The Top 5 Worst Memes of 2017
The internet, as powerful as it may be, is probably one of the most dangerous places out there. Especially if you don’t know your way around. Understanding the World Wide Web’s sense of humor can also be a hazardous escapade, considering most of what internet users love to laugh at are special in-jokes that the world has deemed “memes.” Memes, to put it simply, are inside jokes among internet users across the world. Like some jokes, some make you laugh until your sides burst and tears stream down your face while others fall flat on delivery. Laughing at- and especially posting- memes that the internet believes to be not dank enough for one’s taste makes you run the risk of being given the title of “normie,” someone who simply doesn’t get the web’s unique comedy. And trust me, when you are trying to fit in to sites such as Reddit, 4Chan and iFunny, a normie is the last thing you want to be known as. Luckily, I compiled this list based on popular opinion to give you the run-down on some of the memes, best left alone. These are the top five worst internet memes of the year 2017. Note that this list will only cover memes that were either originated or reached their peak relevance this year alone. (So no Damn Daniel on this list for worse, I’m afraid.) And with a platform as vast and endless as the internet, you know there will be honorable- or in this case, dishonorable- mentions. Stay tuned for that. So, without further ado, onto the review.
#5: Doggo
While some may line up to argue with me about this one, it is an unavoidable fact that you won’t be able to scroll through the front page of Reddit or the feature section of iFunny without coming across at least once, this tired, overused meme format. Basically what happens are pictures of dogs being posted with misspelled, superimposed text hovering above each dog, or as the internet annoyingly puts them “doggo.” The problem with these memes are how uninspired and bland they turn out to be. What people don’t understand is that crafting a quality meme means more than just having cute text over a cute picture of something everyone loves. Doggo isn’t of course offensive, but it might kill a few brain cells the longer gaze upon its grammatically-imperfect stupidity.
#4: How Italians…
Doggo, when compared to Italian memes, are high art. While Doggo is dumb, Italian memes are mentally corrupt. They consist of people doing everyday tasks, only their hands are replaced with a certain hand gesture which Italians are known to use quite often. The thing about Italian memes are that they lack the simple joke structure, that being buildup and payoff. As soon as people read the words, “How Italians (blank)”, they can expect to find the hand gesture somewhere within the picture. And sure enough, not a second later, there it is. It is a weak meme that has been torn apart online for being lazy and ill-humored. Unlike the revered Doggo, Italian Memes are something communities will rally against willfully.
#3: Choccy Milk Get it? Of course not. It’s another example of a punchline without the appropriate setup. The joke is as follows: Chocolate milk spelled like choccy milk = funny. Unfortunately, the internet thinks not. But that didn’t stop this trend from infecting the interwebs like the 11th plague. It’s not even like the punchline is that funny either. The only cases in which choccy milk works in memes are when those memes are jabbing fun at just how horrible it is.
#2: Cash Me Ousside
How bout dat? One of the most irresponsible, crude, cruel, heartless, talentless, awful human beings on the planet, becoming popular for being all those things in front of an audience. This is a classic example of stupid being revered as gospel by suckers with wallets, a la Kardashians and Honey Boo Boo. The “Cash me ousside” girl, named Danielle, made her debut on the Dr. Phil show, where she was presented as an out-of-control 14 year old brat. It was as she said those damned words, “Cash me ousside, how bout dat?” that the internet exploded. Soon, the memes were everywhere. Facebook, Instagram, your ill aunt’s Pinterest board, whatever. The point is that this meme has created a perfect storm of dumb people getting paid for being dumb, as well as a tired joke you cannot avoid. Had it not been for number 2 and 1 on this list, Danielle would have succeeded in more than just playing us all for fools.
And before we get to the number one worst meme of 2017, and possibly ever for that matter, let us count off some dishonorable mentions that should have made it onto this list, had it not been for the limited room and worse ones out there.
And last, and certainly least, the worst meme in the history of memes:
#1: Pepe the Frog
Here it is, folks: the hideous cartoon frog that not only inspired a bunch of “rare” reskins and colorings, but an entire new wave of hatred on the internet. Pepe has recently come into the spotlight as the new symbol for alt-right groups across the United States, due to his face bearing resemblance to Donald Trump. This fucking frog has inspired hate, fear and bullying across the web to the extent that even the meme’s creator eventually disowned his own creation. A glimmer of home shined through the dark when the creator of Pepe killed the character off in his line of comics, but that didn’t even stop this deplorable amphibian from ruining iFunny features and tainting the holy name of 4Chan. It seems as though the owner has joined back in the hype, for later this year, Pepe will be reintroduced in its debut comic. After hearing that news, it was then that I truly lost fate in the human race.
Pepe is the first away from internet memes and into internet madness. There is a lot of racist, offensive shit out there. And if you wish to shield yourself from any of that, I beg of you, stay as far away from Pepe the Frog as humanly possible.
And that’s the list. More memes are made every day, and along with them, very bad ones. Hopefully, though, this gives you enough of a sense of what to avoid in order to not look homophobic, racist, or just plain dumb online.