Contains sensitive content about suicide and depression.

There is perhaps no better embodiment of this generation’s attitudes and approaches to self-expression than the modern meme. What began as a few crass jokes and references to popular culture quickly went viral and the satirical tradition of pairing an image and text has been carried on ever since. Memes have evolved within social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, becoming the centre of mass public exchange and sparking trends on an international scale.From old SpongeBob SquarePants scenes to Bernie Sanders’ mittens, meme culture has rebranded known icons and expanded into categories and sub-categories, each dedicated to sharing specific kinds of content. There are meme accounts for history and art history, sports and sports teams, politics, religions, franchises, and literature. The list goes on.

Memes seem to have emerged as the unlikely common thread between completely unrelated subject matter, popping up wherever there is potential for humour. While the quips were once light-hearted and relatively neutral, they have grown bolder and more controversial throughout the past decade, touching on sensitive topics such as suicide, body-shaming, and depression. Although it is meant to be harmless, we have to wonder at what point a cheap laugh is simply inpoor taste.

Undoubtedly, memes are a great source of entertainment. A good meme can offer a pleasant pick-me-up or a surprising bout of laughter after a bad day. People have bonded over them, forming friendships over a shared sense of humour. For students in university amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown procedures, memes have created a sense of solidarity between struggling scholars. U of T has its own delightful meme accounts on Instagram and Facebook with an active following and where advice is often shared through posts, stories, or comments. Students seem grateful for the creative outlet and the distraction from the uncertainty of our collective futures.

But distraction comes with the risk of ignorance. If we can laugh about something then it becomes natural not to worry about it, to enjoy the joke and move on rather than focusing on an issue that may warrant our attention. We forget that phrases like “I want to die” can have drastic implications in the real world even though the digital world consistently uses it as the butt of a joke. We forget that the victims of shootings and terrorist attacks are owed at the very least the dignity of being taken seriously, of not having their trauma reduced to a widespread mockery.

Psychologist Paul Thagard warns against using memes to discuss sensitive topics because they “lump cultural entities together as memes and neglect the variety and complexity of mental representations.” The continuous stream of content on social media allows all manner of memes to be grouped together. It should be disconcerting to see jokes about death followed by “When

you see 27 missed calls from your mom,” but we have become so accustomed to traumatic events being conveyed in a comedic context that we barely look twice to consider the inappropriate medium of expression.

The sardonic humour of meme culture has unconsciously desensitized us to the actual subject matter. Someone may consider themselves an empathetic person and still laugh at a meme regarding suicide or self-harm. Consequently, suicidal thoughts and depression are reduced to just another “thing,” a regular part of day-to-day life instead of an illness that requires treatment and emotional support. For those suffering from mental health disorders, this widespread desensitization can affect how they choose to respond to their problems. They may suffer in silence, fearful that their distress will be treated with contempt or indifference rather than understanding and concern. They may even begin to convince themselves that how they’re feeling is nothing to worry about and conform to the use of humour as a coping mechanism, as opposed to reaching out to others and actively seeking help. 

Most recently, memes about COVID-19 and the stay-at-home orders have been popularized, with particular emphasis on people’s deteriorating mental states and the anxieties of social isolation. It can be fun to joke about how we’ve forgotten what outside looks like, or how to articulate full sentences, but it can also be dangerous when comedy is the only outlet for our shared frustrations.

Recent polls have confirmed a significant increase in the prevalence of anxiety, depression and alcoholism over the past year. This suggests that while humour may be the preferred coping mechanism, it is perhaps not the most effective.When offered the choice between laughter and tears, we are all quick to accept the former, but what does it say that we are able to laugh about affairs of international importance? About our mental health and threats to our wellbeing? Are we optimistic enough to look on the bright side or passive enough to accept instability as the new norm?