I have fallen victim to the amusing memes created from the calamity around us. They are this generation’s ultimate form of entertainment.
The gallery on my phone is full of punny jokes typed in high contrast fonts over hilariously iconic images.
Joking about the terrible things going on around me makes me feel not so doomed. I don’t think I’m the only one feeling this way either.
There is an entire Facebook page dedicated to memes specifically about the University of Idaho. There are approximately 11,000 students at the university and the meme page, currently named UIdaho Memes for Socially Distanced Teens, has just over 4,300 followers.
The title of the page, given students’ current quarantine situation, is a meme itself.
Memes are more than just a good laugh. They can be conversation starters, information conveyers, carriers of important cultural ideas and best of all, a source of stress relief.
Jokes and laughter are important when it comes to dealing with stress. The spread of COVID-19 is a stressful situation with the consequences of quarantine ranging from absolute boredom to several missed paychecks.
Laughing at random memes on your social media feed can help with that.
Laughter is a non-pharmacological form of therapy, or a treatment that doesn’t involve medications, that has recently gained quite a bit of attention in the medical world.
Things like laughter yoga sessions are being tried out as legitimate treatments for stress reduction with people like nurses or cancer patients. It has also been tried as a treatment for depression in college students.
Depression can be a result of too much stress, something many college students experience.
The Newport Academy’s article, “Why Laughter is Good for Mental Health,” explains that because laughter has such a positive impact on mental health, it can impact physical health, too.
Laughing produces endorphins, which are the happy chemicals in the brain, decrease anger and stress. It also relaxes the body to allow it to rejuvenate more easily.
All of that is essential while coping with the new stresses happening around the world.
Memes are mass communicators of worries, tidbits of news, political opinions and a lot more. Examples of several viral memes include Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide, the raid on Area 51, any politician, and of course, the inflated value of toilet paper during the coronavirus.
These things are in the news and impacting our communities. Memes generate a way to look at current events in a more positive light, or at least to make it seem more positive.
Memes have become a way for people to cope with stress, because it gives them a reason to laugh about what is causing them stress.
Sometimes memes are used not as a joke but as wholesome reminders like short videos of fluffy animated animals saying, “you are perfect,” or “I hope you have a good day.”
Memes are, no doubt, an important part of our culture by now.
Sending a meme to a friend first thing in the morning or after a rough day is a terrific way to cheer them up. It’s even better if a meme is returned.
Anteia McCollum can be reached at [email protected]