'I will treat myself to a little dark magic': Random memes that cast a spell

Ally Perry • Writer and Editor

Jun 20, 2026 1:15 PM EDT

It's not much of an exaggeration to say that the way our screens keep us glued to them can feel like a form of witchcraft.

We all know the feeling of giving ourselves five more minutes of phone time before we go to bed, or go to shower, or do that task that we really don't want to do, and then it ends up turning into hours of mindless scrolling. Yes, it can become a massive waste of time, but the magic in it is that it is so fun nonetheless. Never before have we all had such a level of entertainment on demand.

Meme creators are dedicated in the sense that they always seem to be finding slightly different ways to bewitch us. There are so many ways that the culture of the internet has developed over the years, and still, we are spellbound by these stupid little images and videos that we can say vaguely fall under the category of 'meme'. They have continued to do something right, even when we can't necessarily put our finger on what it is.

Even if there is a totally sensible explanation behind our desire for memes that does not involve any magical thinking, it doesn't hurt to romanticize it a bit in this way. It is better than seeing the whole thing as a mere procrastination device, or something designed to fry our brains to oblivion so that we don't complain as much. One thing's for sure, internet humor can offer a temporary escape from reality.

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