If there’s one type of humor that defines the youngest generation, it’s absurd humor. Every young adult I know is obsessed with the sketch comedy series I Think You Should Leave far more than they’re invested in Saturday Night Live. Absurd humor is also the dominant sense of humor for popular memes too. I think it’s because absurdist memes appeal to a much larger demographic than edgy humor or humor that appeals to a specific demographic.
Some types of absurdist humor age worse than others. For instance, about ten years ago, it was undeniably popular to talk about how much you love pizza and bacon all the time. After the diet-crazed culture of the 2000s came and went, embracing that you loved food through memes and humor became a joyful act. As time has passed, proclamations like these have been characterized as “cringe” and “old hat,” but absurd memes will live on far beyond Jennifer Lawrence pizza memes.
