More of a Good Thing
Acts of service, words of affirmation, physical touch, quality time, receiving gifts—these are all love languages that course through the fabric of human relationships. Whether it satisfies the psyche or simply makes your partner’s skin tingle, any healthy relationship is built on these five elements. However, in modern times, where humanity has manufactured countless new ways to fall in love and communicate, there’s a new love language in town that’s taking society by storm: Humor.
Falling in love with a funny guy isn’t a new trope, per say, but the means by which we share our cleverly curated humor with another person has changed significantly in recent years. Meme-sharing culture has changed the way we communicate our interest with someone else, showing that we are thinking about them by sharing a laugh or a meme. More profoundly, sharing memes is a new way to show someone you truly care about them and that you share the same sense of humor. Now, more than ever, there is a stronger emphasis on humor within relationships because of newfound connectivity through memes.
Published in Europe’s Journal for Psychology, Vassilis Saroglou, a psychology professor and researcher, conducted an experiment that correlates humor to romantic success. In this study, Saroglou found that sharing a funny experience during a “first encounter” led to stronger feelings and that couples who shared a sense of humor were “predisposed to marry.”
Humor has become more important than any other trait in a relationship, and funnily enough, comedic compatibility seems to be what keeps the spark alive even in the relationships of couples from older generations.. Saroglou says, “married people attribute the success of their marriage, among other things, to the humor and laughter they share.” So while it may have been a bonus in the relationship back in our parents’ day, science has proven that compatible humor is essential in the modern world.
Although it’s not included in the original five love languages, compatible humor has proven to be the extra parmesan cheese in our dish that relationships have been missing. Humor—like the cheese—is not just a fun little topping, but a hearty necessity. Perhaps if we held budding relationships to the same standard as we do with our Italian dinners, people would be more prone to follow their heart and unleash their humor to the full extent, sharing mountains of memes to showcase their hilarity.
Love in the Laughter
If your crush is not liking all the Reels you’re sending them, they’re not the one.
Relationships look a little different in modern times than they did 50 years ago. Many couples meet through dating apps or online, where your wit and your humor is on display right there next to a few curated photos and a thumbnail description of your entire life. Nestled between your half-true hiking passion and pictures of your dog, humor punctuates every good dating profile. Intertwined in the modern relationship from the beginning, compatible humor is proving to be the foundation of love, or at least the flint that sparks a fiery romance.
Via u/flirtymemes
Nellavella, a blogger and cultural commentator, says, “the ability to speak to someone else’s humor increases emotional intelligence and helps you speak in a language your partner better understands, [increasing] connection.” Through the Internet, we are constantly connected to everything—contacts, work emails, social media accounts, restaurant reviews, etc.—but despite this, it’s surprisingly difficult to forge real human connection. However, humor is a guaranteed way to make a genuine personal connection with someone. As Nellavella points out, sharing memes creates a “language you both speak so fluently where nothing is lost in translation.”
With face-to-face meet-cutes on the decline because of dating apps and a decrease in unplanned in-person interactions, fostering a meaningful connection with a stranger often starts with a laugh. Medium cultural journalist, Martin Giles asks, “in the age of AI and the continued decline of face-to-face connections, will [future generations] crave the same level of connections as our current and older generations have?” As a meme connoisseur who relishes the feeling of making my partner laugh, I’d wager that humorous interactions will be even more powerful in the future. The full force of an exceptional belly laugh (shared with a real person) has always proven to be more meaningful than a synthesized comedic reaction from a movie or funny TV show.
While humor isn’t the only way to connect with someone on an intimate level, it is a foundational necessity in the modern relationship. Without an awkwardness-dispelling joke, a silly ice-breaker, or some kind of funny comment, prospective partners won’t stand out as a romantic contender. Even if a couple manages to get beyond the first few steps of a relationship without humor, moving forward without compatible jokes, shared memes, funny Reels, and mutually amusing TikTok videos isn’t going to nurture the long-term interest every relationship needs to survive these days.
Humor may seem superfluous in a relationship compared to financial security or communicative problem-solving, but without laughter to ease the long-term discourse that comes along with the twists and turns of life, couples aren’t going to get very far. Ashley Nicole, a lifestyle content creator and reporter at Medium says, “laughter is like a windshield wiper, it doesn't stop the rain but allows us to keep going.”
Laughing Out Loud
Not everyone’s humor is the same, but showing someone that you understand their humor and relate to it in some way is the sincerest form of expressing your love. Whether it’s a romantic connection or you’re simply sending cat memes to your cat-lady bestie, sharing laughter and humor strengthens your bond. Beauty, money, and physical prowess will fade as we age into graying, wrinkled elders, but even the oldest couples can laugh together. Continuing on the tradition that paved the way for their budding love, modern couples who built their relationship on humor will likely see a lifetime of amicable longevity that transcends their weekly Reel collection.
Nothing beats a lifetime with your best friend who rewards your love and loyalty with a belly laugh, a chuckle, and a meme-sourced nose-snort at least once a day.
Via u/bhararath_brt