THE TRUTH ABOUT: Funny memes circle of idiots - The Untold Story

Memes are one of the most ubiquitous but hardest to describe phenomena of our modern times. Imagine, if you had to explain what a meme is to someone from 100 years ago, what would you say? They'd have to be up to date with today's pop culture references and the concept of the Internet itself.

Memes are almost a language in themselves. Sure, on the surface, they're only for providing instant comic relief. But more and more mental health experts are pointing to how beneficial memes can be to our emotional well-being. These funny little pictures can make us feel more seen and foster a sense of community.

Most memes come with at least some bit of context. Just earlier this year, my friend and I couldn't go a day without sending each other the "Montoya, por favor!" meme. Whether it was the original, featured cats instead of people, or was just a picture instead of a video, we both instantly knew what it was about.

We didn't even watch Temptation Island, yet it reached our separate social media feeds. This just goes to show that memes bring us all closer together in the end. After all, you don't even have to be British to recognize that Jet2 is an airline company; videos with their ad sound are literally everywhere this summer.

Sharing memes can also signal the type of relationship you have with someone. Theodora Blanchfield, AMFT, writes that when someone sends you a meme, it's sort of their way of saying: "I think we have a similar kind of sense of humor."

"Sometimes a meme from a friend will hit my inbox, and I'll feel a bit of surprise. 'Wait, you feel that way too?? I never would have guessed,'" Blanchfield says, describing her personal experience with sharing memes.

We can even choose meme pages according to our likes and interests. If you're a cat or dog lover, there's no shortage of funny pages dedicated to wacky pictures of pets that most owners are bound to find relatable. If you're a mathematician, you might like some numbers incorporated into your funny pics. Blanchfield says that by picking which memes or meme pages we like, we're basically looking for "our people" – a community.

Maybe it's because of the anonymity aspect, but we love sharing memes that reflect our mental health struggles. Research shows that people who struggle with depression are more likely to find dark humor about mental health funny. Blanchfield explains that memes can help us come to terms with or express feelings that we find hard to deal with. "Finding the humor in tough situations can take some of the power away from these otherwise taboo feelings," she says.

I'm a big supporter of the "Normalize sending friends memes instead of updates" movement. Oh, it's not a movement and just a couple of videos my social media feed has shown me? That's okay – I still think that sending your friend a funny meme instead of the obligatory "How are you?" is a good way of checking in. Blanchfield agrees; she says this small gesture of communication helps us build emotional capital in moments when we're too busy or just don't have anything meaningful to share.

Would you call all of the pics in this list 'memes'? What even is a meme anymore, format-wise? Back in the day, memes had to be accompanied by a visual of some kind. Some of the all-time classics could be grumpy cat, clown-in-progress, and Chad memes. But nowadays, text-only memes seem to be just fine, too.

Researcher Ian MacRae writes on his blog for Psychology Today that text-only memes are less likely to go viral because we're wired to relate and like visual content more.

"The most viral memes tend to feature a specific character as the subject, displaying clear facial expressions, emotions, and body posture," MacRae explains. "In other words, the most shareable memes are those that transmit information that would normally be conveyed through non-verbal communication."

"This is why we are particularly susceptible to certain types of memes," MacRae goes on. "They bypass rational analysis and tap directly into the emotional and instinctual parts of the brain." Sorry, imageless memes – turns out, the odds for you to go viral are stacked against your favor.

If you liked this list of memes, be sure to share it with your own circle of friends, even if you don't lovingly refer to them as 'idiots.' 2.9 million other people are fans of the "Circle of Idiots" page, so chances are, they'll like it too! Also, if you'd like to see more of this page, check out our previous posts here, here, and right here!