I have been called InsideHook’s “bona fide Gen Z,-er” and in classic Gen Z fashion, I believe with all my heart that memes make the world go round.
These little moments of life, which would otherwise pass on by, instead get captured and uploaded online where they spark mini cultural renaissances. People will start quoting one in day-to-day life. Your mom or dad will text you asking what it means (or maybe you are the mom or dad asking your child) and then major brands start using it to drive traffic on social media and look more relatable. It’s the one thing that can bring everyone together for a laugh. Life — for a day, a week, a month — coexists alongside this all-consuming meme. Then a new one emerges, and the cycle repeats itself.
This year, the cycle was less reliable. There was something a little bleak about the internet in 2025. It simply wasn’t that funny.
Believe me, a bona fide Gen Z-er, there were definite highlights. But there was something off. I’m sure you felt it too. Perhaps watching a short-lived TikTok ban, that many thought to be permanent at the time, happen roughly two weeks into 2025 was a bad omen. But there are several factors at play in this year’s meme slowdown, one major element being that the feeds where people go to tune into funny videos are now being inundated with gravely unfunny AI slop. It’s a content farm out there. Instead of watching real people being really funny, videos like the tragic clips below became the norm. Even as it feels like it’s come to a boiling point, it’s unlikely that this AI garbage will slow anytime soon.
It’s all visually overstimulating and not nearly as compelling as anything involving actual people (or animals). People are also experiencing algorithm fatigue — exhaustion and burnout from engaging with hyper-personalized content driven by one’s social media algorithm. One recent study found a link between this kind of fatigue and “resistance behaviors,” meaning that the more drained a user feels, the less likely they are to interact with the content. Combine this with all the other “fatigues” attributed to consumption of information through online mediums — news fatigue, social media fatigue, swipe fatigue — and it’s evident that the internet is slowly becoming less and less fun, and more exhausting.
These apps all change with the progression of time. TikTok, which once felt like an easy escape for mindless scrolling, is flush with influencers and creators living lavish lifestyles in custom-built houses. This coexists in a feed that also circulates viral videos about how to make weekly family meal plans shopping only at Dollar Tree. It all feels like an episode out of Black Mirror.
The 25 Style Moments That Defined 2025
From the Oval Office to the Oscars, the year was full of style-defining momentsMemes themselves are changing, too. What once were mostly simple pictures attached to a tweet (back when “tweets” still existed) can now be a sound snippet posted on TikTok or Instagram Reels. It can be a trendy dance or prank that people post themselves doing. Sure, digesting humorous content online is bound to change within different apps, but there’s a new nicheness to it. It’s not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but subcommunities have evolved from larger communities on the internet, making it that much more difficult to understand what it means when something goes viral. It’s a new age where not everyone can be in on the joke. If you’re not in the right feed or following the right people, you can miss a meme entirely. If you don’t know the pop culture reference, it’s much more difficult to understand (l have an impossible time trying to explain “6-7,” but maybe there are just some things we’re not all supposed to understand).
The meme isn’t dead yet, though. Far from it. Even in a seriously unfunny year on the internet, there were moments of meme magic. Here are the 25 key moments that made swiping on social media feel so worth it…for now.
Reality TV Dating Shows
“Montoya, por favor!”
On La Isla de las Tentaciones, Spain’s Temptation Island, we watched contestant José Carlos Montoya absolutely lose his mind watching his partner be unfaithful to him. He starts sprinting down a beach while the host calls after him, saying, “Montoya, por favor!” It’s one of the biggest crash outs I’ve ever seen documented, and I think it’s safe to say I’m not alone in that.
“Mommy? Mamacita?”
In an episode of Love Island, contestant Huda Mustafa told her fellow contestant Nic Vansteenberghe that outside of the show, she’s a mom. At least…she tried to tell him. The point was not communicated super clearly, and Vansteenberghe was clearly confused, resulting in one of the most viral and iconic audio snippets used on social media this year.
“My Dream Date…Cute.“
Mustafa broke the internet with another viral moment this year on Love Island that turned into another trending audio. Amid a rocky relationship her on-screen partner Jeremiah Brown, Brown went on a date with contestant Iris Kendall. When Kendall told Mustafa about the date — which was just sitting on the beach — Mustafa responded with “my dream date…cute. And he knows that.” The original clip has over two million likes.
The Coldplay Affair
Back at a Coldplay concert in July, a clip of a couple embracing at the show went viral. A shot of them appeared on the jumbotron during the concert, and a mere second after the camera panned to them, they quickly let go of each other and ducked out of view. “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” lead singer Chris Martin joked. Turns out it was Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and HR chief Kristin Cabot, who were both married to others at the time. Oh how I’d love to hear about where these two are now.
Timothée Chalamet at the Knicks Game
Major Knicks fan Timothée Chalamet went viral for his very enthusiastic and consistent appearances at the Knicks games during a successful season.
Kendrick Lamar at the Super Bowl
A legendary performance for many reasons. It had a heavy political and cultural lean with commentary and symbolism that stirred up controversy, and it also continued the storyline for a decade-long feud between Lamar and Drake. (Please play “Not Like Us” by Lamar for further clarification.) Perhaps one of the best things it gave us? This meme: Lamar smiling when he calls out Drake by name.
Get Me to God’s Country
It all started after Morgan Wallen weirdly and abruptly exited the stage after his performance on Saturday Night Live in March. Later that night, he posted a picture of a private jet on his Instagram story with the text “Get me to God’s country.” The phrase very quickly turned into a meme that people were using to explain places they wanted to go to that are, well, subjectively equivalent to that.
Girl, the Tariffs
After President Donald Trump announced plans to apply tariffs on goods from a range of countries, a popular response on the internet that quickly went viral was “girl, the tariffs.” Some timeline we’re living in.
American Pope
In May, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became the new pope. Now he’s Pope Leo XIV to you. He is the first pope from the U.S. He attended Villanova University and is a Chicago White Sox fan. The internet went into a sheer frenzy.
Doechii
Doechii won the best rap album Grammy award for her album Alligator Bites Never Heal. In her song “Denial Is a River,” one of the breakout singles from the album, she has an entire verse dedicated to things she “likes.” Many people joined in.
RaptureTok
Back in September, a bunch of people on TikTok thought the rapture was going to happen because…a man named Joshua Mhlakela predicted it on the app. There wasn’t much of a sound argument here, which is exactly how it felt while watching people crash out over an apocalypse that did not end up happening. It simultaneously also made for some of the most entertaining sarcasm on the app.
The Louvre Heist
The heist at the Louvre Museum in October was so astounding it was bound to go viral, and it did — for many reasons.
Jon Hamm Dancing (Twice Now)!
If I had a nickel for every time a video of Jon Hamm dancing went viral this year, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. Exhibit A: Hamm dancing at a Bad Bunny concert. Exhibit B: Hamm dancing in a club in a scene from his show Your Friends & Neighbors that’s being used to represent the feeling of pure bliss.
Think You Have an Intense Morning Routine? Think Again.
If you’re not rubbing banana peel on your face, are you even living?“It’s Not Clocking to You That I’m Standing on Business”
Ah, Justin Bieber. This year he had a viral confrontation with paparazzi that provided those of us who are chronically online one of the best phrases of the year: “It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business.”
Katy Perry Goes to Space
In April, a group of six women, Perry included, flew to space. A picture of her kissing the ground after landing back on Earth went viral and was used in many reaction posts.
100 Men vs. One Gorilla
This debate circulates online every so often: Could 100 men take on one gorilla in a fight? The takes on this varied, but it seemed like there was a common answer.
The TikTok Ban
On January 19, TikTok went dark in the U.S. for less than 24 hours. If you opened the app, you were greeted with a black screen and a note that said “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.” Users rushed to other social media platforms to share their thoughts while the app was unavailable — and to make fun of the entire debacle when it became available again quite quickly.
Everything Wicked
The 2024 Wicked press tour had plenty of viral moments, like the “holding space” interview that took the internet by storm. With 2025 brought the release of the sequel, Wicked: For Good — and several more moments that social media couldn’t get enough of: Cynthia Erivo clips that turned into widespread memes, Erivo fixing a necklace that Ariana Grande was wearing that simply didn’t need any fixing, and an iconic line from Michelle Yeoh.
The Cracker Barrel Logo Change
In the span of one month, Cracker Barrel unveiled its new logo, was hit with immense pushback online for being “woke” and then decided to go back to its original logo. The meltdowns online over it were…something else. Here are the highlights.
Moonbeam Ice Cream
Singer Benson Boone had a breakout year in 2025, and his hit single “Mystical Magical” did too — but not necessarily for the reason he expected. In the song, Boone sings the lyrics “Moonbeam ice cream / taking off your blue jeans.” Many people online asked, what exactly is moonbeam ice cream? It’s not a real thing, but it sounds so nonsensical that, inevitably, it became a meme and everyone started making fun of it.
The Youngest Person Ever
Four‑year‑old Yuvin Marasini auditioned for Canada’s Got Talent, and when Marasini told Howie Mandel how old he was, Mandel replied, “You are the youngest person ever on Canada’s Got Talent.” As you know, the internet loves a good edit: A clip of this scene got cut with Mandel’s comment shortened to “You are the youngest person ever.”
What the Helly?
You’ve heard “What the hell?” before, but you may not be familiar with “WTHelly” by Rob49. The audio clip is part of a song released in March and is essentially a loop of “What the hell? What the hell? What the helly?” that people used often as a reaction post this year.
And don’t forget about the viral choral version.
“I’m so hungry I could eat ___”
This viral trend sprung up where people would tell their parents, friends, partners, etc. that they were so hungry they could eat a random person that only they follow or know.
The Most Ridiculous Morning Routine
Back in February, influencer Ashton Hall post an outlandish morning routine video that eventually went viral. In the clip, he rubs a banana peel on his face, wastes an absurd amount of Saratoga water and includes timestamps that start as early as 3:50 a.m. The internet didn’t hesitate to clown on almost everything about it.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Engagement
America’s power couple got engaged this year. The news, of course, went viral — along with a plethora of posts about it.
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