Anyone who’s scrolled on TikTok, Instagram or even, God forbid, YouTube Shorts, has come across memes about the U.S. government and political climate. From ‘Kirkification’ to shipping presidents, there is no shortage of these jokes mocking those in power. Most of these memes include clipped audios or videos of presidents and other political figures, while others include hand-drawn animations and other creative multimedia. And who’s the primary creator of these memes? You guessed it, Generation Z. 

So why create these memes, and why have they taken over the internet by storm? 

Whether you actively remember it or not, you’ve probably come across one of the previously described memes about the government that, for a moment, made you chuckle, before you truly realized how downhill things seem to be going. This is the problem that Generation Z faces as a whole, and the memification of the government is their response. 

Lately, the political climate of the world seems to be getting more and more tense, and on top of that, our government has its own issues. People are dying left and right, whether it be at shootings or in wars and genocides; even the planet is dying due to global warming and the overproduction of plastic! Goodbye to the Great Barrier Reef! Just when you think you’ve heard it all, something new pops up from seemingly nowhere. 

In other words, it’s easy for anyone to feel powerless in this situation, and truly, what are you supposed to do? Advocating for certain causes and keeping up with the news can only get you so far. 

Generation Z, known for being adoptive of technology – due their upbringing with new technologies and the Internet – and much more interconnected with others globally (I’m sure you’ve heard all this before) copes with the world’s situation through the Internet, which had gotten them through other tough times, like the Covid Pandemic when society practically shut down. 

The memes that Generation Z has produced are more than us not being able to take matters seriously; it’s their own, personalized way of informing others and trying to make the best of the situation they’ve been handed by the previous generations. 

Laughter brings people together and releases endorphins in the brain, giving people a sense of security and well-being. Thus, the humor behind these viral political climate memes soften the tougher reality that said memes are based on. 

They also give people an additional sense of unity with others who share similar views and concerns, which helps alleviate the feeling of being alone. 

Memes, more specifically, political memes, are a coping method utilized by Generation Z. It gives them this temporary sense of well-being, and the endorphins they receive from having a chuckle can momentarily be uplifting. Experiencing this feeling due to issues like politics and the state of the world may seem counterintuitive, but at the end of the day, when there is little one can really do to change the massive issues at hand, it’s better to feel some sort of comedic relief than to buckle under piles of stress.