Embarrassing Times People Didn't Get The Joke

Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor

Nov 4, 2022 4:00 PM EDT

When communicating with strangers on the Internet, it's often difficult to gauge whether someone is being serious or joking. That's a big part of why tone indications are so popular with Gen Z. For the uninitiated, tone indicators are little acronyms someone might put after a question or comment online to indicate whether they're being genuine (/gen), joking (/j), or teasing (/t). I will admit that sometimes tone indicators can get a little out of hand. Does one really need to say, "How was your day? /gen" to get the point across? Despite the overuse of the tool, some people are in desperate need of tone indicators. They see jokes online and respond to them so confidently; sometimes it's hard to look at. But most of the time, it's pretty funny to see people embarrass themselves so fiercely on social media. Whether you cringe, laugh, or cry, you'll love these instances of people not getting the joke.