‘Chat, is this real? What the sigma is this article about? Erm, actually it’s column writing.’ This is the kind of humour you see nowadays.

I’ve never seen where these ‘references’ originated from, but I’ve heard them enough to roughly understand their meanings. This shows how much people—specifically high schoolers—are connected virtually. This quick and widespread chain of reaction (or chain of trendiness) somewhat resembles the butterfly effect, and yes I would be tempted to admire the internet’s scope of influence if the subject matter wasn’t brain rot.

I would be a hypocrite if I said I hated my generation because I do consume brain rot humour and I don’t necessarily relate to older generations’ humour. Although it doesn’t prevent me from wondering:

How did we get here?

Now of course, there are scientists and therapists (and all these professions that I ignore the names of) who study human social interactions. But really, how can they understand what it’s like being in the shoes of a gen z or gen alpha teenager? Just because they wear their shoes doesn’t mean the shoes would fit their feet. Alright, that was a bad dad joke.

But how did this brain rot consume our generation and those to come at the speed of light?

We’re so accustomed to this fast-paced technology and are entrenched in the idea of saving time. You would put your settings speed to x2 when watching YouTube review videos the night before your test. You would skip the intro of your series. You would scroll down to the next video if you find a reel too long to develop. You get the gist of it now.

So it’s normal for people my age (and maybe even young adults) to think that knock knock jokes or riddles are outdated, and for them to giggle whenever their calc teacher says ‘sigma.’ Not only did this trend spread like wildfire on the net, it also added social pressure to students who ‘don’t get the reference.’

Of course, there are different types of humour which are all valid despite some being questionable.

Why do certain types of humour (such as dark humour) threaten the status quo? 

Dark humour is the hardest one to relate to because of its disregard to social values and morals. Some people would take these types of jokes seriously and criticise them, whilst others might find it as an escape from the overwhelming societal pressure. Although I think dark humour nowadays is questionable, I do believe that it was initially intended to criticise social values by letting go of the binds of an ‘ideal’ society.

However, sarcastic humour may clash with more personal values.

Sarcasm can have two reactions: those who understand the joke and those who take the jokes seriously. I feel like there’s a huge difference between sarcastic humour and just plain sarcasm. Sarcastic humour would go hand in hand with satire, and both types of humour are quite hard to come up with. On the other hand, being sarcastic all the time is just unhealthy and could hurt your surroundings.

So then, what qualifies as humour?

Really, what matters in humour is that your audience understands you. You’re like some kind of magician tricking the audience into thinking that you’re dumb and that they’re smart and all-knowing, only to surprise them with the unexpected. That’s the kind of humour you find in stand-up comedies.

Then, there are the little pun jokes you would make with your friends every now and then. Like when your friend mispronounces a word or when their auto-correct changes the whole meaning of a message. But of course, our perception of certain types of humour might clash with our current status quo either intentionally or unintentionally.

Whatever the type, whether ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ humour is a good way to shrug off and laugh at the down sides of our daily lives.