Tag: Memes

A lot has been said about Millennials. Too much, probably. We just want to live, but every time we turn around, we’re being blamed for something by Boomers or looked down upon by Gen Z (so the articles would have you believe anyway… what generation is writing those articles, though, hmm?)

As a card-bearing Millennial — it’s called an I.D. card — I can assure you that we’re hard-working, stressed out, and kind of done with the whole generation debate. We graduated college and entered the workforce at a terrible time. Most people I know who got jobs after college were working retail or waiting tables, or both. Being able to afford things was a constant struggle. Living with one’s parents, though not great, was the only way to stay afloat, and moving out of their houses was no walk in the park either. Unless you live in a place with low rent or mortgage rates.

But this post isn’t about complaining. I just wanted to start with some perspective.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the changing landscape on the Internet. Homestar Runner and StrongBad were bickering. Badgers and snakes were badgering and snaking around. When I first started using Facebook, it was only available to people who were currently in college. MySpace was a serious rival, with its customized profiles and annoying autoplay music. I started using Twitter in 2006, back when it was used for people to share their inane, random thoughts. YouTube was random and silly. Things were fun back then.

It’s not surprising that things have changed. Everything has become discussion-based. Argument-based, more like. Even the memes have become a lot more cynical than they used to be. Remember Charlie the Unicorn? That was just dumb; it didn’t have any underlying social commentary.

Please don’t tell me it has underlying social commentary.

I suppose the Internet is just a day-to-day example of the way things change, and how fast change happens. It feels strange to be nostalgic for something so goofy that didn’t really matter, but I suppose every generation has their version of that.