The Great Meme Drought: What Happened to Internet Humor in 2025?
For the first time in years, the internet feels quiet. No new “Distracted Boyfriend,” no sudden viral animals, no unifying catchphrase dominating TikTok. Reports in 2025 point to a noticeable decline in universally viral formats, with creators and audiences describing a slowdown many call the “Great Meme Drought.”
Because memes power everything from politics to brand marketing, this dip matters. Understanding why meme trends stalled in 2025 helps explain bigger shifts in digital culture, from algorithm changes to AI’s creative overreach—and hints at how internet humor might evolve next.
Meme Trends Through the Years: A Quick Recap
To understand the drought, it helps to trace the arc of internet humor.
The Golden Age of Virality
The late 2010s and early 2020s saw explosive cycles: reaction images, impact-font panels, and one-joke templates crossed platforms in hours. Memes worked like shared cultural shorthand, forging instant community.
Short-Form Video Takeover
By 2021–2023, TikTok/Reels remixes overtook static images. Audio clips, duet chains, and POV formats turned memes into mini-performances—less screenshot, more sketch.
The 2025 Plateau
By early 2025, fewer formats broke through to universal recognition. Humor persisted, but it fragmented into smaller scenes and private group chats, yielding the sense of a broader slowdown.
Why Did Internet Humor Slow Down in 2025?
- Oversaturation and Meme Fatigue
When every brand and public figure posts memes daily, novelty erodes. What once felt organic can read as formulaic—audiences scroll past predictable punchlines.
- Algorithm Shifts
Platforms increasingly prioritize original short video, longer watch time, and monetized content. That steers attention away from organic image macros and quick-share jokes, throttling spread for classic meme structures.
- AI’s Double-Edged Sword
AI generators made meme creation effortless, but also flooded feeds with generic outputs. Quantity rose; distinctiveness fell. Without clear provenance or personality, jokes blend together—and fewer become sticky cultural moments.
The Cultural Impact of the Meme Drought
Softer Political & Social Commentary
Memes once sharpened civic discourse. In 2025, issue-driven humor still exists, but without ubiquitous formats, it’s less likely to synchronize attention at national or global scale.
Brand Strategy Pivots
Marketers are shifting from template hijacking to creator partnerships, story-led content, and community micro-formats. ROI is stronger when humor feels native to a niche rather than grafted onto a stock template.
Nostalgia & “Classics”
Reddit, Discord, and group chats circulate “vintage” memes from 2016–2022 with affectionate irony. Like TV reruns, old formats scratch the communal itch new ones aren’t fulfilling right now.
What Still Works: Surviving Meme Formats
Relatable Niche Humor
Jokes for specific subcultures—academia, finance, devops, sports analytics—travel well inside their lanes. The smaller the circle, the stronger the in-group laugh.
Remix Culture
Legacy formats keep resurfacing with fresh twists. Doge, Wojak variations, and caption-hacking of classic frames return as “retro” canvases for new commentary.
Regional/Platform-Bound Humor
Local ecosystems—WhatsApp chains in Brazil, LINE stickers in Japan, Telegram/Discord sticker packs—remain lively. The drought is uneven: Western cross-platform virality is slower; local channels still pop.
| Meme Type | Status | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Classic Templates | Declining | “Distracted Boyfriend” throwbacks |
| Niche Humor | Thriving | STEM/finance in-jokes |
| Short-Form Video | Stable | Audio-led skits/duets |
| AI Memes | Mixed | Surreal Doge/Wojak remixes |
Timeline of Meme Evolution
A quick look at how internet humor morphed across formats and platforms.
| Year(s) | Defining Shift | Typical Format | Where It Lived |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–2013 | Impact-font image macros explode | Top/bottom text, rage comics | 4chan, Reddit, Imgur |
| 2014–2016 | Template diversification & reaction culture | Reaction images, Vine clips | Twitter, Vine, Tumblr |
| 2017–2019 | Global virality & brand adoption | Universal templates (e.g., “Expanding Brain”) | Twitter, Instagram, Facebook |
| 2020–2022 | Short-video dominance | Remixable audio, duet chains | TikTok, Reels |
| 2023–2024 | Creator-led trends, AI tooling arrives | Hybrid image/video, AI assist | TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Discord |
| 2025 | Fragmentation & “meme drought” discourse | Niche/retro remixes, micro-community jokes | Private chats, regional platforms |
How to Read the Timeline
Formats follow tools: new editing tools/platform features reshape humor.
Communities lead: grassroots creators, not brands, set the pace.
Cycles repeat: consolidation → explosion → fatigue → reinvention.
Could Memes Make a Comeback?
Humor Is a Constant, Formats Change
Like TV to streaming, meme mediums shift. The lull likely marks a transition, not an extinction. Expect the next spark from unexpected intersections of audio, interactivity, and live collaboration.
AI as Catalyst (Used Well)
Teams are already using AI to draft visuals, then human editors punch up timing, specificity, and cultural references. That human+machine pipeline can restore originality to internet humor.
New Platform Incentives
Decentralized or community-owned platforms experimenting with share-friendly ranking (vs. pure watch-time) could re-enable organic spread, jump-starting wider meme trends.
Conclusion
The “Great Meme Drought” spotlights broader tensions in 2025: oversupply vs. originality, platform incentives vs. culture, automation vs. voice. Internet humor hasn’t died—it has splintered. While universal meme trends slowed, niche scenes, regional formats, and remix culture keep the flame alive.
Meme cycles have always run in waves. Expect a rebound as tools, incentives, and creators realign. When the next shared joke lands—something simple, human, and irresistibly remixable—meme trends will surge again, and internet humor will feel loud, communal, and new.