What is the “You’re so funny!” Trend?
The main purpose of the TikTok trend that grew to popularity a few months ago is to: 1) Acknowledge that “damaged” people are hilarious, and 2) Trauma dump because we’ve been doing that since we were born.
The trend is a bit self-involved in nature, mostly due to the fact that people immediately assume they’re funny. Though that analysis might seem a bit nitpicky, it’s important to shine light on these assumptions when dissecting a trend that focuses on the inner workings of a person’s psyche.
Looking at the big picture, the trend is harmless. Everyone should be free to rip whatever pages out of their life story book and put them on display for the world to see. However, as the trend continues, the dark humor of it all is taking the back seat. We’re all starting to wonder when we entered the doors of a group therapy session, and why the urge to out-trauma someone is so prevalent? What’s going on, Dr. Freud?!
Dark Humor As a Means to Cope
We all know at least one person who uses humor to cope with the trauma they endured in their childhood or adulthood—that person might even be you. Since the early aughts of the internet, users utilized dark humor to entertain others, themselves, and soothe their innermost mental struggles. Laughing about the day mom left instead of ruminating on the pain it caused you allows you to look at life through a rose-colored lens; Zoom out and get the big picture. At the end of the day, we’re all on a floating rock.
90skidthrowbacks on Instagram
In the wake of early oughts internet nihilism, millennials and Gen Zers grew up using memes and humor to soften the blow of some of their darkest moments. This seemed to have bred some amazing senses of humor. However, this hive mentality has the potential to backfire, and we’re seeing that happen by way of a convoluted trauma competition where we’re all Olympiads.
“Trauma Olympics”
Some might say recent generations of internet users have grown “too soft” and are engaging in subconscious competitions to see who is the most victimized. A term thrown around is “trauma olympics,” which means exactly what it sounds like it means: Who has the most gut-wrenching personal anecdote that explains why they have [insert mental illness/harmful coping mechanism] perfectly? My embarrassing admission is that I’m not excluded from this group of people—in fact, I engage in this often. We are all products of the last two decades when conversations about mental health finally started gaining traction. What comes with learning how to speak about our lives—the good and the bad—comes some self-involvedness, whether it’s intentional or not.
Dry_Ad951 on Reddit
Some, on the other hand, think they’re seeing through what they deem sympathy-baiting.
catlover935115 on TikTok
Stan Culture and the “You’re so funny!” Trend Walk Hand-in-Hand
A good portion of internet users today were heavily active in, or at least aware of, stan culture in the early to mid-2010s. The corners of X (formerly Twitter) reserved for pop culture icons like Justin Bieber, One Direction, and 5 Seconds of Summer bred a whole generation of highly impressionable tweens, an army of prepubescent lost souls with no boundaries. Having been very active in these corners of the internet myself, I think it’s safe to say that we were prepped and primed to gravitate toward trauma. As a former 12-year-old who stayed up past bedtime to read Danger, a Justin Bieber fanfiction about a fictional-Bieber’s immoral and gang-affiliated escapades, the trend among these young internet users who were active in these unmoderated social platforms is that we enjoy trauma. Why? Simply put, it’s because we find it interesting, even if we didn’t like going through it.
@SKINNYSK1NNY via michaelclifford__5sos on Instagram
In the way that we adore talking about our proudest achievements, we also yearn to talk about what went wrong in our lives. Everything comes down to relatability, social currency, and wanting to air out our misgivings without concerning the public. Plus, the therapy can be very expensive and intimidating, so sharing our feelings without the pressure of a doctor trying to dissect our minds or having to wrestle with an insurance company seems like a pretty cozy alternative. Nihilism and self-deprecation have been trending for a while, and we see that in the “You’re so funny!” trend very clearly. Stans had no business hoping we were kidnapped by One Direction…
Luke Hemmings of 5 Seconds of Summer even participated in the trend himself.
lukehemmings on TikTok
Any Conversation is Better Than No Conversation… Right?
After dissecting this trend and pointing out how it might be slightly annoying to constantly vie for respect and social standing through our trauma, it’s still better than the state of mental health prior to this era of mental health awareness. Instead of lobotomies and pill-pushing, we’re connecting with others who might not have the outlet to talk about their problems to their IRL friends and family. The trauma Olympics will likely never end, but it’s important not to forget what the alternative was for far too long… So I’ll continue tweeting about my parents’ divorce because I can AND because I want to.
