To find out more about the project and why students never get bored of seeing hilarious memes online, we reached out to the creator of University Life. They told Bored Panda they got the inspiration to start the project in 2019. "At first, the account acted as a way for me to share memes and things I found funny about university life, as I am also a student studying in Birmingham, UK, at the moment."
The founder revealed that ever since they started the account, it grew very quickly. You see, thousands of people find their content to be hilariously accurate and utterly entertaining. "So it acted as a small side project/hustle and a way to help students have a bit of a laugh at life at university," they said.
No wonder why so many of them repeatedly turn to the online meme culture. When you have the annoying group assignments, irrational class schedules, challenges of remote learning (all while trying to find your true interests and passion in life), there are plenty of things to discuss. "I think students enjoy the memes because they can relate to them, and this means they can see how they are funny," the creator added. "It also allows them to see the humorous side of university life that can sometimes be quite stressful and scary."
"Most content, I find myself on the internet," they mentioned. "I give credit where I can, such as with the reels that are on my account. I am always open for students to submit memes to me and I will post them," the founder encouraged their followers to share the hilarious jokes and memes they find or create.
They revealed the account is hard to manage sometimes. "But as I have been doing this for a while, I am used to it and know the best methods." There are always the occasional small blips and bumps in managing the account but having so many great followers who appreciate their content makes it all worthwhile.
Since they created the account, it has amassed more than 78.6K devoted fans who sometimes see memes as the best emotional support and a way to connect with one another by talking about their daily struggles. "They are active and engage with the content that I post. They also engage with me. It’s nice to have a community like that," the creator said.
According to them, looking at hilarious pictures and jokes helps people unwind and find laughter in things they relate to or find stressful. And results from a 2021 study published in the Psychology of Popular Media journal prove it. Research revealed that memes can improve our mood, our general wellbeing, and help us to better cope with stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Researchers surveyed 748 people online to see whether viewing different comical photos influenced emotions, information processing, and the way they’re coping with the pandemic anxiety. The participants looked at a variety of memes and had to rate the cuteness, humor, their emotional response, and to answer if these jokes made them think about COVID-19.
The findings showed that looking at funny images on social media provided a quick boost of positive emotions. "Memes, particularly those that relate to a highly stressful context, may help support efforts to cope with the stressor," the researchers wrote. So it seems that scrolling through our social media feeds and spending time on the web is not always a waste of time as some people believe.
