trying to cause more damage.
Memes show the emphatic side of people because memes are supposed to be relatable, that is the whole point of the meme. The meme brings us together by relating to one another's struggles and experiences.
I look at memes occasionally and it can really change someone's perspective of things or just give a laugh to those who need it. I say memes are an important part of the internet. The internet wouldn't be the same without it. It wouldn't bring as many people to feel the happiness many feel right now. There are many people who have meme accounts that are depended on at times to provide the memes that will put someone at ease. I personally use memes as a way to smile about things and to kinda space out the rest of the world that takes the news or events and make them so harshly worded out when it can be as a fun yet serious meme. I remember being showed a meme about the corona virus topic and how the medical workers were carrying something you wouldn't see as normal and it made me worry but also laugh at the same time. So, memes can take a piece of news and still show it but to where you can actually enjoy seeing it.
Sometimes I get my news from memes, like if my friend sends me one or a lot of people are talking about it during school. I think that humorous memes are a way to lighten a situation if necessary but it all depends on the situation of the news and meme. Sometimes I think they should be separate because some things you’re not supposed to be laughing at on the news.
Do you ever get your news from memes? Do humorous memes have a place in the news, or should the two things be kept separate? Is it O.K. to laugh at serious news?(+ answers to other questions):
I almost always get news from memes, but it is important to know that memes are meant to be jokes and are meant to be taken with a grain of salt. News have a place in memes, but memes don't have a place in news. News channels should never include memes and should strictly be professional. Memes, however, are made to be humorous and although no topic is safe, there are lines that shouldn't be crossed. For example, memes about Kobe and Gigi's death would be unacceptable in meme culture; untasteful topics such as a death of a respected celebrity or devastating wildfires are typically not accepted. Sure, the coronavirus is horrible and teenagers know this, but in meme culture, they realize that making fun of people dying is different than making fun of a virus' name. Humor is most definitely used to cope, and I believe the only time humor is not okay is when the other party (if you are speaking with someone) is uncomfortable. Yes, it is okay to laugh at serious news. Yes, sometimes humor can go to far. But no, meme culture is not bad. Teenagers are not insensitive, and they know when not to cross lines.
Headline: We Need Memes
Memes are a huge help to many people. It is like an escape from reality for a little while. If anyone takes a meme seriously one bit then there is an issue. In January, when we were at the brink of a potential war with Iran, memes about this blew up. Everyone was a little bit worried we would experience this to be actually true, coping with the stress we would laugh at memes about it. Everyone looked for a little laugh and positivity out of it to forget about what was actually going on.
I do think that memes make the internet a better place, creativity and comedy often make my day better if I am sent a meme about something that I understand. I rarely ever seek out memes, but whether it's my Instagram feed or Snapchat stories tend to include memes. I also get sent memes from my friends, and I have a friend that we are friends because he sent me a meme, and we bonded over it. I almost think that memes have become another form of social media, connecting news or different events to satire, and then sending those images out into the world.
Memes are essential to the internet. Whether they are about the daily news, relatable things, or just silly humor, many Instagram and Twitter users like me rely on meme accounts for our daily dose of laughs. Obviously, it is not OK to laugh about serious news, but I think people need to take a more light-hearted approach to the meme world. There are memes that cross the line, but they are usually reported within minutes and taken down.
Memes can also help people to relieve stress and anxiety, such as memes about the pre-act and so-on. Personally, I don't use memes as a stress reliever, I just like to read and share things I find funny with my friends. I do think that memes can be an escape for people with problems at home or at school. If you focus on the small percentage of memes that are inappropriate or fraudulent, you will find problems, but the majority of memes are necessary to many people's daily lives.
@Evan Peña That is very true, memes really do relieve stress, at least for a short period
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I believe that humor is excellent coping mechanism for dealing with hardships. Thus, memes are often able to help people relate to each other through shared coping mechanisms. It is able to allow people to communicate through their hardships, and while it is not for everyone, it can help people connect. Despite this, these memes can often be used to harm and mock others. Like all other forms of humor, it can be used in bad taste, which can be genuinely detrimental, but I still believe that memes are overall more beneficial than they are harmful. Humor in the form of memes has been able to help me cope with hardships in my life along with helping me relate these feelings to my friends. It’s an overall connected force that allows large groups of people to share a type of “inside joke” between each other in a way that allows complete strangers to relate to each other in a positive way in order to collectively cope.
@Sarah Baab that is a great way to put it, it is an excellent coping mechanism.
For me personally humor can be a coping strategy or a way to process scary or hurtful information. I believe when using humor as a coping method you have to be careful as others may just find you rude or crass. If humor helps you process your emotions then I see no problem with it but just because it works for you doesn’t mean it works for other people. With that in mind there is always a right place and a wrong place for humor therefore there is always a right and wrong audience. If you feel comfortable coping with difficult, painful, or tragic subjects through humor go ahead but be careful as you can easily cross a line and hurt someone who was deeply wounded by the same event or subject. Overall I definitely believe humor can be used as a coping method. I know because I do it. Although I do understand that when humor is not acceptable in those situations I have to be more serious. However, this is usually not for myself but because others around me seem to need more comfort and seriousness than humor. To process intense emotions especially when humor isn’t acceptable I turn to music as this is where I can always find an outlet for whatever I am feeling.
memes touch on anything and everything, and I have seen it all. After my daily schedule of school and sports, I often go home and relax for awhile before I have to start the grueling work of doing all my homework. Because I am exhausted and not in a good mood by that point, I scroll through my Instagram to look at funny videos and memes. These memes help enlighten my mood, but also inform me of what is going on around the world or in the US, often by poking fun at the event. Memes put a funny spin on anything, often by taking news around the world or something well known in our culture. By doing this it allows everyone across the country to get in on the joke.In my professional opinion memes are not a bad thing. Yes, sometimes the maker can cross a line and say something very controversial, like the World War lll ones discussed in the article. However, they are not in any way meant to be taken seriously. They are a way to entertain teens around the world and help them laugh about subjects that are not humorous at all like the deadly coronavirus. By doing this it allows teens to not be as scared of the deadly virus, or at the very least get a good laugh out of the idea of stopping it with a lime.
I think memes are a way of humorously talking about feelings and thoughts of newer generations. I look at memes every day and I love them, they make me laugh and sharing memes with friends is a lot of fun. Lots of times memes make me aware of world events going on or even events that happened in the past. Teens poke fun at governments bad cover ups like Tiananmen Square or Jeffery Epstein’s death because we find it ridiculous and therefore funny. These dark memes resonate with teens because it’s funny how messed our ancestors made the world for us, and we feel we could’ve done so much better. We know the horrors of our government and other governments due to the internet, and we struggle to understand how things got so messed up so we joke about it. Personally when talking about memes, or even jokes, “crossing the line”, I think it’s all about the context the meme or joke was used in. There are times where people talk about serious events seriously, and when people talk about serious events jokingly, you just have to know the mood of your audience when making a joke. I have seen plenty of memes that “crossed the line” in my opinion, usually memes desenstitive to mentally handicapped people I find wrong. That being said we can’t appeal to everyone’s sensitivities, especially with memes that push the boundary of what’s “acceptable”.
I think in general memes make the internet a better place. Generation Z has found this cool way to make the harder things about life into something funny we can all relate to. For me personally, it's a good way to turn away from all the terrible things going on in the world today, such as the coronavirus or the looming threat of yet another war, and remember that it is still good and fun in this world. Although I do understand how strange it must look to older generations that we poke fun and such topics that should be taken more seriously, we like to look at it as a twisted form of optimism.
I believe that, to a great extent, memes make the internet a worse place. While yes, memes can provide a good laugh and a smile, I have personally seen very negative things about these posts. I, among many others, have witnessed horribly offensive ‘memes’ that should not be taken lightly. For example, I have seen posts that make fun of race, ability-levels, and mental illness. While yes, some people may be trying to make a dark situation lighthearted and funny, many can find these as horribly offensive and hurtful. Rather than made fun of, diversity must be embraced by everyone on the media. The internet should be a place of learning, acceptance and fun, and should not degrade anyone of their position as a human. In conclusion, memes should not be misused to harm or degrade any human and should rather be a fun and positive experience for all.
@Ava Orr I personally believe that memes do make the internet a better place. I can see how many people may find some memes offensive, but those people tend to forget that memes are all made in good fun. Memes are not used to hurt other people or groups of people, but to lighten everybody’s mood. Many memes may be seen as trying to make fun of groups of people by playing on stereotypes and stigmas that surround the topic. In reality, these memes are actually making fun of those stereotypes and stigmas, not the groups of people associated with them. This in turn actually helps break those stereotypes and stigmas by showing how ridiculous they are. Another sensitive topic for memes is about mental illness. Many people find it offensive that mental illnesses are being made fun of as if they did not exist. However, most of the people who make these memes have some experience with mental illness and use it as a coping skill. There are many memes that are associated with depression such as the “without espresso I get the depresso” and “the big sad”. Most people who experience depression find these memes relatable and show them that others understand their feelings and know their pain, even without ever knowing who they are. This is a very powerful coping technique because it makes people feel less lonely, and if their memes become popular, then it makes the person feel as if they are accepted in the meme community.
@Anthony Owens I completely agree with you. I couldn't have explained it better myself.
Memes have dated back to almost around 2011, they never really started as a way to make fun of a serious topics like the coronavirus or World War III. They started out as friendly and funny pictures or faces with a caption written in the Impact text font on the image. They used to just be funny pictures. Then as social media evolves like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and the newer competition TikTok, memes have evolved from funny images into how the world reacts and talk about modern day news and topics. Although some memes today do sometimes take it too far and give some false information, I look at it more as a joke than an actual belief. Sure some do might believe what the meme says, but I think sometimes we try to stay back from the negative and try to find the humor in something no matter the content or controversy of the topic, which is something that makes us human.
Memes are a way for us in the younger generation to express ourselves. The world is a scary place and alot of us deal with it by laughing at it. When you laugh at something it doesn't seem as scary anymore. I believe that this is what happened with all the WW3 memes that were going around at the beginning of the year. I don't get my news from memes but they do let me know that something new is going on and I can go check a credible source about it. I was very confused when I woke up to WW3 memes at the beginning of the year, so I went to Twitter where I follow a bunch of news stations to see what is going on. I don't think that you should get your news from them though because memes are always exaggerated or understate the problem. I think that memes are a good thing, they are fun to laugh at and a big part of the younger generation. As much as we are told we have a voice and that we are being listened to sometimes we don't always feel heard. In times like that, we find memes we can relate to our make memes of the situation because it is so much easier to laugh at things than deal with what could be a scary reality.
I don't really get my news from memes. The thought of doing such seems to certainly terrible idea, as expressed by the article. These two worlds need to be kept separate, as there is always a time to joke around to prevent the feeling of fear, and to be serious and realize when actions need to be taken. I am one to laugh at such culture. Because they are funny, because they do help rid the fear. Even if it's only for an hour or so. It helps with us talking about it, and get into the discussion of what truly is going on here. Of course there are memes that cross the line, that go too far, but it's what we decide to with these memes that judge our character. I usually just ignore these types of things, because I know they are a joke and funny to someone else. Even if they aren't to my particular taste. Memes do have a place in our lives. Like Disneyland, they help us forget the worries of the world just for a bit. And like all comedy, a certain audience is pertained to it. You don't ever really know when one goes too far. You just know, and that's that.
I think memes do make internet a better place and a more interesting one, to a certain extent. For example me and my friends always laugh and share memes about current world events such as "lets raid area 51" or "world war 3" those are my favorite ones I could think of from the top of my head. Memes help me find the right crowd of people who have the same taste when it comes to jokes and such. But there is also consequences to this things if you take them too far. But at the end of the day if I am having a rough day memes always cheer me on.
I do agree with what the parent was saying theirs times were memes are taking way too far such as making fun of something that's happening in the world, to make fun of other issues or events. The generation now they don't think about how what the memes they post can hurt other people or even think about the consequences and we also don't take things serious when an issue is happening. Teenagers always try to find a way to make it into a meme. The internet is access to them so they can post anything but parents should talk to their kids to be careful what they post about and I think parents should put boundaries to children.
I think depending on how you react to the meme, it will affect a certain group. I know that when in a dangerous of scary situation some people laugh as a reaction of not knowing what else to do in the situation. For teens, it is kid of similar to that because we want to escape from the fear and stress of normal everyday life. I've seen a lot of people get offended by memes, myself included, but memes aren't meant to be offensive. They are just to help teen cope with reality in a way where it won'y affect our emotional state as badly.
Being a teenager myself i understand why we use meme's to deal with real world problems. For us teenagers nothing spreads as fast as a meme and most of us have realized that if we can create a meme we can educate other teens very fast on what is happening in our world. Most of us teens understand pictures better and have a weird sense of humor being able to see a meme helps us deal with the situation with out becoming depressed.
Nowadays, in an internet based generation, I think the majority of teenagers use memes as a way to cope with their problems. Memes are like music in the sense that they help you forget about whatever your going through. They allow you to get a few laughs out when you’re having a bad day. I’ve seen a lot of people get offended by certain memes, but memes aren’t meant to cause pain. Everything will be joked about in one way or another so I think we shouldn’t take these joke so seriously.
@Maricella B I totally agree but, I feel we must also address the point they make in this article about how teens almost use memes as a source of information, making comments and reacting to them in a way that they almost shouldn’t. If these memes cause a reaction that causes someone to act negatively then I don’t think we should think they are as funny as we think about. I think we should be careful what we post especially considering younger audiences who don’t comprehend the entirety of situations.
As a high school student who has a black hole of memes on her phone and shares them on a privates story she created to share these memes to make others laugh , I have no issues at all with memes. Memes are literally the best stress relievers ever whether someone posts them or makes them. They make fun of our everyday problems so we can cope in a healthy way . I rarely get offended by a meme that is targeted toward my race (black) because they're accurate I hate to say it, I hope sound ridiculous but they are. Not going to lie however I do get most of my news from memes so that's great because then i do research on the situation.
I get a lot of news from memes. I think it's ok to laugh at serious news. Humor does help me process scary information like WWIII or the Coronavirus. I agree that it can be a strategy to coping and understanding situations. I sometimes also turn to experts online when I have fears about the world in order to be reassured that everything could be fine. I've definitely seen memes that have crossed a line, but I don't really consider the opinions expressed in them. The dangers with the few-words, mostly pictures format is that people can get the wrong idea from the pictures shown because there is a lack of context. However, I think everyone, at least in my age group, understands that they are all jokes and don't take them too seriously.
Honestly the meme culture on the internet was a good thing I think because it made people laugh and I think that is was a good thing, but the new memes aren't really good or bad because they are all dark humor and don't really add anything and just get people really mad and people just don't understand the humor and it divides people more than before
As a high school student in this generation, I am constantly exposed to memes on social media. Memes can have several different effects on their viewers, and are created for different purposes. There have been multiple instances where I have discovered news about a current event through a meme that I did not understand. When coming across a meme that I don’t understand, I usually look up what it’s about to gain knowledge about something that's going on in the world. Memes can also be used as a great way to cope with stress. High schoolers today are experiencing lots of stress and anxiety, which has detrimental effects on their mental health. To manage this stress, teens turn to memes as an outlet to laugh about something funny. Though memes can have positive effects, sometimes they are taken too far and can be seen as offensive, especially when they refer to sensitive topics. Despite this, most memes have good intentions and are created for pure entertainment.
I could stay up all night scrolling through Instagram or Snapchat looking at different memes. I've found some of them to be very funny and some that can be slightly offensive. Overall I think memes can help lighten a situation that's really hard for us as kids to see and with memes I think they give a sense of ease with all that's going on in the world and you can really connect and bond with people over a meme but also sometimes they can be rude or the person who made then could be slightly inconsiderate of some things because everyone has their own opinions and ideas on certain things. It can also take very serious and controversial topics and take them to far to where it's making a mockery of it.
Personally, I look at memes on the daily, and if they are funny or #relatable, I do like to share them with others. I’d like other people to feel the same pleasure as I do when a funny meme comes up. I do appreciate meme culture because there is such a wide variety of memes on the web that you could go and search key words and it will pop up. Memes are a great way to spread laughter to many people across the web; not only can they spread laughter, but memes that target serious events that have occurred -or are currently occurring- and could offend some meme viewers, it depends. Sometimes memes do help inform me about what’s going on in the world because I usually look up the meaning behind a meme and learn. Certain memes are a good way to spread ordinary news, but news about serious events should be conveyed in a serious manner. Sometimes I’ll turn to memes if I just need a good laugh. I have a group chat, with internet buddies, where we only communicate through memes and gifs; memes are a simple and easy way to convey a message with *the perfect* facial expression if applicable. A lot of the memes I look at, I wonder who created them and what was going on in their mind while they were making them -especially the memes about serious events. I wonder how some people can belittle a serious event in such a way, let alone share it with the world to see. In the end, memes are a great way to get a good laugh, bond with other people, or just convey the perfect message.
Memes have become a staple of the internet; you see them everywhere on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc. They’re a form of entertainment and really do make the internet a better place because they put us in a better mood by taking our minds off of stressful things. Every once in awhile I’ll learn something from a meme because they also serve as a way of spreading information, in addition to just being funny. This generation of kids has a certain type of humor (dark humor) that is expressed through memes and I think that may be a reason why people can sometimes get hurt; they don’t understand our humor. I think that memes are for the most part just making light of situations and are not meant to be taken as hurtful. They’re entertainment and are meant to be interpreted as such.
Memes are a way for our generation to relate to one another in a form of our own humor. I could try to show my mom a meme I see on my explore page and she'd look at is and then hold it further away as if looking at it from a different angle will help her understand it. Yet if I see something that makes me laugh so hard and I send it to my sister, I can hear her laughing from my room, or if i sent it to my friend they'd send me something else back. It's so fun that we are all such different people, yet with memes there are enough for everyone, if you don't find one funny, there are endless amounts waiting for you.
Some people may say that memes carry a negative connotation, because they are in some cases offensive to others. However just because some are offensive, doesn't mean they are all bad. I hated taking the PSAT because I do badly with standardized testing, and time limits, but before I took it I saw a meme joking about how not to be nervous for it because of all the "PSAT memes" that come after that'll make it worth it. So I got through it and then afterwards I checked online and they made me laugh so hard, I completely forgot about my scores.
Overall I feel as if memes as a whole are good for the internet community to come together and share humor. It's a way for our youth to connect with one another and it spreads joy to so many people.
-Part 1-
“Freedom”
My mother had me at the age of sixteen. Her being such a young mom was very protective of me at a young age especially. I was born with a lung disease called RSV and it caused me to spend months in the hospital mostly because it was more harmful since I was also five weeks early. This caused my mom no matter where we went to be super cautious of everything. My dad says it was like she was John Wick constantly looking and analyzing everything for potential dangers. This went on til the age of I would say around fiveish. At this point she had my younger brother kaiden and was pregnant with my soon to be little brother jaxon. She started getting more laid back around this time which was perfect for me. This was the age where my imagination and curiosity was flourishing. She would let me run around anywhere in the neighborhood as long as I was with a friend. I never really saw this as a restriction since my cousin Zoey always came over and we would run around in the woods building forts, climbing trees, and messing with whatever we could get our hands one. As I got older so did my brothers and they started tagging along to. I taught them everything I knew and even telling these stories that everyone knew were fake but they still listened. Around this time I started spending a lot of time with my grandparents since my parents were getting into a divorce and we would use these adventures as a way of getting away from all the stress and drama going down.
Memes are one of those things that are always going around social media. Whether it's a funny fail video of a person, or something mocking a trend, memes bring people together. My sister is in college so we try to share videos and pictures all the time. Being able to share things with her makes me forget that she is away and we can still talk. There have been countless times I am scrolling through my phone in public with my mom looking at memes about to cry from laughing and her and the people around me just stare. Memes are a way for people to destress and escape for just a moment and laugh. It can be the most calming thing to see that someone else saw the same funny thing you may have and you can laugh about it together. I typically don't see anything offensive unless it's regarding something recently political. Even though memes are just meant to be funny, I think people can be oblivious to the effect memes have on the people and things they make fun of. Just because something might have a lot of views or likes, we disregard that idea that it could be offensive. We take an easy way out and don't want to be the one to hate on or go against something if everyone else likes it.
I look at memes everyday, In my opinion the internet would be pretty boring without memes. Memes make you laugh and some even tell you important information about what's happening around the world such as the coronavirus in Wuhan. Just last weekend I saw a video of someone making a breakfast sandwich and it looked very good so I made it and now it is one of my go-to breakfast meals. I think memes are a good thing for the internet and I believe they will be around for a long time.
@Daniel Guy I agree with your comment. I think memes shouldn't be taken so seriously . They're very funny and don't mean any harm. They can also give you breakfast ideas. Haha!
Headline: We Need Memes
Memes are a huge help to many people. It is like an escape from reality for a little while. If anyone takes a meme seriously one bit then there is an issue. In January, when we were at the brink of a potential war with Iran, memes about this blew up. Everyone was a little bit worried we would experience this to be actually true, coping with the stress we would laugh at memes about it. Everyone looked for a little laugh and positivity out of it to forget about what was actually going on.
Memes are a phenomenon that has spread across the internet for many years now. Like all forms of comedy, they can be used to express opinions on topics that would otherwise be taboo to discuss in typical discourse. However, they can be taken too far and out of context. Someone may incorrectly assume an Instagram account is attempting to spread racism or hate speech when they were just trying to get a laugh. And this has already caused real world problems. Back in 2015, the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was attacked by religious terrorists for making fun of them. 17 people were killed in Paris from January 7-9 because of these attacks. This is the most egregious example of comedy going too far, but what kind of statement does this make on a politically correct culture? Where is the line drawn? At the end of the day, I think memes and comedy can be a great coping mechanism. I have used laughter as a way to hide pain, or awkwardness, and I’ll admit, I haven’t always made or laughed at the most politically correct jokes. I think it comes down to timing. Know when something is too soon and too close to home. Otherwise, if you vehemently hate on comedy that has no harsh intentions, why have any fun anymore?
A lot of kids, including myself have been involved in meme culture since we had our first phones. It has surrounded our daily lives on the internet. People use it to laugh and relate to other people on the internet. I’m on the internet for a good amount of time during the day, so I see a lot of the memes being passed around. They can range from completely harmless to…. Really offensive. When I see them on my timeline, I’m genuinely shocked that people could joke about that and not feel bad. I think making light of some certain situations on the internet in a way that’s not offensive could help people with anxiety about that news. I’ve seen a lot of coronavirus memes, some are funny, some are not. I think a joke like “Always gotta have lime with my corona” is fine and jokes like that have actually helped when I got genuinely nervous about the outbreak. But coronavirus jokes that are anti-Asian and makes it seem like every person who is Asian has the coronavirus causes harm for Asian people in real life. So I believe that it’s okay to make jokes about situations that we see in the news, as long as they’re harmless and won’t affect any people negatively in real life.
Memes have become a norm in internet culture in recent years; random pictures or videos with captions that can be sometimes relatable, sometimes offensive, and in many cases thought provoking. Memes have gone from simple things like a drawing of a scrunched up face known as the “troll face” or the “you mad bro” face to insane things like full on paragraphs praising certain characters like Shrek. In the years memes have progressed, YouTube, twitter, Reddit, 4-Chan, and almost anywhere you went there’s an extremely high chance you’ve come across this satire used by many. Nearly anything can be “memed” from a news anchor messing up on live television to a voice line from a tv show or video game. People can make edits and add all sorts of things like music behind a video, crazy captions, or drastically changing the style of the picture to intensify the meme just to say a few. Personally I enjoy the thought of memes, I enjoy the complexity that can go overlooked by a simple cartoon and caption, I like the wow you get when something crazy happens, the thought provokers that make you consider things you haven’t before, and how there’s always something creative being made. However I believe there are times where memes are more annoying than funny. Overusing memes is something most people don’t like so it should be avoided. With that being said there’s memes for everyone and anyone just make sure to use them appropriately.
I think memes make people laugh when they are not in a good mood or to keep something off their mind that they don't want to think about it. Memes are good for the news because they just put you in a good mood, we tend to not think about the negatives when we see the meme we think about the positives. When I am sad I look to humor to cheer me up and it works. When I see a meme I don't necessarily look or thing about the bad things about it, I think about the positives that the meme is showing. For example if their is a meme about an event that happened in history most people would find that meme funny because it is supposed to make you laugh. But in other words it might affect someone else negatively because maybe one of their family members was associated with this event. Overall, I think memes are good for the news and making the world a friendlier place. But, Journalists and news people should not use memes for presenting the news because there is a traditional and respectful way for presenting the news and I think it should continue like that.
@Payton Otto I totally agree with you. Memes should be used for comedic uses, not professionally.
@Payton Otto I agree that the large majority of memes manage to make light of more serious matters and potentially brighten peoples' moods in this manner. However, a lot of memes use satire forms of writing to generate a comedic effect towards these topics which can be a significant problem. With satire, memes tend to take a more negative tone to criticize or "expose" the actions or implied stupidity of others. Although the end result tends to be a laugh, this is not really a positive means in which this result is achieved. Due to the nature of satire, it can often be very offensive, and if such memes are used as news outlets, can be extremely biased. As far as news is concerned, I agree that a respectful presentation should be the primary method.
@Payton Otto I agree I believe memes can really uplift your spirits and can cheer you up. Memes can definitely help lighten the mood for certain situations and can affect people negatively.
I believe memes make the internet a much better place even the simplest of memes can make you laugh and I think without memes the internet would be pretty boring and way more bland making it way harder for people to enjoy spending time on the internet or as much time as they do now. I also feel that the meme community does a great job of staying away from serious news feeds and keeping the meme world away from real life news or important world matters that should not be joked about, which concludes why I feel memes are great and definitely make the internet a much better place.
I follow a lot of meme pages on Instagram and I think memes are usually funny and relatable. Typically memes take situations that are kind of sucky or unappealing and flip it to be funny and taken less seriously. I like joking around and I think there’s a good balance with memes out there but sometimes there can be some offensive ones. It’s all about finding that line that you shouldn’t cross over and I don’t usually see it happen. Memes are something most teens have to relate to and joke about. It unites us and connects us more with what’s going on around.
Memes are, I think, an essential part of being a part of the Internet. Anyone who is at least moderately tech literate has acknowledged memes existence and place on the internet. Do they make the internet better? Yes they do. Why? Simple, they pad the normally depressing and outrageous flow of news and information with some lighthearted levity. With how interconnected the world is nowadays, and with the constant stream of depressingly sensationalized news stories and personal troubles, today’s young adults have grown up with a constant harsh reality check in their back pocket. Without memes and other forms of humor and entertainment satirizing current events, many younger folk would have long since given up on a seemingly dark and dreary world, where everyday a new catastrophe strikes the land. Even though memes have gone too far on occasion, they have played an integral part in shaping modern culture and young lives today.
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@Ali Azfar True, memes today are more than just a couple of laughs, they provide news, a good mood in bad times, and positive outlooks about life and the world around us. Though it is laughable, some people of my generation are to lazy to even check the news, so the memes are a way for them to stay educated about the world today. You provide a great point when you say that teenagers would give up trying to comprehend the dreary events in our world, if not for the internet turning it in to satire able to be understood by the teen.
Every evening after a long, tiring day of schoolwork and extracurriculars, I open Instagram or Reddit to scroll through memes. I’ll look at memes that my friend’s have sent me, or ones posted by some of the various accounts that I follow. Despite enjoying memes and almost always getting a good laugh, I think they definitely can be harmful. I, generally, don’t receive my news through memes, but I know many people my age do because they don’t actively go out of their way to look for other news sources. Memes can definitely be a harmful influence on the internet. Earlier in the year, when WWIII memes were going around, I remembered hearing people talk seriously about getting drafted and making jokes about doing TikTok dances while stationed in Iran. Memes can also cultivate a culture of disrespect toward others. Last year, the phrase “Ok Boomer” was going around and eventually got off the internet and I heard students even say it to teachers at my school. Of course, it is simply joking around but if that meme has created that level of disrespect from people I know to be kind and respectful to others, I can’t imagine what other memes that could offend other groups of people- ones that promote racism, sexism, or homophobia to say a few- could do to the population. In 2020, it is important for everyone to respect everyone else but I think sometimes joking around and memes can get in the way of that- what one person thinks is a joke, the next might find incredibly offensive.
@Josh Reifel I think that memes can also have a negative effect on the population. We should all be mindful that some people could possibly be hurt by the jokes we make not only in real life but online too. When I first saw the ‘Ok Boomer’ memes on Twitter, I thought it was funny and a good way to handle rude old people on the internet. But then I started hearing people saying it to teachers who were just minding their business, and then it became irritating to me. I really think that the jokes we make on the internet shouldn’t be used as something disrespectful to someone in real life since you never know what could hurt someone’s feelings or not.
I feel that memes are good for people to see for a good laugh or to keep topics that cause a lot of stress or tension light. Some memes though do take things to far sometimes which is awful and a complete abuse of power on the internet. So now we stand at a crossroads between the two stances towards memes, but it doesn't have to be as the bad can be reduced more if social media could find a way to flag these inappropriate accounts. I feel this way because once someone's account has been deleted or banned they may realize how bad what they're doing is and that it's not funny. This would help to put memes back to what they should be, a way to brighten someone's day through the internet. Finally I feel that memes are making the world a better place and they just get a bad reputation from those who abuse the power of the internet, but all of it can be prevented if the right measures are taken and people choose to be cautious of what they post.
@Denin Limouris I agree, as long as the jokes are appropriate then continue to produce.
I’d say I rarely ever get my news from memes. Usually the memes are making fun of issues I’m already aware and if I ever do come across a meme talking about information I’m unaware of I usually don’t rely on the meme for accurate information. When it comes the question of whether or not memes are effecting teenagers views on politics or other issues, I’d say not really because after all memes are jokes and are not supposed to taken seriously. At the end of the day memes are meant to be satire and bring people together for a good laugh.
Memes are an extremely popular on the internet, but especially on social media. Social media is riddled with memes, in turn making us see memes on the daily. These memes are a good thing as most memes make us laugh. Not only are memes funny, but they connect people. My friends and I send countless memes to each other that we see as funny. Memes bring people together in times of sadness, as many times memes can brighten someone's mood on any given day. Other than being funny, memes have been a source in which people can find out about current news. Many times memes can be linked to current events, which will cause someone to look up the current news about a topic that the meme had specified. Often, memes are a lighter, funnier ways that news can be portrayed. Many news stories can be sad and cause worry such as the coronavirus, but memes make it easier to hear about sad news. Memes are very popular, especially on social media, for their humor, the way they bring people together and the news stories they share. Not only are memes good for people but could making memes can be even more awarding?
Memes truly do make the internet a better place. Consider the situation of the internet: you are essentially alone in a sea of strangers. That is where memes come in. They become the inside jokes of the internet, bringing people together through one simple thing. You can create friends from memes, and there are even groups dedicated to memes. They are able to create unity in such a fractured place. One must also consider the power of humor when looking at this topic. The world currently has a variety of issues that are pretty stressful. Through memes, one can take the edge out of life and potentially brighten someone’s day which is a powerful thing.
On social media, memes are used for all sorts of things; things many wouldn’t expect. Personally, memes inform me of current events a lot of the time, like the controversy that applying for FAFSA led you to get drafted for war. Memes about the government and the president circle around the internet and more times than not, they do make me at least chuckle, despite how rude and insulting they can be. As a way to express ourselves, we spread information and share information by tying it with humor; perhaps as a method of understanding the information we are sharing. If there is a way to share current events with a twist of humor, one is more inclined to participate in that discussion. Although, memes can lead to miscommunications and misinformation, they have the ability to make the internet a place where millions across the world can bond in laughter.
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The average social media user sees a meme at least once a day, it’s a huge part of the new culture. I see tons of memes every day as it is one the reasons I even go on social media in the first place. Memes 100% make the internet a better place, no doubt in my mind. Some will say otherwise, as some memes point fun or harm at others, but I see it as more funny then serious. That’s what memes are, they are made to make people laugh. If your ever having a bad day, I guarantee you if you go on Twitter and just look at a couple of memes your mood will completely change. I use memes as a source of happiness and laughter. And the best thing about memes is that there are memes for everyone! It doesn’t matter who your are or what type of person you are, there will be memes that you can relate and have a laugh to! Another great things about memes is the information it can bring to you. Anytime something major happens in the world, memes about it will be unloaded on Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, etc. So they keep you up to date on important things, while also allowing you to have a laugh; as opposed to if you read an article on whatever is going on. For example when the recent America vs Iran situation happened I had no idea of it until I opened Twitter. Now some might say it’s not funny to joke about war, but I think otherwise, as I believe it brought light to the situation instead of it being something that just made everyone sad and scared. Memes can make everything better!
@Akash Patel, I have had social media for the past two years and I couldn't tell you how many times I've seen a meme that either made or broke my day. I also find memes quite funny but some can be offense including touchy subjects such as terrorism and the new corona virus.
Depending on the app I could find varieties of memes ranging from random vibrant colors or a replica of the Eiffel tower made out of butter. Memes are an easy way for people to express themselves even if it's a random image of Spongebob with the word "YA BOI" under it. I find them super entertaining but there is definitely a limit to the amount of hate someone can post.
Memes make the internet a better place but the people who look past their meaning as anything more than something to laugh at are ridiculous. That isn’t to say the claim made in this article that memes can be potentially racist and offensive is incorrect, and I have no problem admitting that I view posts of this content nearly every single day. I don’t see something on Instagram and instantly think about the meaning/offense it has to other people or myself, I’m just a human looking at an image. Meme culture has grown apart of mainstream media and this can reflected in people’s want of new memes to have something new to laugh to, in order for this to be done all memes are made fairly quickly and deal with current topics and I just don’t think somebody has the time to place anything of value with this meme. It doesn’t mean anything more than just a png file.
Yes memes make the internet a completely better place. Not only are they extremely funny, but it brings people together. No matter your differences, we can all put aside differences and arguments and come together and watch funny memes. The best part about memes also, is that they keep evolving. They have transformed into formal memes, to completely informal and ridiculous things. Without memes, I don’t know who I would be today. The internet would be very boring without memes, and I have learned a lot and laughed a lot, which is healthy and it cheers me up.
@Luke Norvid I too agree that memes make not only the internet but our world a better place. They cheer people up when they are done and give a light to serious events happening in our world. I also agree that it brings people together in the sense that no matter if we are friends or know each other at all it brings this connection to us that is hard to understand and without memes not just the internet but life would be much more boring without it.
I am greatly exposed to internet memes probably on an hourly basis whether it’s twitter, instagram or even tiktok. Most of the time I laugh but I also see memes that spark anxiety or maybe could easily offend people. When there were a ton of World War 3 memes everyone seemed to be joking but that was only a way to cope with the fear of reality. That seems to happen a lot in this generation, we use humor as a coping mechanism and usually in the form of internet memes.I will say sometimes a meme will inform me of what's going on in politics or pop-culture but they could easily cross the line. Some of our generation uses memes in an unhealthy way but I don’t think they are necessarily bad in internet culture.
Memes have been a part of my life since 5th grade when I made an Instagram account. Over these past 5 years, I've been in many group chats with friends and we have always sent memes in them. When I see a meme, it gives me a little laugh and that is always good. Memes also bring light to certain situations people may not know about. I actually didn't know about the corona virus until I saw memes about it. I also think memes bring so people closer together. I know this because I became close to one of my best friends through showing each other memes. Now, I look at memes every day and they make up about half of my Instagram feed. Seeing a good meme always gives me a harmless laugh throughout the day and I appreciate the culture. Some memes are a little edgy but if that type of humor is not for you, you can filter those out. I think memes are great and I hope they stay here for awhile for my kids to appreciate them when they my age.
Memes are a great medium to make make light of modern day issues. It can always be problematic to have memes that take it too far, but that is the same for different parts of comedy and the internet. Memes have been a great talking point about discussing and making light of real issues in the world today.
Recently memes seem to have a fair amount of credibility. Many current events have been broadcast humorously or informatively through memes. At the beginning of the year the spark of debate for WWIII was a big meme and that's the way I found out about it. Through memes that were being spread around I found news of the Iranian general's death and the sides of what we thought would turn into a war. Kobe Bryant's death is another thing that wasn't turned into a joke, but signs of respect spread through and in that form I found out about it originally. For many people, humor is used as a form of coping and allows a person to get over or deal with an event that may be hard to deal with otherwise. Overall, memes brighten many people's days and allow them a little laugh if they want or need one.
Memes are a form of communication. They are used by a wide range of ages simple because they are simple. Simple to understand, and simple to send. I truly enjoy the meme culture and how it has resulted in a mockery of most serious topics. Too many people in this world take things far too seriously. Instead of blowing things out of proportion, we can turn it into a joke. Although many in this society get easily offended, it is an evolved form of communication that actually shows us not to take anything quite that literally.
@Grace Garland I do agree with you that memes are a form of communication and can make things easier to understand because they are simple. I do not agree that mockery of serious events is a good thing. I do think that mockery could hurt feelings or be taken too far and become offensive to many people. I also disagree on the point you made stating that memes should show us not to take anything seriously. I disagree because memes about serious things should be taken seriously.
Most people that find memes offensive are parents of kids because they want their kids to stay innocent forever. Well I believe that MOST highschool children are GOOD kids. Does it mean that we don’t make jokes? No. Does it mean that sometimes those jokes are offensive? No. Does it mean that some jokes aren’t pointed to kids in your friend group? No. People laugh at jokes to get rid of pressure. Kids make jokes about me all the time. Kids make jokes about other kids all the time. Do I laugh at the jokes made about me? Yes. Because it’s funny. Sometimes being able to laugh at yourself or an “offensive” joke is just part of culture. Without being able to laugh at yourself then you are considered stuck up. Do I think that the kids that make jokes about me are bad people? No way. It’s funny. That is just the way memes are. It’s a joke about the first thing that comes to mind. If it’s funny people are going to laugh. So why not just embrace it. Memes provide so much to kids. Information, whether it’s true or not, is spread. Usually when I see a meme about something I don’t know, I search about it and find out what it means, and by doing so, I learn. Stress is taken away through comedy provided for the memes. So parents, I know you want your baby to stay innocent forever, but honestly, I think memes are the last place to be worried about your children going wrong.
Memes have begun to play a big role in my teenage life. Not only have they given me good laughs, they also provide knowledge of current events taking place around the world. Definitely not the way CNN does it, but with humor to help relate the news to the viewer. Memes express thoughts, opinions and beliefs that one has on a topic. Although, when these memes cross the line things may get out of hand. The internet is a endless communication device which anyone can share anything. So when people disagree or see one cross the line, havoc strikes and like a wildfire there’s no immediate way in stopping it. Memes will always be roaming around the internet putting smiles on people’s faces or causing one to express his anger online.
As the world grows more and more sensitive memes become more and more insensitive, memes aren’t for everyone memes are not meant to be taken seriously. If adults in this world really believe that teens get most of there news from memes they are just flat out wrong. Memes are meant as a joke nothing posted is ever serious, yes sometimes a meme can be taken to far but really that is the whole point of a meme, take it farther than it should’ve been taken. Memes are an essential piece in teenage culture and there is a wide variety and there is a special meme for Everyone out there that’s looking.
@Pat McNulty
It’s true that some teens try to educate themselves on the state of the world, but some don’t care, or they know the state of the world is bad and they don’t want to have to know how things are going in it. The truth is that it’s not just teens who do this. Adults do it too, and it’s reasonable for some of them to worry that teens will grow up just as ignorant, if not more so, than some of the adults in their own generation. Honestly, if it weren’t for memes, some of these teens might not even know about the news at all.
I’d like to start by saying, memes make everyone better, I love memes. Yes there are some terrible memes that point out a person or group, but there are also memes in which they apply to everyone. Memes can bring together a group of kids in a room. Memes are relatable. They way I’ve connected to some other students are memes. When I’m sad I try to find the best memes to make me happy and see if my friends like them. Yeah memes spread misinformation, but the internet spreads misinformation out side of memes all the time. Most meme accounts respect tragedies only the few dark accounts make a joke which isn't right, but most account owners respect the outside world and are here to connect people and get some laughs out of it.
At one point in middle school, I ran a meme account. Did I laugh at the memes I made? Of course. Did it make me a horrible person? Of course not.
I think memes are a great way of making light of something serious. It helps us keep our focus away from something dangerous that could potentially cause us to worry, and instead give us reasons to laugh. For example, obviously the World War III situation scared a lot of people, and left many people questioning if we could actually go to war. It was a scary time. But, memes depicting the war as just another shooter simulation such as Call of Duty or Fortnite helped people in our generation lose the nerves and worries that most of us had, due to the news surrounding the situation. I know that it helped me.
Memes are not just for laughs. They are a representation of our generation today. I believe that in 50 years, we will be telling our kids about memes, and maybe even showing them some. The meme has come a long way, and it has made the Internet more fun and entertaining as a result.
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@Carter Osborn I also ran a meme account when I was younger, and I loved it. I agree with your points and I feel the same way.
As a teenager, I use platforms of social media to share memes I find funny and spread news about issues that I think more people should be aware of. The agenda of a meme is to look at a situation that most people can relate to and laugh about it; it doesn’t have any serious connotations behind it. However it is in no way, shape, or form permissible for someone to make a meme about a tragic event that has cost the lives of people. Take the WWIII meme for example. On TikTok it became a trend for teenagers who hypothetically got drafted to “throw it back” or do the “renegade dance” when they were told to throw a grenade. In my opinion, that would be making fun of yourself and I can see why people would like and share a video like that. However when videos were made about how the U.S. was going to destroy Iranian bases and kill everyone in Iran, it made me angry because the civilians Iran aren’t as fortunate as we are when it comes to civilian safety. If there had been a breakout of war, millions of Iranian kids would witness their parents dying and their country blown to pieces right in front of them. While it is fine to poke fun at oneself, it is never okay to suggest that destroying lives is humorous.
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Bias is another common thread in many memes. Double-checking with a reliable news source after reading about something on social media is a necessary precaution one has to take to ensure that they’re receiving credible information. Fake news is a very common occurrence on social media, and teenagers with particularly malleable minds are bound to believe some of it. As Andrew Selepak said, memes can spread misinformation to children, and parents should make sure that their kids are receiving reliable news. Anyone can post on social media as long as they’ve created an account, and it’s not uncommon to find people spread false information simply because they wanted to.
When I think about memes the first thing that comes to mind is a flat out hysterical picture that has a perfect comment attached. Teens these days are in love with memes and it’s one of the things that is seen all over the internet. Memes are slowly taking over the internet for young middle school and high school students. The big problem with memes though, is that some people may take them the wrong way. Memes are not used to insult somebody or something but mostly to make somebody laugh at the most random things. Memes certainly do not hurt the internet but I wouldn’t say it makes it a better place. I think it can be a benefit as long as people interpret them the right way and don’t take it personal or too serious.
Sometimes I get my news from memes, like if my friend sends me one or a lot of people are talking about it during school. I think that humorous memes are a way to lighten a situation if necessary but it all depends on the situation of the news and meme. Sometimes I think they should be separate because some things you’re not supposed to be laughing at on the news.
Some people like to use comedy and " memes" to cope with serious things that may be bothering them. As expressed in this article it talks about how people relate to eachother and laugh about how their parents treat them. Its never serious things just things like, " When you have a bad day and you come home and mom made meatloaf for dinner". It makes people laugh and sometimes if there is a meme about something more serious it reassures the person seeing the meme that they arent the only person and it kind of normalizes what there going through. I think its okay to laugh at serious news because sometimes you just need a little laugh especially if it's something that you are going through aswell but if your not going through anything it can reassure an anxious person, for example if there was a meme about world war three it could make the person laugh but it could also harm them more. Most of the time though its a fun thing for people to do and gives people a fun way to learn about news. However i dont think this is how news stations and journalists should show us the news because it is kind of unproffesional and these memes are really soething just the teens do
I think that, while humor is often a coping mechanism, it can be harmful if we aren’t careful. I can definitely say that I have used humor to hide pain, but when it’s on a larger scale, it could be hurtful. There are lots of things going on in the world that are hard for us to process and understand, but making fun of those situations isn’t the answer. For example, take the Coronavirus. This is a disease that is very quickly spreading and killing lots of people in China and other areas, which is unsettling for many of us. Some people responded with humor, making memes about preparing for the Coronavirus by slicing up some limes. However, think of this meme through the perspective of someone who is actually dealing with this disease. If you just lost a family member to the Coronavirus, do you still find this funny? Or if you’re battling it yourself, do you enjoy others laughing at your pain? This is why we need to be more considerate of the people who will see what we post on the internet, whether they live next door or around the globe.
I believe that memes have a positive affect on people. Memes for me help relieve stress, anger, and sometimes sadness. Memes can make me laugh or at least smile daily, which I take for granted. Memes help me be in a mind set where I can see the humor in things and just enjoy the little things. Memes are also beneficial as they can help me stay updated with social, economic and political issues/events. Sometimes when looking a meme I informed for the first time about an event or issue that has just occurred. While memes aren’t the most trustworthy or factually correct way to receive information, memes always keep an uplifting attitude towards a topic. Memes are capable of addressing a serious and important topic while still adding a humorous tone to it. I think this is good for society as people can take things too seriously and get easily stressed or anxious. Overall memes have a good impact on mine and others lives, that without memes I believe our people today would be more melancholy and pessimistic.
I can't even count all the times I've layed in bed scrolling through twitter or Instagram laughing out loud at the memes I'm reading. I’ll quickly send it to my sister and wait to hear her laughter from her bedroom down the hall. Why? They’re funny. It’s all a joke, at least to me it is.
I’ve never really come across a meme that hurts my feelings. They’ve only made me laugh. I’ll sometimes look at comments on the memes, and much to my surprise, people are lashing out in anger and talking about how offensive it is. I go back and re-read the meme and they’re right. It’s totally offensive. I was blinded because memes are funny. Or at least they’re supposed to be.
As much as I love memes and love being able to laugh at them, many of them are extremely offensive. So why am I still laughing at them? I shouldn’t be, but I am. I think memes are blinding people to see how bad they really are. Making us think “Oh it’s fine it’s just a meme.” When in reality it’s extremely rude.
So what are we supposed to do? Comment how we feel? Unfollow the account? We won’t. Because they’re funny. I’m not really sure how we’re supposed to react to it. I guess we have to have self control and be able to tell the difference between a funny meme and an offensive meme.
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The very existence of this article is funny to me. I find it quite interesting how people dig into the roots and specifics of memes and "meme culture." If we are being completely honest here I have never thought too deeply about memes. I laugh at them and then share them. Some create a common community when making fun of a common problem while others are complete and utter nonsense.
The article below mentions how humor is used as a coping technique amongst kids and adults. I have always used humor as a distraction of sorts. Laughing and watching others laugh makes me feel good. When I'm down my immediate response is to lighten my mood with a funny one liner (though they often aren't as funny as I think they will be) However have never thought about how memes essentially do the same thing just in a different way.
Memes at their core are just images, videos, ideas, and trends that are shared for a good laugh. The only difference is that and and my crummy jokes is that memes you see are usually created by complete strangers. Someone you have probably never met made that cat video you spent 20 minutes laughing at. It's kind of nice though. Knowing that you're not alone when upset or distressed. Someone has been in the same situation and someone has memed it ahead of time for you to enjoy and relate to.
Memes have become prevalent in people's everyday lives. They joke about politics, past times, dogs, and even a worldwide crisis. They, for what I feel like most people, act as a distressing and judgement free environment for everyone. I personally have made memes, where they that good no but they still gave me that sense of everything is gonna be ok. It gave me a more positive outlook on life and also in general just gave me a different perspective on life.
So, Where do I cross the line? I cross the line when people start using them as a way of putting others down in either a form of racism, bullying, sexist comments, and anything that is purposely aimed towards certain people to hurt them. The last thing I want is for people to cross this line and ruin a way for people to express themselves in a way that is different from everyone else and where they can even create their own "story" if they wanted to.
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I think that memes are a great way to interpret serious news. I believe that at it's heart of heart comedy is best when it is dark, and I know that many will disagree with me however I think that if a joke is so good it can turn tragedy into laughter than it is a truly excellent piece of comedy. I think that those who believe that the youth shouldn't be using memes to get news or cope with tragedy are the same people who reject the modern world just because they don't understand it. Memes are an amazing way to ope with problems out of your control because as long as they'e not terribly offensive and they just poke fun at higher ups who could care less. The real reason that I think memes are so great is that they can help you deal with important issues without ignoring, so you accept their existence without panicking and worrying yourself to death.
It is Saturday morning. You wake up, expecting the day to be great, with boundless opportunity. You get up, get ready for the day, pick up your phone, and what do you see your Instagram or Twitter feed: some racist meme.
While memes can be funny little images to brighten people's days, some memes can have offensive captions and images, especially about current events. For example, the circulating meme regarding the coronavirus in which the creator prepares for the disease by slicing limes - a reference to the beer brand Corona. This is terrible, as it is trivializing the lives of the many killed by the pathogen. It uses others' trauma and difficulty for what - some dry, minuscule bit of humor? What makes the situation even more dire is that some consume news this way.
When people choose to find their news this way, through creators who are completely uninvolved in these matters, they often get misinformation and learn little of important topics. Those who read memes can also be exposed to racist content, which goes completely against integration and progress. People say they do this because it makes scary news topics less scary through humor. However, there is no excuse for this. There are other consequences that have to be thought of, like the people's lives who are being belittled, horrible, damaging racist content, and more. These types of memes are polluting the internet, and it is the duty of all to only support creators who focus on topics other than these.
Memes have been blown completely out of the water in terms of relevance and what purpose it holds in the world. Memes are just ironic internet images with minimal text that die in relevance in about 2-3 weeks when the internet gets bored of it. Treating memes as actual sources for news or as racist propaganda is just a little bit silly. Multiple sources even state that the first meme posted on the internet was a picture of some dudes cat, there has never been an internet meme that was supposed to be taken seriously. In terms of memes being a coping mechanism for fear through the use of humor, yeah. That’s what people do when they’re scared, they make fun of horrific things like the corona virus to dehumanize it and take it out of reality. I mean in World War 2 there were plenty of Disney and Warner Bros. cartoons that dehumanized Nazis by turning them into stooges, to make light of a horrific situation. Nobody took those as serious representations of the real world, so why is this a thing now?
Comment: I think that the regular news and memes should be kept separate because what is a funny meme to a 15 year-old is a serious matter to adults and parents. I think memes can help with serious news but they are sometimes dark like the whole blow-up Iraq thing or the Corona virus memes which is just what people make nowadays.
I don’t think I have ever genuinely believed a meme to be news. I get my news from the news. I can’t recall ever seeing a meme on the news. I also don’t understand why you shouldn’t be aloud to laugh at the news. It would be one thing if I was laughing at something cruel and unfair, but I know the time and the place. You also need to go about life with an element of humor. Humor is one of the main tactics I use to help myself cope with the stress of life, and I can say the same thing for my friends. There are inappropriate times to joke about situations, like when someone your talking to has been directly affected or if the situation happened recently. I think memes that are hurtful to other people or a little too soon cross the line. At the end of the day I know to not take memes seriously. I think this idea just scares adults because they don’t understand it. Its hard to be okay with something you can’t quite understand. Maybe in 12 years my views will be different but as of now I believe memes help people not take life so seriously.
Although there is some merit to the idea that they make light of current events, memes have an overall beneficial effect on those who view them. Many people only gain information about world news from memes, and would have no other knowledge about current events otherwise. These viewers, mostly teenagers, find solace in the fact that they can create memes to express how they feel, and share memes to connect with others. A large number of American youth are under an incredible about of stress because of school and relationships, and many deal with their emotional strain by finding humor in their situation. Not only does humor provide comfort for those who are hurting; it creates common ground for people of all races, sexes, and social classes. People all over the world can create and share memes to share aspects of their life and culture. Internet memes give a voice to those who are nervous to speak out in class, they provide an outlet to those who are hurting, and the allow people from all backgrounds to find common ground in humor.
I look at instagram and youtube most of the time which is where I get my "news" from seeing that I tend to not really care. I usually see the news in meme format or a commentary video. Its just kind of easier to see things like this than having to go read some article about it. I think its fine to laugh at news, purely for the fact of lightening the mood. Like yeah sure not everythings great in the world right now, but we can all laugh about it at the end of the day from making dumb jokes. I tend to use humor as a coping mechanism so I don't see a problem with it at all.
“Beep beep beep”, my alarm goes off at 7 in the morning. I quickly reach for it to turn it off and relax for a moment. I reach for my phone and look at the notifications i've received then proceed to open my phone and go on instagram. I scroll through my feed and see what's happening in other people's lives wishing I was out by the beach relaxed by the water. Then I come across a meme. Usually they are funny, but this one seemed to strike a nerve. It was a racist meme, I know most people have seen one but it always shocks me. I quickly race to the comments to see how others have reacted. Most people laugh and go along with it while there's a few that stand out and speak their mind. I think about commenting but then i tell myself this wont make any impact, so then I move on. I see a few advertisements then come across another meme. This one makes me laugh and I share it with my friends. I do a little more scrolling trying to spend as much time as possible in bed as I come across a meme about the news. Sometimes I laugh just because of the stupid humor but other times I feel as if they went to far. I get into deep thought about how this situation could have been handled, should they have not posted that, am I being too sensitive, was that too harsh, do I not have humor? Once again I do nothing. I look at the time and realize I got to get moving, I put my phone down and get on with my day.
As someone who gets a lot of new information from social media, including memes, I think comedy in memes about current events is fine. Our generation may cope differently than older ones, but to me, the negative implication brought with memes is just another way for people older than us to shake their fingers at us and tell us we're doing things wrong. Sure, maybe meme pages on Instagram aren't the best places to receive information, but I think that sometimes they're a more clear way of relaying information than some news sources. News source hold bias, and while the people who make memes certainly can as well, they're mostly for entertainment or laughs, and don't need to be taken 100% seriously. Memes aren't meant to be factual, reliable sources, and most of the time introduce me to an event that I can later research and get the facts on.
I think that using humor can definitely be a coping strategy, found more often in younger generations than older ones. Our self-deprecating humor and jokes on touchy subjects help to remind us that other people are scared too, but can make light of the situation.
Memes, for me, cross a line when they cover events where a person has been violated in some way, whether it be privacy or physically. I don't think that people's tragedies, when specific to the person, should be turned into comedy for people to consume.
While there are lines that memes can cross, I believe that they are a way to learn about new situations and breaking news.
I like to think of memes as concentrated thoughts. Memes, like literature, can combine many thoughts and feelings into a single photo. That is what makes them so fun and exciting. A good meme can have so much depth that you will be laughing or thinking about it later because of its sheer greatness. Memes like any other medium can spread a lot of disinformation. It’s the internet. People can write or say whatever they want whether it is a truth or a lie. The article talks about how teens get information from memes which is true but I don’t think it is as much as this article is claiming. Memes, at least the ones I’ve seen, are overtly bombastic and you would have to be ignorant to think they are true. This would be bad for younger children but most teens should be able to discern from the obvious. Maybe I think people are smarter than they are. Just don’t believe random accounts on the internet.
Many people underappreciated how much fun it is to laugh or joke with your friends. Memes are popular because they usually are supposed to make you feel happy. Like the articles says, “coping with something we cannot control,” is how we get through issues. Of course, I can’t control what's going on in Iran or China but rather be bummed that the world is ending. I can just create or look at some memes which brighten the situation. Everyone is so divided but I see more positivity and community is the creation and consumption of memes than I do anywhere else.
Truth be told i first learned about World War III when I opened up reddit one morning. I look at memes everyday. They mostly cure my stress for the day but I can see why they make the internet a bad place. Because of the comments. The second someone posts a meme, the comment section goes off; people start targeting random people and saying they’re wrong for no apparent reason. So yes I do see how some people agree that it doesn’t make the internet a better place. But I still look at memes everyday.
I will say I found out about the situation with Iran through memes. I watched a ton of Tik Toks making World War 3 videos. I never took them to seriously it was just a form of entertainment. Our generation consist of all jokes and laughter. They even made a bunch of jokes regarding the corona virus. But I thought think we use memes as a form of racism. I have not yet seen racist jokes, but at the end of the day they are jokes. I’ve noticed as we become more comedians more people become sensitive about certain topics. Overall I just think it’s a form of laughter and I don’t think anybody should take them seriously. I don’t go on those apps to learn about what’s going on in the world.
@Johana L Yes, and people need to understand that if they get on these apps with memes on it, that their are jokes that could be hurtful and seen in the wrong way. It’s their choice to look at the memes and actually read them.
Besides being very humorous, I do learn a lot from memes. I learn what’s going on around the world, and how serious of an issue it is. There can be times where memes and they news should and shouldn’t be separated, and I think it is ok to laugh at serious news. Like the article said humor is a big part of a teenagers coping mechanism, and teenagers need the humor to feel more comfortable with what is going on around the world. Plenty of memes cross the line and plenty of memes don’t, many people are into dark humor so they might think a meme about someone’s death is funny while someone else might think it’s sickening. I believe the memes about Kobe’s death that were literally posted the day of or the day after we’re too far, and the community agreed as well. The accounts the posted memes about Kobe’s death would get a significant amount of hate compared to other memes. Overall memes can be the quick humor that we need, but can also be taken too far at times
I believe the articles claim that memes are our generations way to cope with fear. However, I believe the article had a negative connotation of memes, and I think that memes should be viewed as a healthy alternative to stress. During our recent conflict with Iran and spread of the coronavirus in China, memes have made light of both these issues making both me and millions of others feel less worried about the terrifying and unpredictable future. Without memes, the internet would be full of anxious kids, teens, and adults stressing each other out over how much danger there is in the world.
I have been looking at memes for years, nearly everyday, so I have seen my fair share of jokes spread across the internet, and I even have a little bit of experience in making memes. First off it should be established that a meme can be pretty much anything. An image, gif, dance, song, video, phrase, movie, or even a person can all be memes. That being said, the most common form of meme is likely the image. Pretty much the only factor that is able to tie all memes together is that they are meant to be funny. This humor can take many forms such as dark, surreal, random, unexpected, satirical, ironic, the list goes on. The article seems to focus primarily on memes based on current events. While I think it is important to make light of serious issues through the use of memes, I do feel that sometimes they can prevent the viewer from actually finding out more information. I think it is fine to find out about news from memes, but it is important to follow up with a reliable source to completely understand the topic, and avoid misinformation. Limiting your only source of news to purely memes can be dangerous, plus a lot of interesting news goes on in the world that memes simply avoid because it is not what is trending. Here is my final point: memes are meant to be fun so don’t overthink them, but understand that they have their niche on the internet.
I personally think that memes are coping mechanisms for people. Some find dealing with personal issues through humor. Even though its a sad thing to think about, people can always find humor out of it. Also, I personally use memes to escape reality, technically my responsibilities whenever I become too overwhelmed, I have to do something to calm me down. Not only that, memes can be a mixture of self-deprecating humor and dark humor that in some twisted ways we think is funny. The way its formatted is to be funny so we could get distracted from what it actually appears to be. And remainder of the time, I get most of my news from all the funny memes that are constantly on instagram and snapchat. For an example, WW3 memes, I didn't even know people were going into war until I saw all the memes that were flooding instagram. We used those memes as coping mechanisms even though some of us were deathly scared of being drafted.
I believe that people use memes in very different ways. Some may use it for comedy but some may use it to prove a point. Sometimes when someone wants to prove a point they could take it to far and offend someone. There is a time and place for memes and I don’t think that they should be used as arguments for events.
I believe people are just over analyzing the internet. It is far fetched to claim that memes are just the new generation’s way to cope with fear. Despite dealing with scarier topics, the coronavirus and World War 3 memes are just ways to make jokes: there is no complex hidden depth to any of these memes. In regards to the “anti-Asian messages” of these memes, offensive jokes have been told by stand up comedians and celebrities for ages. Jokes dealing with race are nothing new, thus it is silly to get worked up over something mildly offensive just because it is produced through a different platform. When one tries to thoroughly analyze memes to find some larger truth, it comes off as a mediocre wanna-be psychoanalysis of the teen mind. For crying out loud, memes in the past have included insignificant things like pictures of moths and the letter E.
@Omar V I completely agree with Omar's claim that adults are over analyzing memes. Most of the memes that I come across are really borderline to offensive but most of the time those are the ones that are the funniest. Despite all the funny borderline memes like World war 3 and Coronavirus, there are some memes that really cross the line. Majority of these inappropriate memes are provided by private accounts so you can only see them if you choose to follow them.
@Omar V I totally agree with your comment. Memes are a fun way that people make jokes and yes some times there can be some offense taken when read, but as you said comedians and celebrities have been saying jokes like that for ages. Its not a "new thing" just a new way of doing it.
@Omar V
I agree with you. Although memes can be a good way to advertise to teens, they are nothing but humor. I liked your point that some memes make absolutely no sense at all. This shows that mostly, memes are just made for the sole purpose of gaining popularity over some laughs.
I believe people are just over analyzing the internet. It is far fetched to claim that memes are just the new generation’s way to cope with fear. Despite dealing with scarier topics, the coronavirus and World War 3 memes are just ways to make jokes: there is no complex hidden depth to any of these memes. In regards to the “anti-Asian messages” of these memes, offensive jokes have been told by stand up comedians and celebrities for ages. Jokes dealing with race are nothing new, thus it is silly to get worked up over something mildly offensive just because it is produced through a different platform. When one tries to thoroughly analyze memes to find some larger truth, it comes off as a mediocre wanna-be psychoanalysis of the teen mind. For crying out loud, memes in the past have included insignificant things like pictures of moths and the letter E.
I believe people are just over analyzing the internet. It is far fetched to claim that memes are just the new generation’s way to cope with fear. Despite dealing with scarier topics, the coronavirus and World War 3 memes are just ways to make jokes: there is no complex hidden depth to any of these memes. In regards to the “anti-Asian messages” of these memes, offensive jokes have been told by stand up comedians and celebrities for ages. Jokes dealing with race are nothing new, thus it is silly to get worked up over something mildly offensive just because it is produced through a different platform. When one tries to thoroughly analyze memes to find some larger truth, it comes off as a mediocre wanna-be psychoanalysis of the teen mind. For crying out loud, memes in the past have included insignificant things like pictures of moths and the letter E.
(Part 1)
The rise of memes and meme culture in social media has changed the minds of a generation. Its influence on the future remains to be seen. Meme pages on Instagram, usually screenshotted posts from Twitter, have become a news source for many teenagers and younger millennials alike who spend most of their time scrolling through an endless stretch of feed. Communicating global news with a meme format is proven to be an effective way to advertise. Teenagers see the more common meme format, black text on a white background, and are more likely to read it. Many people, typically those who use humor as a coping mechanism, look through memes about serious global issues simply because they’re looking for a laugh. Dissipating the situation by laughing at memes can sometimes prove to be effective, but other times only make matters worse. Receiving upsetting news through a meme format like, more recently, the death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and the other passengers aboard their Calabasas flight, is not always seen as humorous. In cases like these, using humor as a coping mechanism is just plain insensitive.
@Skye Solomon
I noticed you said "Many people, typically those who use humor as a coping mechanism, look through memes about serious global issues simply because they’re looking for a laugh." and I couldn't agree more. I use laughter as a coping mechanism to give me a more positive outlook on life rather than focusing in on the negative.
@Skye Solomon You hit the nail right on the head, the bit about how humor is a coping mechanism is exactly what I see around school and with people my age, they can't handle being very sad about news so they laugh to try to hide those emotions.
With the rise in popularity of memes, and them now transcending just teenage-culture it’s funny to see some parents reactions to memes without them understanding the purpose and reason behind memes. I see a lot of misinterpretation by parents in understanding what a meme truly is. In memes surrounding real-life major events which are occuring today, such as the coronavirus and the attack that killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, they aren’t trying to provide information on the event that has occurred, but they’re expressing how that news has made them feel, or how they are digesting that information. We are living in a world where devastating things around the globe happen everyday, and it’s sometimes hard to process. Memes are a form of humor which help people cope, which is why they have often have such a surreal and sadistic element to them. Memes help paint just how crazy it is that such an event is happening. They’re not meant to be taken super seriously, and they’re not a supplement for information. In many cases I didn’t know a major event had happened until I saw a meme about it, and wanted to know what the meme was talking about, so I looked the information on reputable news sites. In very rare cases they may spread racist sentiments and misinformation about certain things, but fake news sites do the same thing, and impact just as many people. Memes aren’t meant to be taken too seriously, and that’s understood by most.
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I learn about a lot of news just from memes. I don’t think that news has to be kept separate from memes because memes are how some people who don’t watch the news or like memes know about the news. Memes are not always about news, so I don’t think it matters much that some memes have to do with news. I think laughing at serious news is just a way for me and other people that look at news-related memes to be grateful that we do not have to experience something serious like coronavirus. When serious news is in a meme it is only a joke because memes are made to make people laugh.
@Henry
The biggest problem with memes today is that some people may take them the wrong way. People all interpret memes differently. The news is a great thing that can be gained from memes if they are interpreted the right way and understood. I definitely agree with you about the fact that when serious memes are posted about the news, they are only a joke and are not to be taken seriously. The only purpose that memes have are to make people laugh. Memes should not be taken seriously.
I get a lot of my news from memes instead of newspapers, but I don’t think that that’s a bad thing. I actually think it is good, because it is a way for teens who would otherwise be uninterested in the news, to learn about the things happening in the world around them. Making these serious topics into lighter and funny memes to post on social media, although seeming possibly hurtful, could just be a coping mechanism. I have noticed among today’s teenagers, including myself, many tend to use laughter and comedy in order to deal with serious situations. I think that it is ok to laugh at this serious news too, as long as deep down we all know how serious the topic is, and we are aware of why the memes are being made: to lighten the mood in order to cope with fear or pain. Even memes that aren’t news related I think can be very helpful as a way for teenagers to relate to one another in possibly serious times. This is a way to communicate with one another in a less serious way, but still helping as a coping mechanism.
I get about 90% of my news from memes. Memes are how I found out about the Coronavirus, and about the deaths of many famous people, for example Stan Lee. In my opinion, making memes about things going on in the news is great. It helps get people informed about the things that are going on in the world, while being funny. Memes about news can also get you to research the things that the meme is talking about.
There are also countless amounts of memes that have nothing to do with news that I still look at. These memes a lot of the time, are dealing with heavy issues and tragedies. I am not offended by any of this, and I in fact think that it is perfectly fine that people are making light of serious situations. I think it is perfectly natural for people to joke about or make light of serious situations, and I think that it can help other people cope with these serious things.
I do sometimes think that humor helps me process something scary and or hurtful. For example, a couple of months ago, I watched IT chapter two and I found it really scary for the first like week or two, but after I watched some parody videos on youtube, my thoughts of the movie started to get less and less scary. However, I don't think that it is appropriate to make fun of everything, like making a meme about Kobe Bryant’s death would be unacceptable and shouldnt be made fun of. I think that coping with a difficult moment can be a coping strategy. I sometimes find myself looking at meme accounts on insta when I feel stressed out with homework.
I personally think it is okay to laugh at serious topics. It’s helpful for me to process terrible news, because it’s in a format that makes light of the situation, not making fun of the situation. There is that thin line between making fun of the situation and making light of the situation. If I see a post about dark humor, where someone makes a joke that is making fun of a very serious topic which directly affects many people today, I can guarantee you, the comments on the post will be about people directly affected by the topic. On the flip side, if someone makes light of the situation in a clever and creative way, it’s a good laugh and helps take your mind away from how bad everything really is. I think that’s what dark humor is used for. It’s something that can take people’s mind off of how bad everything really is, it’s one of the main reasons we can walk around and talk to friends without being depressed about how the world is doomed.
It is okay to make memes or jokes with the base of a tragic event. Like the article said, it’s a coping mechanism. It’s something that makes light of everything and that’s sometimes all a person needs to cheer them up. But then again there are always people that get mad about jokes making light of situations and for them, no jokes about terrible things are allowed. Like they say, comedy is subjective.
I do get a lot of my news from memes, but usually it is news regarding things I do for fun. That might be a football player getting cut from a team or a soccer player that suddenly is injured for the remainder of the season. Sure, sometimes the memes are morbid because of the situation surrounding them, but they do inform me on many events that are happening in the world around me. And that’s why memes are ok within reason.
Memes that talk down upon people that are obviously bothered by it is not ok, especially if you know the person that is getting made fun of. At that point, you are simply bullying someone in a way that you see is acceptable. And if you are going to talk about heavy topics that affected a lot of people, just recognize that that may be hard to swallow for some people. Many people online joke about atrocious events, and personally, I don’t find those funny or enlightening in any way. But a soccer player saying he has had very little competition in the Premier League when he has only scored three goals this season, that is hilarious.
@Mason Evans I agree that the news side of things is actually very informative while holding the possibility to offer comedic relief to the topic at hand. I agree that jokes can be taken out of hand but you have to realize that it's a consequence on the internet and if you're legitimately offended by some neck beard in their mother's basement then you probably shouldn't be using the internet. There are a lot of gross things on the internet but it's the same thing in real life, if you surround yourself with the good parts of it then it will positively influence you while being in bad situations can negatively impact your state.
I use the popular social media app Reddit for about an hour each day. Most of my news is off of Reddit through articles, headlines, comment section discussions and quite often, memes. Most memes do make the internet a better place through common jokes and phrases that can be very niche or very widespread. Memes about news can be very funny and informative and may make you see something in a different light or a different point of view. For example, memes about WWIII made me interested to learn about the US’s tension with countries in the middle east, and other memes made me realize that almost no one in the US or Iran wanted this war. It was really just our leaders dragging us into needless conflict, and in this way we were united.
Someone saying that memes about current events are bad is similar to saying that political cartoons are bad. Political cartooning is a medium of expressing opinions about things in the news that have existed and been embraced by the media since the first one was published by Benjamin Franklin’s newspaper in 1754! I see no problem with topical memes.
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@Ray I think what you said about political cartoons is a really interesting and smart comparison. In a way memes are our generations political cartoons. I think that if they didn't cause harm a hundred years ago then they shouldn't today. Adults who are concerned about memes should read this comment.
From the coronavirus, to world war 3, to the spirit of a dead gorilla named Harambe, memes touch on anything and everything, and I have seen it all. After my daily schedule of school and sports, I often go home and relax for awhile before I have to start the grueling work of doing all my homework. Because I am exhausted and not in a good mood by that point, I scroll through my Instagram to look at funny videos and memes. These memes help enlighten my mood, but also inform me of what is going on around the world or in the US, often by poking fun at the event. Memes put a funny spin on anything, often by taking news around the world or something well known in our culture. By doing this it allows everyone across the country to get in on the joke.
In my professional opinion memes are not a bad thing. Yes, sometimes the maker can cross a line and say something very controversial, like the World War lll ones discussed in the article. However, they are not in any way meant to be taken seriously. They are a way to entertain teens around the world and help them laugh about subjects that are not humorous at all like the deadly coronavirus. By doing this it allows the teens to not be as scared of the deadly virus, or at the very least get a good laugh out of the idea of stopping it with a lime.
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I rarely watch the news, so I do get a lot of my news from memes. On Instagram, I follow several meme accounts, and they often have hilarious memes about the news of the day. It is really good that memes are being incorporated into the news world. Many teenagers never watch the news and are, therefore, ignorant of the critical events and issues going on in our society. However, using memes as a platform to teach adolescents can get the word out to more people. Many teenagers also don’t like talking about serious issues, even though they are essential. Using memes as a comical way to talk about the news will be much more appealing to teenagers.
Memes are how my generation expresses itself. We find middle eastern wars as the last generations problem, so we make jokes about it. We don't see the corona virus as a threat, so we joke about it. Some are terrified by it and so they channel their fear through humour. Memes are our way of giving our input on a topic. While some memes cross the line and make racist and offensive jars at some, many are done in good humor or "ironic" comedy. Memes are our generation's way to start a revolution, such as the sit ins or protesting. We are upset about something, we meme about it.
@Yates Kirby I think it's hard for older generations to understand the concept of memes and why our generation uses them, but I think you did a good job explaining it. Everyday, whenever I open social media I see memes. Memes are made to make you laugh, but they are just an exaggerated form of current news that is going on.
Unfortunately, yes, some memes can be very offensive to people, like when we found out about the potential of World War III, it seemed like our first instinct was to make a meme about it when it is a very serious topic. However, I think memes are a good way to find the good in something bad, or make you laugh when things are serious. No one wants to focus on the fact that war is a possibility, so memes serve as a good distraction.
There are so many pressures that our generation has to deal with, so when something negative or something bad comes up, a lot of people use memes to filter it out and make it seem like everything isn’t as serious as it seems because no one wants to have to deal with anymore stress.
As an Instagram user I am exposed to memes whenever I open my phone. My entire timeline of posts are memes and the majority of the accounts I follow are "meme pages." I am even in a meme group chat where my friends and I send each other memes we find funny or amusing.
To me, memes are many things. Through memes I learn about current events, the history of the world and political candidates (mainly Trump). Instagram memes are a news source to me and a way to laugh after a long day of school.
However, the truth about memes is that the majority of memes are bad and negatively affect their viewers. Many memes are racially, culturally and sexually insensitive. A trend going around the meme world at the moment is slavery since it is Black History Month in America. Instead of celebrating the accomplishments of black Americans, memes are berating them and their progress. Slavery and the oppression of black people is being glorified through memes. Last night I was scrolling through Instagram and I saw a meme that I was sent. It was a group of white men picking cotton in the South. While his fellow “slaves” worked, another white man was on his knees being whipped by Martin Luther King. I was disgusted. There is no room for this racism and disrespect in our world.
It disgusts me how crude and insensitive humor trickle through our phones and ultimately become adopted by society. I think that it is time we start filtering the world's memes before it is too late.
Do you ever get your news from memes? Do humorous memes have a place in the news, or should the two things be kept separate? Is it O.K. to laugh at serious news?
I do sometimes get news from memes, but most of the time I get news from my parents looking around online. I think that memes do have a place in the news, it just depends on the news that the meme is on, for example, you could do memes on things that aren’t dangerous like the closing of toys r us, but the types of news that memes shouldn’t be in are like news regarding the death of someone or a dangerous virus.
Do you ever find that humor helps you to process scary or hurtful information? Is it ever not O.K. to use humor when talking about painful or tragic events? The article suggests that using humor in difficult moments can be a coping strategy. Do you agree or disagree with that statement? What are other ways that you process intense emotions or fears about the world?
I don’t think that memes help me process scary or hurtful information that much because the information is there and you cant change it. I don’t think that it’s ok to use humor when talking about something tragic because it just makes it feel like you don’t really care about it and just making fun of it. I do agree with the statement because using humor to tell someone something sometimes can help them take it in better. Other ways to help you process intense emotions is to just calm down and think about what happened and accept it.
I can guarantee you that memes make people happier and the internet a safer and better place for users. It doesn't matter what type of meme it is. It is a way to express how you feel while adding humor; two of the best things. It is an easy way to laugh and converse with friends without you having to talk to them. I, personally, love memes. They definitely are one of the greatest things. But we aren't giving enough credit to the people creating the memes for us. Some people are living memes. Lots of my news comes from memes, especially politics. All the drama that is happening with the United States’ government, I found out about it and learned about it through memes. They are awesome. They make me feel so much better about the world and myself. They can also help bring awareness to social issues, like climate change. So to answer the question, yes. Memes make the internet a better place.
Most of the time, I don’t receive new news from memes because I find out about current news from family. I think memes, for me, are just a source of entertainment. I think they are funny and some are relatable. The problem is when offensive memes are created. These types of memes can lead to people being hurt mentally or/ and physically. Other than that I do enjoy looking at memes with my siblings.
Memes are a medium for expression just as any other work of literature. Now, I do find it weird myself to talk about the 'nature' of memes, but it can really show trends in the internet as a whole. Just like how the newspaper has their political cartoons, the internet has memes to convey political topics. Most of the time, to make fun of the absurdities of the world we live in today.
During the crisis in January with Iran, the "World War lll Draft" memes made me laugh in an otherwise serious political situation. That is the morbid yet charming sense I get with the modern day internet's memes.
This powerful tool should not be censored. Memes are a form of comedy, and should be subjected as such. There are numerous memes that have been said to take things to far. But that can be said for jokes in general. There are numerous comedians that have been ridiculed for jokes that have been taken too far. But those comedians are not censored. That should be the same for the memes on the internet. We should be able to share these memes, funny or unfunny on a public forum.
I do not get my news from memes, no. I believe using memes as a way to stay informed about current events is immature at best and self-destructive at worst. Anyone can make a meme, even if it is an obvious lie, and post it on the internet for everyone to see. If I were to see those memes and assume they all accurately reflect occurrences in the world, I would be wildly uninformed and entirely incapable of holding a conversation about current events.
Although memes are not a reliable source of news, they can act as an excellent stress reliever. Laughter is one of the most effective ways to lighten tension and decrease stress levels in a group of anxious people, and memes give people quick, easy laughs at the click of a button. If one can find the strength to laugh about a problem, they send the message that they view that problem as a trivial matter. Trivial matters are not important, so by laughing, we tell ourselves and those around us that we are not worried about our issues. This helps us manage our fear and anxiety better, which explains why people tend to make jokes about horrible and potentially disastrous events via the creation of memes every day
I never get news from memes, although I do know that a lot of my classmates do. As long as one understands the true nature of the situation, be it the Iranian general’s assination or the coronavirus epidemic, then memes are a good way to purposefully “censor” one’s self. Teens use humor when they don’t want to process information, because they don’t want to see actually how bad it is and want to stay in their “fantasy” world where they think their safe. If people actually felt that they were threatened by the coronavirus, which I am not saying that they aren’t, then people would have fear of doing normal, average daily tasks such as going to school. However, these normal tasks are necessary in order to maintain the basic survival of humans. On the contrary, sometimes memes do go too far. Some I see are pretty racist. I cannot speak for my classmates, but I know that whenever I see such things, I laugh, but I know that these memes are not true. Most people laugh at these memes because these are the only places where racist stereotypes are actually accepted. It is always easier to laugh at things that are distant from your own experience. I always resent someone that feels so nonchalant about a subject that troubles me greatly. However, I have to look at it from their perspective. On a side topic, the memes shown in the prompt are blocked by our school proxy server.
@Shiv While many teenagers do want to stay in their "fantasy" world where they feel safe, they should not be permitted to offend others with their actions in order to do so. While it is important for them to feel comfortable, making fun of things like the hundreds that have died to a deadly coronavirus is not funny. Imagine if one day, the coronavirus began rapidly spreading in the United States, and you became a victim. If you were in the hospital, trying to avoid panic, and you began scrolling through the latest memes to calm down, you might see a meme about the coronavirus and how slicing limes might help "prepare". This ridiculous meme would likely hurt you and make you feel that others did not understand the severity of the disease. In essence, memes regarding the coronavirus are downright disrespectful toward those who have died and their families. Teens must think before they start accepting and laughing at topics which are no laughing matter.
I personally believe memes make the world a better place. In an age of constantly evolving technology, it has become a way for people in my generation to express themselves freely. Memes are a way to make people laugh as well, which is a great thing to do. Memes can unify people and inform people on certain topics that are going on in the world as well. There are some people who can make memes that may offend some people, or are just out of line in general. Some of those can get out of hand, and I believe those cruel memes are disruptive. Other than those ones, memes that make people laugh are a great source to brighten someone’s day. Additionally, if someone likes a meme that they find on social media, they can share it with others as well. This can in turn improve the lives of many just from a picture.
Memes definitely make the internet a better place. I love memes so much, I made a meme account. Memes are my creative outlet. I’m just scrolling through Instagram and see something funny and rather than just sending it to someone, I post it onto my account. I think of it this way, if it makes me laugh I’m sure it will make others laugh. Although on the other side of things, sometimes memes do contain harmful beliefs, but the intention behind the creator probably was not meant to harm anyone. Memes bring people together because we can all laugh at it, they don’t necessarily group us apart. Memes are created as an outlet and allow people to realize that not everything should be taken so seriously.
Memes have become an outlet for our generation to bring humor and light to serious situations and topics. Many memes have harmless effects that are only meant to make someone laugh. However, they can go too far when disrespecting an event or culture that has occurred. Memes should be made for an outlet of humor, not disrespect. My generation also has to be aware of the biases of the information being presented. News can come from memes but it is not the best source, it is a convenient source. This reflects my generation's lack of care towards finding the real truth of the information that contains no biases. Memes can contain false information that are sent out across the world that can change the opinion of millions. A meme can hold much power and what we do with that matters since anyone can make a meme. It also shows that as a generation we need to source our news better. Memes can cross the line with offending and ridiculing topics that should not be. Memes are a part of our culture and are not going away. However, as a generation, we need to use them right.
@Marisa Silk
I agree. Memes are useful in adding light to a dark situation and are meant to be a joke and humorous. However, it is important for us to keep in mind what to joke about and where we should draw the line. A meme should not offend anybody’s values or culture, and I won’t argue that it doesn’t happen. It does, and there are always those people who ruin it for everybody, but that’s just a flaw that comes with every system. You can’t escape it. You just have to deal with it. Of course, there should be consequences for it, but it shouldn’t ruin the name for all memes.
It, also, shouldn’t be our source of information.I wouldn’t say our generation is lazy in how we get our information, and I don’t think we are ignorant or uninformed. Current news is expressed these days on Twitter, Tik Tok, Instagram, Snapchat, etc., and, of course, that is very influential, but we also engage in the actual news. For example, some of the teachers at my school like playing CNN 10 in the beginning of class and taking a minute to talk about it. We read articles after articles about current events, and all of that helps in keeping our facts straight. It takes some of the bias out of the media that we receive. As long as we are well informed, I don’t see the problem with memes.
Meme culture holds a lot of power and influence in our culture today, which is so funny to me because I have seen how it has developed and progressed over the past decade. It has progressed to the point where I’ve been asked to make memes in school to help me express what I’ve learned in some creative way, and I’ve also seen memes destroy someone’s respectable reputation by mocking one of their actions or moments. Memes are also tailored to different types of people, if you have a darker sense of comedy then there is plenty of edgy memes mocking real serious issues, aimed for people like that to laugh at those types of situations. Likewise, there are plenty of lighter memes such as ones that would involve kittens or babies making cute noises, tailored towards an older, more parental audience. I think there are limits to how edgy a meme can be, a perfect example is in reaction to Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna’s death, the internet mourned and reflected on his life rather than try to make fun of the situation to cope with it. So as a result, I think meme culture makes world situation’s internet jokes because they know the news is overreacting, so they react in an extremely opposite manner, but when something is truly serious, like Kobe and Gianna’s recent and tragic passing, the internet recognizes that and treats the situation with the respect it deserves.
Teenagers like myself do get most of their information about the modern day world through memes and I believe it’s okay to make jokes about events that are completely serious. People use this method of humor to cope with their own fears of currents events, like the deadly Wuhan virus and that’s okay. Memes are meant to be harmless jokes amongst kids that, for the most part, don’t really know what they’re talking about and just trying to get another like on Instagram or a laugh with their friends in school. Modern day people are taking memes too seriously and although some can actually be interpreted to be hurtful, they are simply supposed to be an innocent and very dumb joke. I personally view memes daily and I do extremely appreciate them for they have the potential to bring me lots of happiness, laughter, connect me further to my community, and inform me about current events that happen, like the death of Kobe Bryant. Whether it’s a terrible pun that was sent to me by a classmate or a very borderline offensive but still hilarious joke from an over the internet friend, I will always appreciate memes.
In this generation where technology surrounds us everyday I think memes become more and more common. Kids all ages have access to the internet to post or see whatever they want. Personally, I like seeing memes because sometimes it can be where I get my news, or learn more about an issue in a way I didn’t know. Along with this I also find humor as a coping mechanism and I think many other teenagers do this too. In a generation where more and more kids experience childhood trauma, mental illness, or tragic events most develop a way to cope with these things as humor. There is always a time where a meme can cross the line but everybody’s opinion on what is too far is different. Unfortunately memes can include stereotypes or hurtful beliefs but at the end of the day they are made in a light non serious manner. No one is meant to get butthurt as people make memes to bring instant gratification to others.
In our world today, the progression and development of memes has become increasingly popular amongst teens and adults. I have noticed that when there are major world occurrences, such as the US-Iraq conflict, WWIII memes erupted, prompting kids and other meme viewers to potentially panic about an impending draft to enlist military members. Additionally, some memes were jokingly racist; however, the underlying message was more impactful than funny. Memes have their place in social media, as they provide us with humor and laughter to either relieve stress or to vent. There is an extent to which memes should not venture out in, which includes being racist or holding prejudices against groups of people, and the spread of misinformation, including the draft, should not be allowed in the meme community. We should emphasize truthfulness and morality over humor.
@Scott E. I agree with your sentiment and ideas as many memes make light of racism and other hard topics. But, I do think a lot of people obtain their knowledge of current events and the news from memes even if some say that the corona virus needs it’s lime. These memes can drive people to fully reasearch the topic as they would not be funny without background knowledge or forethought into the actual meaning of a news story or meme. Do you truly believe that all memes are harmful?
As a whole, I believe that memes provide individuals on the internet an outlet to destress and that is beneficial. It is also a method of unification and, with our world so divided, it is comforting to know that regardless of race, religion, or culture, we can all still agree to laugh together. On the contrary though, I can see how one might view memes as abrasive due to the fact that I have experienced memes where the sole intent is to purposefully marginalize a group of people. When confronted, the creators will often times brush it off as a joke, and while I understand that it might have been created with good intentions, it does not excuse its discriminatory undertones. Regardless of this, I still firmly agree that memes allow for more people to smile on the internet and help more than they hurt.
The news only ever seems to report negative aspects of the world, which makes it harder to see all of the good things happening around you. Memes allow people to relate with others and laugh a little. They connect everyone from all over the world. While some memes may be insensitive, many of the are harmless or It just depends on how you interpret it. Social media platforms such as Instagram have been doing a much better job fact checking post and removing any harmful fake news.
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I think memes provide relatability to all social media platforms. It is easy to bond over laughing about a certain meme and I have even laughed about a meme. Despite some memes being viewed as insensitive, I concede that there are memes make about almost everything. This fact lessens the notion that memes are only critical. I enjoy looking at memes that relate to my Interest, and it makes me happy to know others on the internet enjoy the same things I do
I believe that memes do make the internet a better place, as they often provide a good laugh after a long day. While some may argue that memes can cross the line, or too provocative, I think their edgy nature is what makes them humorous! Memes have brought our generation together, and some would go as far as to say that they define our generation’s imprint on the vast internet. Memes allow us to hear from some of the younger voices around the world in a light-hearted way, and we could always use an extra reason to smile!
I do think that memes make the internet a better place. I like being able to go on the internet and be able to see something that makes me laugh. I do also believe that some memes can be offensive to some people and groups of people. In this generation memes have gone a little far and have made things that are not meant to joke about a joke. Yes, memes are funny but I do think that the news and memes should be two separate things for the sake of major events.
@Hannah Krier, I believe that we share a similar stance on the internet's memes. Lots of them are innocent and solely made to get a laugh from a viewer. Many memes are well thought out and appropriate for all audiences. However, these good memes tend to get ignored by the media and the public eye. It is the memes with the intentions to hurt people and their feelings that characterize memes now. Sadly, there will always be a 'bad egg' out there that ruins subjects with respectful intentions. I think the 'bad egg' of the meme world is teenagers.
Offensive and disrespectful memes are brought to the forefront of the internet by teenagers. Teenagers as a whole tend to be more disrespectful and unruly than older people, especially when on the internet. Many things teenagers will post or say on the internet differs from how they behave in the real world. I think memes as a whole get a bad rap because of the ways extremist and prejudice teenagers exaggerate their opinions online. If the teenagers weren't making disrespectful memes there would not be any problem with them.
Memes are the epitome of this generation and most often only make sense to a certain group of people. Yes, memes can be offensive depending on how you may interpret them. They are supposed to be a harmless joke. As for the memes about the Coronavirus, I believe people are making memes about this to compensate for the fear of the virus. Some people cope with fear by using humor to make it seem like it is not as big as it is to reassure themselves. Although this coping method of humor makes people feel better, they should not completely push aside the big problems and should be aware of how it can be interpreted and if it is offensive to a large group of people. Some memes are truly harmless, but when they most often contain political ideas or concerns they take offense to a larger crowd and creates chaos through social media and may start fake news from this small joke. Everyone should be aware of how their jokes are interpreted, as they can be taken completely out of context and can possibly get out of hand.
@Shylah I agree with you that memes can be taken too far. Dark humor is very popular on the internet; I believe that the younger generations use it to cope with everything negative going on in society. It’s one of the ways we find the light in a world that appears to be dark.
On the drive to school in the morning, my mom and I usually listen to the news. I get tired of hearing about all the atrocious things going on around the world, so instead I’ll go on my phone and scroll through social media. Just as you said, it always makes me feel better to see a meme; it reminds me that no matter how hard life may seem, there will always be positive things to make life feel just a little bit easier.
Although I appreciate humor to make circumstances seem lighter, I do not condone or support any type of humor being used to bring other people down. I agree with Ms. Fink that most memes are “harmless” and are used to “channel emotions”, but just as you said, it is easy for it to get out of hand.
We live in a very fast pace world where everything around us moves quickly and is starting to revolve around technology. We find ourselves caught up in texts, tweets, instagram posts, YouTube videos and more and don’t really give ourselves anytime to think. But memes are a way for many people to express themselves across the world. Memes create a central place for people to step back from the crazy thing that is technology to laugh and use their creative sides to make something that can connect to many different types of people. Overall Memes are a big part of many peoples lives and can sometimes just help someone get through the day so I believe that memes are a huge part of society that make the internet a better place.
@Olivia Cline I completely agree because I believe that memes take away the harsh reality of the world we’re in. They provide people with an outlet to have fun and see the light in serious situations. Memes encourage people to make the best out of things and not dwell on things that may not be going perfectly at that moment.
I think that memes do make the internet better. Laughter is one thing in the world that makes us happy, and nothing makes people laugh like a good meme. There are memes that everyone can relate to, middle school children al the way to elderly people. I believe the internet would not be as appealing if it did not have any memes. I like to go online and look at something funny and if everything was serious I would not enjoy it as much.
It seems that my generation has become so drenched in irony that making terrible memes is about the only way we can cope with horrible world events that we had no control over. I’ve seen plenty of memes that were egregious and over-the-top in pretending to be racist, to the point where it’s obviously a joke yet still has the power to hurt people.
Media Literacy - "Coronavirus versus Millennials"
1. a Millenial
2. The background is SpongeBob, something many are familiar with.
3. Other people might view this meme as mocking those scared of the coronavirus.
4. There are millions of people being affected by the virus in some way, shape, or form. There are people dying and quarantined due to this virus and there is a Millenial who seems to be nonchalant. This Millenial's view seems to counter the majority's view.
5. This message seems like a message that everybody should calm down. If the other diseases went away, so will this one.
Memes get straight to the point, or at least one person's view of a certain point. Memes are catered to a specific community and sometimes, these memes can be hurtful to other groups that they weren't intended for. Humour is a tough line to balance, and you need to know what topics are acceptable and which ones are not. I often find my peers laughing at some controversial posts and there's really nothing you can do other than to walk away. Many memes are tailored to young adults and teens. When current events turn into memes, I feel as though it can provide somewhat of an understanding.