Edited for language, and I don't like the user's handle since IMO 666 is itself a meme. Most of the user handles in this thread make me cringe anyway. Otherwise, the post is spot on. Not so much for the comments afterword. Some were great, others had me shaking my head or facepalming.
Posted by 🙎♂️MagnumOpus666
I Hate Meme Culture
🙎♂️I hate meme culture
I don't understand memes. Are they supposed to be jokes? They can't be jokes because they lack a punchline. And jokes are supposed to be funny, and from what I've seen memes really aren't that funny. So what is the point of a meme if not to be funny? Is it to be tastelessly regurgitated to the point that any possible charm or humor from it has been completely absolved? Why exactly are these memes so captivating to so many people when they are so utterly devoid of humor and wit, and are spammed into oblivion?
The meme community can be pretty crappy. Recently, the Youtuber "Behind the Meme" did a video on the "Woah" meme and he got doxxed. If you aren't familiar with Behind the Meme, he's a Youtuber who explains popular memes to people who are curious about the origins of the meme. He got doxxed for explaining a stupid arse internet joke that wasn't ever funny to begin with. It'd be unfair to paint everyone in the meme community as arseholes because that's far from the truth. But it's the vanity and stupidity of the content that spews from that community that just boggles my mind. I've seen one person claim that memes are the only things that are keeping some people from killing themselves. That has to be the most absurd thing I've ever heard. I hope he was being sarcastic, because that's flaring pathetic if that's actually the case for some people. Some people in that community are so defensive of their memes. They resent "normies" because they think that'll they will just kill the meme. Who flaring cares? It's a flaring internet gag that has more than likely already been run into the ground by the time a "normie" discovers it and "kills" it. I read a comment that claimed that memes are a part of "outsider culture" and that normies should flare off and leave them alone. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. The only possible manner of which these "memers" can be narrowly regarded as outsiders is that they are probably not popular at school. Congratulations, most people flaring aren't as well and that doesn't make them outsiders. They have no flaring clue what being an outsider entails. Being an outsider doesn't simply involve liking something that normal people don't know about.
Memes are just not funny. Crash Bandicoot saying "Woah" to the beat of Redbone is not funny. Being an "ironic" racist edgy twit is not funny. Being a nihilistic jerk and wanting to chug bleach is not funny. Putting 20 filters on Peter Griffin and writing incoherent gibberish is not funny. Instagram memes are pretty flaring awful too, but I think most people recognize that. I'd rather get tagged in the dumbest bottom of the barrel instagram meme than have to watch a cyranek or grandayy Crash "woah" video. I'd rather be a normie than be a "dank memer".
What I really hate the most about meme culture is not how unfunny it is, how toxic the community is, or how repetitive it is. It's that it's flaring everywhere now. It has permeated our culture and you see memes being utilized for marketing sakes. Wendy's twitter page is always trying be hip and cool, so it's gotta use trendy memes to win us over. Everyone's trying to use memes to appeal to the masses, and it's flaring annoying. I would honestly prefer memes to actually be an outsider thing so I'd never ever have to see them. So I'd never have to see celebrities or businesses pander to the lowest common denominator.
I don't think I'll ever understand meme culture. And I'd honestly prefer to keep it that way.
That's just it - memes are spam...chain letters... The internet's version of the borg.
And there are a few of us out there who will not assimilate.
The comments to the post start with a loser who not only loves memes, but also has a horrible username that references anime porn.
💩SaucyLevelsOfHentai
I upvoted the post simply because its an unpopular opinion but I feel exactly the opposite.
I feel the bulk of your post is simply "I don't understand the humor of memes and why they appeal to people so stop finding them funny". It's hard to argue about things like humor simply due to the fact that it's not for everyone.
Additionally would like to say that this post sounds like a copypasta.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Not. If it was a copy pasta, it would be a meme, seen all over the net. So otaku's feelings got hurt because somebody doesn't like stupid memes/chain letter spam. Boo-hoo...
🙎♂️MagnumOpus666
How ironic that I just created a copy pasta. I am a fool in man's clothing.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Proof that it is not a meme.
🤔Jheme
I lived with someone who was literally a walking meme. He'd have meme shirts, would spend any time away from the house scrolling through memes on his phone, and when he was at home he'd be watching meme videos.
I tried to watch them, I really did. But it's just complete trash.
😓silentcrs
He must've been a teenager. Dear me I hope he wasn't an adult.
☹️CRONiKkStylezZ
I've hated memes for about 8 years.
I'm not going into any great detail, as I have done so many times in the past to the point of ad nauseam.
Unpopular/unoriginal kids can 'escape' their ways by adopting unoriginal meme culture, and rather than remain a non-identity on their own they now have other unpopular non-identities to carol with - becoming a singular, repulsive unit.
It goes beyond 'memes'. It's a lifestyle. One that I can recognize in as little detail as the kind of shoes they wear/why Nerdy Ned has suddenly started fist-bumping his pals/how 'Sandstorm' cannot be legitimately played aloud anymore.
My dorky, cousin went to college and fell into meme culture and now he is popular among women in his meme culture circle and they even talk in real life as if it was a meme title.
It's an escape for dorks to become something.
I feel that every single person who religiously adopts meme culture was once an anti-social nobody who lacked wit, charisma and any meaningful attributes. It's sad to see artistic substance get washed away by a thousand screaming potato paintings in comedy form.
Meme kids are just robots repeating the same codes.
It always ticks me off to see.
It's also a very, very, very easy way to pose and 'seem' like you are funny to other meme kids.
How does sharing a meme that someone else made...make YOU funny? Because you found it?
Any popular sub-reddit houses hallmark meme territory replies and it is a breeding ground for future unoriginal meme reprobates.
Memes have infected society. I just sit and watch in absolute disgust how these people can leech off of others to feed their own egos in a saturated format.
I almost want life to be devoid of humor entirely. New-era comedians are so shockingly awful it makes me think how EASY it must be to become a circuit comedian nowadays...or a YouTube commentator. THEY ARE ALL THE SAME PERSON. NONE OF THEM HAVE ANYTHING FRESH TO SAY - IT'S ALL JUST RELEVANCY.
Usually, they are also emotionally empty and are the most ungrateful, unaware little pretentious trolls to live. Pound-for-pound, meme kids are the least funny people to exist. It translates to how they dress also and the concept of hive mentality.
Slacktivism, too. A pro-consumerist wannabe hipster chick shares 'memes' about capitalism, yet loves working 40 hours a week for £5.15 an hour to "pay her way".
Easy to manipulate the masses, and it is a surefire way to gain acceptance within.
😬solidusgear
memenetics, I agree entirely I feel like memes are literally just advertisements for garbage. That's what there being used as now, our minds are being taken over by advertising companies and people who don't give a crap about you or me.
Memes remind me of the way we were taught in HS. with A, B, C, D answers. No critical thinking or discussion, just memorize the useless codes we've created the answer is always a,b,c,d! I feel like memes process thru the mind the same way those answers do. It's almost like we'v been prepped from birth to buy into the notion of loving memes. And 90% or more of the population LOVES MEMES. They seem so regressive to me.
😂imaginethegainz
You, my friend, have hit the nail on the head. Last year I really immersed myself in the whole meme culture for the exact reasons you listed. I unironically proclaimed myself as a "meme-lord" (I wish I was kidding) and that became my identity. Luckily at my school there aren't a whole lot of dorky kids, although there are "normies"--as the meme community would call them-- who are aware of memes who quickly became fed up with my antics. I learned that it's better to have an actual personality instead of "heh heh look how quirky and silly I am xD."
Ironically, as you stated ever-so-perfectly, socially awkward kids such as myself do immerse themselves in meme and ultimately are "robots repeating code" within their self-unaware cliques. I mean sure, adopting that identity allows you to become something and actually fit in somewhere, but do you really want your self-worth and your relationships to be based on the aura of irony and insincerity?
☺️CRONiKkStylezZ
I like how you call me your 'friend'. That is very warm and inviting. I may have cakes and biscuits with you someday.
Anyhow, I'm glad my garrulous digi-text evoked a glint sparkly enough to catch your scrolling peripheral.
Your footprints resemble that of someone who has taken a step towards repentance...
Keep traversing that road.
As far out as you can.
The less affiliated you are to the person that you were when you were enveloped in the meme-cult of horrors, is always positive .
You will become something far more than the comedy bin-man. You can trust me on that.
😂imaginethegainz
Thanks! I've been feeling this way about meme culture for a couple months now and I google searched "I hate meme culture" and this was one of only a couple results. The post was very well written and I also like your writing style. I still have a long way to go before I am entirely separated from my former self but I'm slowly and steadily working on that. Again, thank you.
MagnumOpus666
Even then, rage comics were flaring dumb. They were only remotely funny because of how poorly made they were. And they weren't ironically made that way either. It's a so bad that it's good kind of thing, kinda like The Room.
🦗cicada-man
Memes haven't been funny since the rage comic days.
I think it's more of the fact that we are getting older. I absolutely detested rage comics when you enjoyed them, but I used to enjoy some of the pre-reddit ones. I liked memes when YTMND was still relevant and 4chan was starting to get popular, but looking back, most of those jokes were really awful.
Nowadays I don't even fully understand memes anymore. The term has gotten so broad it gives me a headache just thinking about it. When someone claims to be cr@pposting or memeing I'm like "Wait, you were?" I feel left out and it's frustrating as hex. I'm only 27, I shouldn't feel like I'm 50.
🧝♀️We were all net newbies, all of us unfortunately fell for some kind of memes.
I even have a record of some of the ones that suckered me and some friends back in the day.
Articles/BeckyAndRalphWolfStory.html">Becky And Ralph Wolf Story
Articles/BlackSpot.html">Black Spot
Articles/KidsOnWhatLoveMeans.html">Kids On What Love Means
Articles/BabySteps.html">Baby Steps Out Of The Meming Fog
But once you realize what they are - chain letters, many created by trolls and hoaxers, there's no excuse to go on championing and spreading them. The word meme is just another word for chain letter. That's simply the type of spam everyone engages in.
🐰CuddlestheRabbit
I see memes as jokes (lame or not) that get repeated and milked over and over to the point where they aren't funny anymore (and that only takes about a day or two).
I never understood SiLvaGunner's videos and why they're amazing or wonderful, they're just a bunch of music edits with clickbait titles... that's about it.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Exactly...Chain letters... Those joke memes used to come via email, and I would get several copies from different people within a short time, or hear them talking and laughing their heads off about the copies they got from their friends.
The platform may be different and the length scaled down to a stupid little picture with a dumb caption, but the game is the same.
🃏Joke_Insurance
Salt Bae is flaring stupid.
😕skybluestripes
Why, in the last few years, have some things that were one way now blown up into something else? Selfies for example. Taking pictures of yourself has been around since at least 2002 with the invention of camera phones. In 2013 it suddenly got a name - 'selfie' - and turned into this whole 'phenomenon' that people were 'suddenly' doing, despite having been a thing for years. Memes appear to be the same. A few years ago they were just dumb, mildly funny images/vids on the internet. Now they've turned into some kind of cult. It's really strange how trends work.
🧝♀️Oh, "selfies" that really irritates me too. The word is lazy and babyish IMO, what the heck is so great about taking pictures of oneself anyway?
Memes have been around long before people hit on the eye-candy droll joke caption form, but text chain letters have also gone hand in hand with pictures since people started using the internet as basically a great big stupid picture book.
😔samdajellybeenie
Because so many people are unoriginal and they know it and it makes them uncomfortable (subconsciously) and depressed, so they have to latch onto something, ANYTHING, that gives their boring lives meaning and gains them social acceptance. It just so happens that memes are everywhere, so it's very easy to hop on that train.
👸AriadnesCrown
I don't get them either.
😐[deleted]
Memes are objectively cr@ppy. They are mostly anti-humor, which isn't everyone's cup of tea, especially when they're crafted by people who aren't actually funny. Unfortunately, anyone can just slap some bad English over an image and post it online. Also, a lot of them rely on the same "punchline" so they get stale really quick, because of the uncreative people who make them. Mitch Hedberg got away with lots of anti-humor, but he was actually funny and knew how to perform his jokes to make them sound funnier than they are on paper. Memes used to be real outsider stuff that you had to find on your own. Now that they're mainstream, just like with television/movies, lots of lame ones are brought to the surface while anything of substance gets lost.
In defense of memes, when you're going through a depressive state, sometimes those are the only things that make you laugh. The non-sequitur nature of them just strikes the right nerve that most other forms of humor don't. Just speaking from experience. I have a love-hate relationship with them. I was a /b/tard back in the days of "Pool's Closed" and Rage Comics before they exploded.
Personally, I hate any joke that's repeated more than once. Any unoriginal hack can come up with a "joke" when the premise has been done to death. Harambe was one of the worst. "Get it? It's ridiculous to be sympathetic toward a random gorilla! Funny! Let's milk that for six months straight!" It feeds into the lame, ironic culture of my peers.
🧝♀️Memes never were an outsider/fringe thing. They have always been mainstream. They just weren't originally called memes. They were known as chain letters/mail/texts and eventually took over the blogosphere, where the term 'meme' really took off.
💩SaucyLevelsOfHentai
You invalidated the fact that memes are "objectively cr@ppy" within the first sentence of your post.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Oh, get lost...
😐[deleted]
Apparently, you don't know the difference between "objective" and "subjective".
🧐supersoup40
Objective: not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts.
Subjective: based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.
"Isnt everyone's cup of tea" = "It IS some people's cup of tea" = "It is based on opinion" = "Its subjective"
Easy logic here dude. Go back to third grade when the rest of us learned this shit.
🧝♀️And then the topic spirals down to juvenile posturing "Looks at meeezz! I'm mo edumacated dan yas I gots me da dictionary! Ain't I great?"
Shut up! This was supposed to be about why memes suck.
😐[deleted]
Anti-humor by its very definition is a joke with no punchline. The "joke" is that it doesn't make sense. It's a cr@ppy, badly-constructed joke regardless of how you look at it. Hence: objectively cr@ppy. Even people who like them would admit that.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: There you go. It's anti. Anti just sucks. Anti-chains, anti-fandom, anti-humour, anti is what it claims to mock or protest. Anti is a form of meme.
🧐supersoup40
That is a different point from the one you originally made that you are only now making to cobble together a response to the point I made.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Spin that any way you want, you still stink. Just admit you love memes and cut the nit-picking about writing.
😑sajobi
I agree so much, the whole meme culture is just idiotic. Altho is probably because i am getting older, i use to enjoy some of the jokes on the internet, but today, as you said, they arent even cr@ppy jokes, just cr@ppy PS edits.
😊M7mnch
Its not because you got older, its because the internet got cr@ppier.
🤐Nezborn02
Memes are just inside jokes.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: They are inside joke spam plus...
🐸SuperKirbyBros
thats neat, care to explain more about that? or are you just trying to be hip and edgy and act like your in a group full of unfunny 24 year old men who obsess over a cartoon frog
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Oh, that stupid frog meme! The people who perpetuate it annoy me. The people who grouse about it annoy me. It's a meme so it stinks and I wish the political non-left would ditch all the memes.
🤐Nezborn02
??
😐[deleted]
I just hate the overly edgy, nihilistic, self depricating, depressed, introverted "humor" that is found in the culture behind it. People just love to b🚺 🐕ch
🤔iamhopeless256
They are barely ever funny.
🤔iamhopeless256
Lol
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Make up your mind.
🐵VIFASIS
I agree that meme CULTURE is rubbish but the meme themselves are often funny
Eg. Pre teens or early teens just quoting memes left and right and dabbing like there's a gun to their head.....
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: No, memes are just annoying and stupid.
🐝SodaFen
This is a really fascinating unpopular opinion. I feel like I really believe you.
😈celestisdiabolus
"I don't understand memes"
That's kinda the point
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: You're only talking about the stupid little pictogram thingies, and the point is they are pointless...and annoying. Anything that goes or tries to go viral is a meme...
😈celestisdiabolus
or how repetitive it is
Boy you'll be surprised to look up the etymology of the word meme
🧝♀️I think Deleted gets it...
rapbabby
where did memes come from
I always thought it was ytmnd
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Yuck. That's one of them. But memes were around before YTMND.
👦🏻joshisgr8
Understandable have a great day
👹idiot_bitch
Just wanted to lend support, although my reasons are a bit different. Some memes are funny but the fact they all get flaring regurgitated into normie bullcr@p just annoys the m-----flaring cr@p out of me. It's like, m-----flarers in flaring Eritrea just suddenly started using "iconic, dead@$$, i'm cackling!!" because they saw a goddamn meme. There is 0 originality in that and it's just soooo annoying to have to read/listen to people speak "in meme." flaring negative currency and it's such a cesspool and i'm so p|$$ed so i'm here ranting on your rant, but yeah, flare memes. goddamn, they suck. i honestly feel like they've ruined the internet in a way. plus the fact a majority of them rip off black culture and just the LANGUAGE itself, "boneless pizza" it's like... gross as flare. flare i hate memes so much hahaah oh man.
📛AnotherTakenUsername
Should we go back to colloquialism?
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Some of that is memes too... Not all of it, just some.
🥘virtual_pie
I don't really get memes either but can appreciate that people bond over them by feeling like they have a mutual sense of humour
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Which is no excuse, and memes aren't limited to jokes anyway. That's why there are different forums/networks/groups for people who want to bond over things in common. Memes are spam, often started and recycled by trolls, but replicated en masse by net newbies and friends who actually love these moronic things.
😬solidusgear
memes are advertising. They'v found a new way to brand your mind thru bad cultural refrences. They are used to to sell cr@p to people now. Most people I know who love memes are the kind of people who don't have original ideas or actually get taught useless info from memes. So they just Spew random cr@p out of there mouths with no context. It doesn't further discussion. Memes are very regressive, and hold back our creativity.
Here, here! That was one of the best, most accurate comments in response to the rant.
I really like some of the rules on that particular subreddit. They apply here on MTM as well:
No Spam
No Trolling
Be Civil
Elaborate
No Hate Posts/Comments
No Low Effort or Satire Posts
Unfortunately there were still a few low-effort, attempted satire, and trollish comments.
- Whew, that was longer than I expected it to be.
I'm out of here.
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