Once upon a time, memes were a way to satirize our pop culture, make us laugh, and just be silly on the internet. Yet they have evolved into something more: nowadays, memes can be about community and can be just as randomly silly. They might have no context, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t be relatable.
Research shows that memes can bring people together and foster a sense of community. According to a paper from the Donald P. Belissario College of Communications at Penn State, when shared with the right audience, memes can help people feel closer to one another and form bonds.
If there’s one thing memes need to be, it’s relatable. However, our social media feeds have become oversaturated with words and content labeled “relatable.” What does it even mean to be relatable? In his exploration of the phenomenon for the New York Times, Jeremy D. Larson found that the word “relatable” didn’t really even mean what it does now until about the 1980s.
Back in the day, people used the word “relatable” to describe something more akin to “comprehensible.” Then, as sitcoms rolled around, people began using it to describe the family dynamics they saw on their screens as “likable.” Larson uses Baz Luhrmann’s “Romeo + Juliet” as an example of how to make Shakespeare more relatable to younger audiences.
But what makes memes relatable? The major aspect is that it validates our feelings. On TikTok and Instagram reels, there’s a running joke in the comments of people saying, “I’ve never had an original experience in my life.” It’s usually used under videos of people having some peculiar habits or doing unusual things we don’t usually talk about in public.
We can apply the same logic to memes: what makes them relatable is the ability to see one and go, “Yeah, me too,” or simply “Me.” Memes give us the chance to feel like we’re not alone in having weird thoughts, doing strange things, and having niche interests. The best part is that we don’t have to admit all of this out loud — we can simply scroll through our feeds and feel validated.
What kinds of memes do you find the most relatable, Pandas? Do you need to know where the image came from or more context about the meme to truly appreciate it? Or is any funny picture alright and up to your standards? If you like your memes a bit weird, here are some delightfully unhinged memes that refuse to follow logic. And if you’re a fan of more sophisticated, gourmet humor, check out these sarcastic and hilarious classical art memes.
