The humour in recent generations has sort of a dark feel to it. Now more than ever people are being diagnosed with depression, ADHD, and anxiety. A common outlet for people, especially those who are not as comfortable in face-to-face situations,  to share their thoughts and feelings has become social media.

Social media can be a very positive influence for some.There are motivational pages or people others can follow.. However should the humour on social media that these newer generations have been posting, sharing, and liking also be a concern?

There are countless pages or accounts that post terrible things. Graphic videos or photos that can be stumbled upon. However newer generations have taken dark things such as this and turned them into humour. What has popularized this? Memes.

Memes seem to be the backbone of humour for newer generations. Memes seem to be driving humour especially in online communities.

Now of course, not all memes are bad. Memes can be funny and completely harmless. However it seems the more harmless they are, the less funny they are to these newer generations. Does this possibly have to do with the growing number of mental health issues in these younger generations?

A common theme in memes is personally degrading humour. Bringing people down, but ending with a punch line. This has become the norm, and isn’t just on the internet anymore.

“I think it’s easier for people to point a finger and laugh rather than putting themselves in another person’s shoes and considering what they may be going through,” senior Kyla Shappel said. “People begin to make jokes at their own expense as a defense mechanism. They’d rather say it themselves than have it pointed out.”

While this humour might make someone uncomfortable, it seems many are not against it. Many people even enjoy this kind of humour.

“The people ruffled by ‘degrading’ humor cannot pacify those who have a crude outlook on humor. The people with a crude outlook use this humor to ease their travels throughout life,” senior Marshall Maason said.

I think that this sense of humour has become sort of a relatable thing that newer generations can connect over. Especially if this humour has been social media driven, the motive behind this kind of humour could be to simply connect with others and make people feel less alone over this new age of technology. I do think there are downsides to this kind of humour, but I don’t think it’s anything that could or should be regulated.