But feeling seen isn’t the only appeal. Sometimes, a meme gives us a way to admit to the less-than-charitable, slightly embarrassing or downright ridiculous feelings we might not be quite as comfortable saying out loud. As Blanchfield puts it, memes can offer a “safer—and even socially sanctioned—way to unload some of the burden” of heavy feelings, while finding humor in tough situations can take some of the edge off.
And perhaps that’s what makes the “lowkey hurt, highkey hilarious” approach work so well. It acknowledges that something can genuinely get under your skin while still finding a way to laugh about it. The joke isn’t necessarily that everything is fine. Sometimes the joke is that everything is a little bit of a mess—and, thankfully, we’re not the only ones who noticed.
