#memes that make millennials cry

[commie-leatherfemme]

I'm not apologizing

[kiwikiwikiwiii]

Looking at less-expensive city house listings and fighting an internal battle of Is This The Only Place I Could Ever Afford? vs. Is This Just The Gentrification Cycle At Work?

[klavlock]

cumplane poly au where they love their husbands. they love their husbands so much. luo binghe is shen qingqui's whole world and shang qinghua literally built his own ideal man.

but fuck, isn’t that the problem? sometimes, mobei jun isn’t REAL. he’s literally a figment of shang qinghua's imagination. this whole place is. and he’s been trapped in his own imagination so long he’s forgotten the world he came from. he can’t even remember his own birth name. but he remembers cucumber-bro. he remembers those abrasive comments, he remembers how those full takedowns of every thing he wrote made him feel. he remembers it better than he remembers his original parents faces.

it’s not— it’s not inherently romantic. for either of them. it’s a NEED. for shen qingqiu, there is exactly one person in the whole world who truly understands that longing for a world he doesn’t even want to go back to, not really. for shang quinghua, there’s only one person who gets him. the him from before. this beautiful, poised man with his fan language and obedient doting husband is also the only person who gets his love of memes and horrible porn and preservative-laden food.

they don’t do anything about it, because how could they? they’re loyal to their husbands, they love their husbands. but the thing is… proud immortal demon way was a harem novel once. and shang qinghua had written luo binghe and mobei jun with more emotional intelligence than was common for this world (mainly for his own sanity.) so… they don’t have to say anything. their husbands come to them.

and luo binghe is crying, and mobei jun is stone-still with clenched fists and a clenched jaw. but binghe BEGS his shizun to do what will make him happy. that seeing his shizun upset and hurting and longing is way worse than any jealousy could be. and mobei jun says nothing but when shang quinghua looks at him, he just nods in agreement.

so it’s not often. they don’t need it often. but now and then, when shen qingqiu is disassociating like a motherfucker luo binghe calls on his airplane bro to bring him back down to earth. or when shang qinghua is on his third day of no sleep, plagued by fears that none of this is even real, mobei jun teleports him directly to his cucumber-bro's bed for cuddles and kisses and horrible millennial memes whispered into his ear until hes laughing away his anxiety and - eventually - falling asleep.

mobei jun and lou binghe don’t understand it. but they are happy their husbands are happy. and that’s what matters.

[jacesvelaryons]

english love affair

social media au

kpop idol!reader x tom blyth

fc: jennie kim

i love making these and have some in my drafts so feel free to send requests/face claim requests/suggestions

(ps: i had to redo this bc the first time i posted not only did it not post, it didn’t save any of my changes so i had to do it again. 😭)

Requests are OPEN for both soc med aus and blurbs for Tom and his characters

yourusername

liked by zendaya and others

@calvinklein

hunterschafer beautiful girl

liked by yourusername

↪️yourusername that’s you babes 😘

taylorswift so proud of you hon

lola.tung can’t wait to see your pretty face all on the billboards AHH

tomblyth ❤️

liked by yourusername

↪️ user23 OH?

↪️ fan98 they know each other?

↪️ user9 and she liked!

user8 insert olivia wilde nodding meme

random56 when you’re that girl!

username7 y/n world domination she’s a singer dancer rapper songwriter producer model like what can she not do

ynfans

liked by randomuser and others

y/n has now followed actor tom blyth who has recently stared in the new hunger games movie the ballad of songbirds and snakes!

he has previously liked and commented on her recent post, and she’s stated previously that she’s a fan of the trilogy and has watched this new movie multiple times!

ynfan98 this is interesting bc she barely follows ppl as it is

user76 the way she’s barely active on social media and does this she’s so old lady coded 😭

user12 DID YALL SEE TOMS THIRST TRAP

↪️ user8 HIS WHAT?!

↪️ username6 YES SKDKDK not even a few hours since she followed now he’s like this

↪️ random87 real because i’d be thirst trapping to get her attention

tomblyth

liked by yourusername and others

outtakes from my recent vogue italia shoot

user1 ok thirst trap

ynfan NOT HIM POSTING THIS RIGHT AFTER YOURNAME FOLLOWS HIM BACK

↪️ random488 HES SO REAL

↪️ user978 IM CRYING HES SO HOT

↪️ user11 AND IT WORKED SHE LIKED BACK

rachelzegler you look okay i guess 🙄

↪️ tomblyth i’ll take it

mayahawke looking good my boy

↪️ tomblyth 👍

↪️ random5 his millennial ahh reply 😭

liked by mayahawke

yourusername stunning

liked by tomblyth

↪️ user12 not him acting coy after that thirst trap when she followed him 😭

↪️ user9 he thinks he’s slick when he’s probably fangirling she’s noticing him

user12 how did they meet not my worlds colliding

↪️ random1 probably rachel introduced them yk how rach is a social butterfly

liked by rachelzegler

↪️ user9 see? rach liking just confirms it she set them up

blythnation

liked by tbfns and others

tom’s now deleted story (1.12.2024)

user097 not him deleting this naurrr

tomfans wait my friends said they saw him in london what is he doing there if he ain’t filming anything?

user64 wait the shoes he’s holding look like something yn would wear at the recent gala in london hold on 👀👀

↪️ username678 you’re so right cause coincidence i think not

↪️ random75 maybe he went as her date! it’s a big night for her and her career. how sweet!

yourusername

liked by naomi and others

A huge honour to receive the Honorary MBEs and attend the South Korea-UK State Banquet at Buckingham Palace 🎖️💂‍♀��

onyourm_ark congrats y/nnie!

↪️ yourusername thanks markles im gonna cry omg

↪️ johnnyjsuh so proud of you y/n 🎉🥳

dualipa you’re one of us now 🥰🥰

↪️ yourusername kisses kisses hugs hugs

↪️ user87 one of us like 👀interesting

↪️ person97 cause she got an english man too

oliviarodrigo congrats my love!

liked by yourusername

↪️ yourusername thank you angel ✨

↪️ random97 wait both my girls booed up by english boys they’re on the same wavelength

username188 am i dreaming or does the shoes on tom’s deleted story match her dress

↪️ ynfan I SEE IT OMG did they go together

↪️ fan65 my cousin who works at the palace apparently heard he entered through the private back entrance to attend the ball and seated where he’s not visible by the camera

↪️ user97 so cute for her to bring him as a date! must be serious tho

↪️ randomuser7 great he attended and supported her during one of the biggest nights of her career but didn’t hog the spotlight

↪️ user121 a real man wouldn’t be threatened by a woman’s success

liked by yourusername

↪️ user53 exactly yn deserves someone who knows his place and that she’s a star and not to be jealous and try to stifle her talent and creativity and personality

yourusername posted a story

[butmakeitgayblog]

This is meant with so much love but sometimes I read your interactions and you're such a millennial it's endearing! Coming into this fandom felt like joining an old lady's knitting club lmao 😭 (like with the emojis, genz uses the crying emoji as crying with laughter, y'all just use it as sad-crying. You frequently use 🥰 unironically, and it gives me such a whiplash) love you tho xx

Well I don't take this offensively - tho it is condescending, just know that about yourself - because I AM a millennial, but I do honestly feel a bit bad for you lol. I'm 35 years old and the fact that you seemingly think that is "old lady" age is??? I also mean this with love, it's gotta be terrifying living life and thinking that you have maaaybe a decade after you get out of your teens to feel young and have fun and enjoy things. Or that being young is (???) synonymous (???) with speaking like a teenager.

Just in reality here, your brain isn't even fully developed until you're 25, and you don't really begin to emotionally pull your head out of your own ass until about 30. So 30-50? That's when the real fun begins babe like idk how else to explain it you just have to live it. Hobbies are better, the sex is better (by far), the friendships are better, the freedom is so much fuckin better.

So yeah no you're right I don't think as hard on emoji meanings as zoomers do because I'm just having a good time interacting and talking rather than worrying if I'm being the 'right' kind of ironic, idk. I suppose I feel less need to make myself perform for other's approval online, but I did it in my own era, so I get your impulse. Also, I know it's a cyclical thing with pm all 15-25 yo's thinking that 30+ is like some crypt keeper style deadline for being fun or young. It's just a rite of passage, every generation thinks that way about the generation before them, we've all been there. And it is hilarious because when you do get past those ages and into your 30s, you will look back and realize exactly how clueless you were 🥴 that's also a rite of passage, believe me. Your moment will come

Mostly tho I just hope that you appreciate that the only reason this fandom is as good as it is or has lasted so long as it has is because of people my age and older. Most of the classic memes/lore/fics that this fandom is known for come from people 30+, because we have been where you are and lived it and actually made it past that smoke-and-mirrors stage of life that is your 20s. We can write about actual life and love and strife without sounding full of shit or unrealistic because we pour actual life experience and fully shaped senses of humor/character growth/etc into our work which most younger people simply cannot do (not all, I know a few brilliant younger writers and they deserve their spotlight). You too will get there eventually tho babe you will. And when the next generation laughs at you for your ~cringe~ emoji usage or whatever the litmus is for their era, you'll remember this message and then pat them on their sweet naive baby heads too 🥰

[oatmealdaydreams]

So, I Watched "My Roommate is Hades"

Here's some reactions from me as I watch the pilot episode. Maybe be a bit of rant/long post. Told and expressed in bullet points (list).

Trigger/Content Warning: nude/naked mention (vague), all-caps, cursed image, boomer, fire (fake, CGI)

Major Spoilers: My Roommate is Hades (MRIH) [Pilot Episode]

SIR, I HAVE THOSE SAME GLASSES, WUT-

his name is Homer. like the Greek poet, Homer.

FUN FACT: Lehrer means "teacher" in German

Homer Lehrer -> Greek poet name and also surname means "teacher"? oh f*ck yeah

Matthessy? like... like Odessey? or am I just a nerd.

nice theme song ya got there - catchy

"yeah, that Hades" what other Hades would he be, your main audience are all queer as f*ck, we KNOW Greek Mythology

second time to college - good to note

first degree in chemical engineering but went nowhere? love me some "Thomas projects on his characters" content

Homer is a sweetheart, look at him in his little videos on campus, he's ready to learn, a curious poet man

over 10 years since he last went to school, m'kay

"oh sheesh" -> I laughed at his reaction to how long it's been since he was in school LMAO

yeah, some adjustment period, huh?

Homer's lighting is warm hue and Hades' lighting is cold/icy hue

"HEy-" ffs, Hades almost scared me, jfc

why does Homer look scared in Hades' POV but in his own POV, he just looks annoyed?

^hmm, interesting...

ALSO: NEW MEME/REACTION IMAGE UNLOCKED

^I'm laughing, omg-

"doughy mortal" my dude, you make him sound like a pastry

Homer says "mortal rights"

just love the interaction of Homer thinking doughy means he hasn't been working out or something & Hades is like "no, I mean you're soft" and goes on a mini tangent about how he'd die to the easy-feat crocodiles back in Ancient Greece

I have a feeling Hades is gonna talk about Ancient Greece a lot throughout this series - cause it's home

"again with the crocodiles" -> man has talked about crocodiles before, hasn't he?

Hades is an early sleeper, I guess??

^also, 3pm? my dude, that's the afternoon, no need to sleep that f*cking early

love how Hades can just whoosh into visibility from the shadows - excellent for stealing pizza from roommate

"I like my money" OKAY THEN, RICH BOI.

wait, wtf are you doing in college, you f*cking snobby pizza-hoarding mf?

Hades is just walking around with very little to no clothes on, and Homer just closes his eyes and takes off his glasses like "this f*cking dude" in annoyance

"In Ancient Greece, everyone was naked all of the time!" -> everyone in Ancient Greece was also very gay and queer, shut up

^"puppet shows-" WAIT WUT

"You keep bringing up the meaninglessness of mortals' lives." // "To be fair, you're pretty good at bringing it up yourselves."

^I HAVE PERISHED (/pos)

"that's gen z" // "I'm a millennial, I can only be depressed-"

^gonna cry, omfg LMAO

Homer being surprised at Hades' confession that he doesn't want to be here either is something to note; perhaps they both don't want to be the situation they're in, for different reasons

^something to connect over?

Hades misses his doggo

ah yus: brother Zeus says "ya kinda weird bro" and then yeets him into mortal college

"f*cking community college-" I DIED, H A-

mm, love it when Gods get yeeted by their siblings into mortal bodies to learn a lesson - very delicious trope

"yes I did, Benjermin Franklin" // "what the f*ck-"

HE CALLS HIM BENNIE - I'M SOBBING

Bennie is my favourite, omg

never pause this video - oh god

HERE, HAVE A CURSED IMAGE

^suffer with me :3

"college is useless, death is inevitable" -> you would get along with gen z, wouldn't you?

"fate worse than immortality itself" -> using this every time I have a mild inconvenience

Homer has an existential crisis - relatable

"So, upon seeing the ghost of Benjermin Franklin, something broke inside my brain."

^HADES, STOP BREAKING YOUR ROOMMATE'S BRAIN. MORTALS ARE FRAGILE; THEY BREAK EACH OTHER'S BRAINS ALREADY ON THEIR OWN, DON'T ADD TO IT

Homer being like "learning that Gods exist was a shocker, but hey - worse sh*t has happened" is my fav thing about him

^this is him upon learning the Afterlife is real

RIP Homer's Sanity, never had a chance, 2023 to Never

ah yus, Greek God eats grapes like he's posing for a statue made after him. classic Gods behaviour

FLORAL SHIRT - the flower motif continues

love how chill Hades is about the Afterlife/explaining it as if Homer didn't just have his entire worldview and reality break in half

5 rivers, Tartarus, Rive Styx - love all of this Greek Mythology knowledge

^the true gayness comes out when GREEK MYTHOLOGY

Hades doesn't know Beyonce - a true Greek tragedy

"is any of them, idk, nice?" // "eh-"

^that's not reassuring

Homer's Existential Crisis, Part II

scales of judgement, mm

...can we please give Homer a hug? he needs one.

Hades has teal/light blue fire- neat

Homer studied Greek Mythology in school? that's very gay of you, sir.

Afterlife has Purgatory and Cool Kids Club, confirmed

Hades not putting people in places cause grey areas and "too much paperwork" - relatable lmao

I just realized Hades is basically like "back in my day" with Ancient Greece

^is Hades a boomer-

^^OH GOD, HE'S A BOOMER

Homer really said "um morals tho-" and Hades gets angy

Hades complaining about the weird deal between Zeus and Menelaus(?) is funny to me

wait, Hades complaining about Orpheus is funnier, omg-

I sense some "no one listens to me or heeds my advice" angst from Hades

"f*cking artists-" laughing, crying, TIME TO PERISH

"not even mortals listen to me" -> I WAS RIGHT

hmm, a wager? interesting...

this is gonna get so gay, oh dear lord

"little man" -> Homer is short, confirmed

THE FIRE-WHEN-MAKING-A-DEAL TROPE - YUS

Immediately recognized Hermes, the casting is brilliant

gay-ass Hermes, yep

THEY'RE ALL HERE - uh oh-

Persephone is mentioned and then Hades is like "skjhfkajs- I mean, oh really? haha, how is she?"

Hermes being like "I have no f*cking clue" is funny to me LMAO

Hermes is a flirt, confirmed

^he literally winks/flirts with Homer lmao

Zeus heading a fraternity? most canon thing in canon

"if there's one thing I care about less than humanity, it's my family"

^LMAO Hades is an emo edgelord with a literal God Complex

"a living hell... in a bad way" -> why is that funny-

"I JUST WANTED TO GO BACK TO COLLEGE"

the best ending line, lmao

mm, outro

===

Some Overall Thoughts

Because this is the Pilot episode, and Thomas had admitted somewhere that he's not entirely sure how to do what he intends to do, I didn't expect perfection. I was right not to. This is still a very good pilot episode, even with the random things I noticed. It does sound a bit more scripted in an obvious way. Which can be a bit... just eh. We'll see how this goes.

The different lighting choices for Hades and Homer was a nice touch. I appreciate the blue/icy lighting for Hades, as he is portrayed as a cold character. I also appreciate the orangish-yellow/warm lighting for Homer, as he is portrayed as a kind and moral character. There's even some colour themes with them, evident in their student cards. Homer has that beige theme, and Hades has the light blue theme. Hades' fire is even teal/light blue, which is a nice little detail.

The generation jokes were funny (to me, at least), but I can recognize how they'd be kinda blah with other people. Hades seems to be a bit of a boomer (always talking about Ancient Greece in the back-in-my-day fashion), while Homer is a millennial (literally says so in one of his generation jokes). Even then, still funny to me.

^But still, can be a bit flat in the humour department.

I love everyone's distinct personalities already. We have our protagonist, Homer Lehrer, who just wants to go to college and make something of his life; Hades, a Greek God who's "out of touch" with the real world and thus has been sentenced to community college; Hermes, who's a flirty, flamboyant mf with no clue who tf sent the letters or where tf they came from (even though he's literally The Messenger); and we have everyone else, yet to be seen on screen.

The family banter already (between Hades and Hermes) is 100% my fav part about the Greek Deities. Them just bickering like mortal family members would. I love it!

Some lore/theories to think about! Who sent the letters that knocked all of the Greek Deities out and sentenced them to mortality and community college? Why did this happen? Where did the letters come from? How tf did Hermes send himself a letter and then blackout like his amass of siblings & family members? What's the deal with Persephone and Hades? Why won't she talk to him? What happened between them?

What is Homer's purpose of being there, sans him going back to college for self-fulfillment reasons?

How tf did Zeus head an entire faternity so fast?

Homer being roomies with Hades is the funniest sh*t about this entire series.

I do both love and feel weary about the sitcom vibes from this. Sitcoms are funny in their own corny, classic way. It's scripted in a sorta obvious way, but there is a good amount of natural flow to it.

===

Anyway: that's all my thoughts for now. Hope everyone enjoyed this lovely lil pilot. Feel free to share your own thoughts and theories!! I want to hear them.

[thetreetopinn]

PINNED POST!

Oh hey, I should make a pinned post. Might be a good idea.

Hi, I'm Smokey.

ABOUT ME

I'm a dragon. I used to write a hell of a lot and I'm trying to get my mojo back. Burnout is a serious ass bitch.

I don't identify as trans offline, but to quote Thought Slime: "I'm not fancy, I'll use whatever pronouns ya got lyin' around."

So, you can use: He/She/Any/All

My favorite pronoun joke, since I live in a particular state, is: "My pronouns are yee/haw."

I do however stan all my trans brothers, sisters, and non-binary siblings. You better respect trans folks or your pronouns are gonna be was/were.

👴👵HOW OLD AM I👵👴

A lotta of folks put "AGE IN BIO OR YOU'RE BLOCKED" or "MINORS DO NOT INTERACT" or something like that.

Here's my answer. I'm an elder millennial.

If that's not good enough, here. I'm older than this:

No, I'm not going to put my actual age in my bio. No, I'm not going to put my birth year in my bio. If "Elder Millennial" or the "I'm older than $Movie" isn't good enough, well, sounds like a 'you' problem. Sorry.

"yOu cOuLd bE lYiNg aBoUt aLl oF tHat!" So could someone who put a number in their bio.

🪄✨🌈POLITICS🌈✨🪄

I live in the United States (for my sins) and I'm a frothing, foaming, shrieking, screaming leftist.

Being an elder millennial that lived through: A) 9/11 (I was in high school at the time) B) 3 consecutive, once-in-a-lifetime, economic disasters (2000's oil price bubble, 2007-2010 subprime mortgage crisis, 2020 stock market crash) C) The pandemic (and seeing people lose their fucking shit and prove that zombie movies are ENTIRELY plausible) D) Just... well... everything that's happened with my country's government at various levels ...You could say I've been radicalized.

So, let's get the obvious political talking points out of the way and watch my follower count shrink a bit!

✊🏿Black Lives Matter✊🏿

🏳️‍⚧️Trans rights are human rights🏳️‍⚧️

🏳️‍🌈Stonewall was a riot🏳️‍🌈

Sex work is real work

Forced birth is a form of torture

Cars suck Give us public transport, walkable cities, & high speed rail

N@zis can fuck right the hell off into a god damned volcano Same with t3rfs, biological essentialists, crypto douchebags, "AI" techbro fucksticks, and libertarians who think age of consent means "mental maturity"

Palestine will be free This doesn't make it okay to be an antisemite Supporting Palestine does not mean "Eradicate the Jews" Protesting antisemitism does not mean protesting Palestine The Israeli State does not equal The Israeli People Hamas does not equal The Palestinian People

Trumpists and MAGA are fascists and white supremacists Same with Qanon Same with all the far right schmucks like the oath keepers, the 3 percenters, the proud boys, the KKK, and other similar groups

Capitalism is just feudalism with extra steps When forced to choose between money and a sustainable world, Capitalists will always choose money and let the rest of us burn Eat the fucking rich

I believe in pursuing the maximum amount of freedom for the maximum number of people

This is, of course, not a complete list.

Heh, I'm sure that'll piss of a LOT of people. And I'm totally down with that. If you're offended by any of this, please, cry some more. And feel free to leave nasty comments or mean asks or whatever. Just lets me know who to block! Thank you for outing yourself!

If you wanna show solidarity with any of this, just reblog with a 🐉or a 🐲. Why a dragon? Because dragons are cool. No I'm not biased.

⭐WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT ON THIS BLOG⭐

I'm probably going to include a broad mix of things. Some of it will be suitable for all audiences, but a lot of it VERY MUCH NOT.

Things I will likely reblog:

Funny memes

Important news/posts/political updates

Wholesome stuff

Plenty of generally queer affirming stuff This includes aro/ace folks, ya'll are valid too

Plenty of explicitly trans affirming stuff

Art that I like (cute)

Art that I like (impressive)

Art that I like (adult/kink related)

Adult/kink related posts in general

Furry stuff I would say "LOTS AND LOTS OF FURRY STUFF" but it feels like Tumblr isn't all that prime a spot for furries, but I stan what I can when I find it

🫷You said adult/kink--is this a PORN blog!?!🫸

Not explicitly, because Tumblr is a coward. I'm old enough to remember when this place used to allow straight up porn. Then the great puritanical purge happened. Still, this blog stans sexytimes and those who create stuff in that vein.

Kinks/fetishes you'll see me reblog (if I find it and I like it):

Vore (Soft, safe, endo, almost exclusively consenting) Various forms that can fall under this, like unbirthing

Pregnancy (fpreg, mpreg, nbpreg, tpreg, it's all good)

Transformation

Gender transformation I honestly don't know if this is the right term for this Someone's sex/gender changing through sciencey or magical means

Big strong dudes/ladies/enbies

Twinkish dudes/ladies/enbies

Size difference

CONSENT. I HAVE A HUGE CONSENSUAL KINK. ENTHUSIASTIC CONSENT IS HOT. NOT EVEN REALLY AS A KINK BUT JUST KNOWING & UNDERSTANDING THAT THE INVOLVED PARTIES ARE INTO WHAT'S HAPPENING IS SUPER FUCKING IMPORTANT.

Other weird things that I can't think to include here

All of this is stuff that I've written smutty stories about in the past (and I'm trying to get back into the swing of writing, again, burnout is a bitch). If you wanna know more about that, feel free to ask about it.

Things I am NOT into and will almost assuredly avoid:

Vore (Hard, cruel, fatal)

Pregnancy, specifically birthing

Non-consensual stuff

Piss, scat, vomit, blood

Omegaverse

Macro/Micro aka Giant/Giantess (nothing wrong with this, it's just not my thing)

Underage characters (minimum age: 18)

"Aged Up" characters that are clearly just an excuse to get around the underage problem (if you slap a pair of tits on a cartoon of an 8 year old girl... you're sexualizing a cartoon child. Fuck you.)

This is, of course, not a complete list.

DNI ACCOUNTS

Minors

Porn bots

Fascists, racists, t3rfs, zionists, ✨CHRISTIANS™✨ (yes there is a difference between christians and ✨CHRISTIANS™✨, and I think you know what I'm talking about)

Crypto assholes

"AI Art" and ChatGPT assholes

This is, of course, not a complete list.

I think that's plenty to put in a pinned post... probably too much, very TL;DR I'm sure. But whatever. If someone complains to me about something that they could have learned by just reading it here, well... it's their own damn fault.

Anyway, be kind and stay weird.

[francisforever2014]

generational humor is so crazy bc like it really proves how subjective humor is and how much socialization determines it . like so often i’ll see a meme on here and i’m like *POINTING* MILLENNIAL HUMOR NOT FUNNY but like….. i can see how if i was a millennial id be crying with laughter …… really makes you think

[pleatedjeans]

35 Funny Memes To Make Millennials Laugh Before Making Them Cry From 'Millennial Misery'

[moumentec]

If you've been living under a rock (or, you know, just busy), you may have missed the massive the impact of TikTok on the world of marketing. What started as a platform for original lip sync videos quickly became a social media powerhouse. TikTok isn't just the new kid on the block: it's the kid with a skateboard, sunglasses, and a crowd of millions hanging on his every move. Most importantly, TikTok is a good marketing tool to help your business grow. So what makes TikTok such a great marketing tool and why should your brand join in? Let's get to the heart of the matter, and maybe, just maybe, we'll convince you to go viral. Alsoread: Understanding the psychology of branding: How to connect with customers Unmatched organic reach (goodbye Pay-to-Play) Let's start with the facts: TikTok's algorithm is designed to allow everyone have their moment in the sun. Seriously, anyone can go viral on TikTok, which is a far cry from platforms like Facebook and Instagram, where organic reach is, frankly, in intensive care. TikTok's For You Page (FYP) doesn't care if you're a billion-dollar business or a mom-and-pop store: it's all about the content. This means that businesses without an advertising budget can still become famous through organic growth. Take for example the account @scrubdaddy. This original cleaning product went viral for something as simple as its scrubber's face smiling after scrubbing the pans. Thanks to TikTok's unique algorithm, Scrub Daddy has become a household name, racking up millions of views, without spending a dime on advertising. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, the ability to reach massive audiences organically is one of TikTok's strongest selling points. Compared to the “paid” models of Facebook or Instagram, TikTok is more like a social media playground where everyone has a chance to win during playtime. Yes, TikTok started as a platform for teenagers. But make no mistake: Today, it's more than just dance challenges and teenage angst. TikTok's demographics have exploded, now attracting users of all ages, professions and interests. A recent report from Datareportal showed that 67% of TikTok users are aged 25 and over. This broad age range makes TikTok a marketing tool capable of reaching diverse groups of consumers, from Gen Z looking for the latest trends, to millennials looking for tips, to older generations who are have fun. For brands, this means there is plenty of room to exploit diverse niches. Whether you're a fitness coach, beauty brand, or financial advisor, TikTok provides a platform to connect with an audience that matches your product. The Trend Machine: Why Viral Challenges Are Gold Let's be real: TikTok thrives on trends. Whether it's the latest viral dance, a hilarious meme format, or a challenge, users want to jump on the latest bandwagon. For brands, this offers a Golden ability to join the conversation in real time. You don't need to start a trend to profit from it. By participating in viral challenges or creating your own branded hashtag, your brand can be part of something bigger, driving massive engagement. Take it #GuacDance Challengea Chipotle TikTok campaign that celebrated National Avocado Day. By encouraging users to participate in a dance challenge, Chipotle generated more than 250,000 video submissions and a 70% increase in avocado orders on the day of the promotion. That’s the magic of tapping into the TikTok trend machine. Creativity above all (and we mean All) You might think that TikTok is all about dancing and lip-syncing — and while those things still reign supreme — it's also a hub for raw, unfiltered creativity. TikTok encourages users to create content that is real, relevant, and most importantly, fun. For marketers, this presents a unique opportunity to to show instead of say. Whether it's humor, behind-the-scenes content, or original product tutorials, TikTok gives brands a platform to think outside the box and get creative in ways that traditional marketing often stifles. A good example is the Duolingo TikTok account, which embraces the app's original brand voice by placing its mascot in all sorts of hilarious and meme-worthy scenarios. No one expected an owl in a green costume to become a viral sensation, but here we are. Influencer Marketing is BIG on TikTok Another reason why TikTok is a good marketing tool is its booming influencer ecosystem. TikTok influencers have great influence, especially among younger audiences. Influencer partnerships on the platform tend to feel more organic than on other social networks and often lead to higher engagement rates. For example, skincare brand The Ordinary gained massive exposure working with TikTok influencers and saw her product lines sell out virtually overnight. TikTok Ads That Don't Look Like Ads Let's be honest: people hate ads. But TikTok ads? Well, they are a little different. What makes TikTok a great marketing tool is how seamlessly the ads integrate with the platform. Rather than being disruptive, TikTok ads often look like a simple post in your feed. TikTok offers a variety of ad formats, including in-feed ads, branded hashtag challenges, and TopView ads. One of the most interesting options is Branded Effect, where companies can create custom stickers, filters, or effects that users can embed into their own videos. This type of advertising engagement integrates users into the marketing process, increasing visibility while encouraging interaction with the brand. To learn more about how to create engaging ad campaigns, check out this complete guide on social media advertising by Hootsuite. Data-Driven Campaigns with TikTok Analytics What is a marketing strategy without data to back it up? Fortunately, TikTok offers robust analytics that allow businesses to track the success of their campaigns in real time. TikTok's analytics tools provide insights into video views, follower growth, and engagement rates, helping marketers refine their strategies on the fly. Additionally, TikTok's advertising platform offers detailed reporting metrics, allowing businesses to track conversions, view counts, and click-through rates for paid campaigns. The beauty of TikTok's data-driven tools is that they provide actionable insights, making it easier to justify ad spend and prove ROI. According to Wavve.co TikTok reported a staggering $4.6 billion in advertising revenue in 2022, with growth expected to accelerate further in the coming years. The platform's ability to generate meaningful data insights makes it one of the most valuable tools in digital marketers' arsenal today. The cross-platform potential of TikTok One of TikTok's sneakiest assets is its shareability. Unlike Instagram or Facebook, where content largely stays within the platform, TikTok videos are easily shared across social media. From Twitter to Instagram Reels, TikTok videos seem to appear everywhere, often going viral beyond the platform itself. This cross-platform potential makes TikTok more than just a siled social media tool: it's a gateway for your content to spread across the digital landscape. https://youtu.be/lFpqTrnnHI4 Bottom line: jump on the bandwagon before it's too late TikTok is no longer just a viral dance challenge platform: it is a dynamic marketing tool capable of reaching a large and diverse audience. From the ability to create authentic content to tapping into viral trends, TikTok offers brands opportunities to improve their marketing strategies like never before. Its data-driven advertising solutions and influencer partnerships only solidify TikTok's place as a social media marketing heavyweight. For brands still on the sidelines, waiting for the “perfect moment,” here’s the truth: the time is now. As TikTok continues to grow, its influence will only become more entrenched in the marketing world. FAQ What makes TikTok an effective marketing tool?TikTok's algorithm allows for unmatched organic reach, meaning anyone can go viral regardless of their advertising budget. This makes it a powerful platform for businesses to gain visibility without significant investment.Can small businesses benefit from TikTok?Absolutely! Small businesses can create engaging content and participate in viral challenges to reach a wide audience. TikTok's focus on content over budget levels the playing field for businesses of all sizes.What age groups can be reached through TikTok?TikTok attracts users of all ages. While it started with a younger demographic, recent reports show that 67% of TikTok users are aged 25 and over, making it a versatile platform for reaching diverse consumer groups.How can businesses leverage viral challenges on TikTok?Businesses can join existing viral challenges or create their own branded hashtags to drive engagement. Participating in trends helps brands connect with users in real-time and increase their visibility.What types of ads are available on TikTok?TikTok offers various ad formats, including in-feed ads, branded hashtag challenges, and TopView ads. Businesses can also create custom stickers, filters, or effects that users can incorporate into their videos, making ads feel more integrated and engaging. Read the full article

[hugcollector]

TJP's instagram makes me cry it's the combo of unapologetic dadposting with millennial myspace era aesthetic lyric captions crowned with a daily barrage of memes on his story (impact font memes. you know the ones.)

[hopedefined]

things I know in my heart are contained in the romy text thread:

content that would make the comics code authority cry themselves to death (canon)

pet names that at this point people are pretty sure they're just making up as they go (also canon)

ironic and unironic use of the lyrics to never gonna give you up (they're fucking simps)

speaking of which, at least one i can haz cheezburger meme (theyr'e also millennials.)

gaps of several months. each one is a tragedy. (canon. technically.)

random strings of numbers and letters (always blamed on the cats and reacted to with four different kinds of heart emoji. are these code?)

100+ variations of "fed and drugged the menaces" "they say ya didn't" "well they're little liars" (pet ownership is the Same)

extreme enthusiasm about a crocheted garlic throw pillow (it's not a want it's a need)

levels of superhero gossip that could cause world war 3 (They Know Too Much)

rogue's intense nascar rage™️ (I don't know enough about racing to put a joke here)

picture roulette (is it cats? is it memes? is it something that will scar you for life? technically could be all of the above.)

[in-my-sad-girl-era]

I too liked to make fun of millennial women (I was born at the end of the 1990s so i never truly identified as one), I liked memes and tweets making fun of privileged white girls in their 20s and the stereotypes they portrayed.

Until I became one.

I turned 25 and Jesus Christ it all started to make so much sense. It’s true what they say about your frontal lobe, everything is so much clearer after you turn 25, a lot of the doubts, insecurities, fears, confusions just disappeared or answered themselves. And new ones have appeared, but at least I’m aware of them now.

I re-discovered and fell in love with Lorde, Lana del Rey, boygenius, and Taylor Swift.

I feel so seen and moved by Greta Gerwig's work as an artist and director.

I want to read Sylvia Plath and write a journal.

I want to rewatch Girls and not hate on Lena Dunham.

I drink tea and do Pilates.

I use less makeup but always carry a lipstick.

I feel lost and confused about my career.

I value friendships more and mourn when I lose one.

I’m obsessed with Fleabag and think about her A LOT.

I cry over love and watch rom-coms just to feel something.

[rigginsstreet]

as a millennial who still remember the whole kerrigan vs harding scandal, the way almost everyone in media were mocking her crying and processing what just happened while she was recorded, something about that never sat alright with me. its schadenfreude at its finest, most of it coming from the same people that so claim to be against sexism.

I don’t know what year it happened (I wanna say mid 90s?) so I was either a very small child or if it was earlier than that possibly not born lol so my only knowledge of it growing up was like way after the fact and by that point it was only talked about in like “shocking pop culture moments” clip shows and whatnot. And I remember viewing it as like “wow that’s fucked up haha people are crazy”. And it wasn’t until I tonya came out and put it back in the spotlight that I really sat with what a traumatic experience that must’ve been and really understood the weight of it and what it must’ve meant to have that happen so publicly and the reactions to it. Nancy was just on the boy meets world podcast (because she had done an episode for anyone who doesn’t know lol) and they asked her about it and she talked about how it was seeing people make jokes and how they still make jokes and it’s gotta be such an infuriating and disheartening experience having your assault basically be turned into a meme.

People just don’t think with their brains man. If it’s not happening to them directly then it’s some far off detached thing that doesn’t really exist idk people just have a really hard time with basic empathy and compassion when it’s about a situation not directly involving them it’s weird

[wfmrish]

Impact of Meme Culture: Widening The Generational Gap

According to the Merriem-Webster dictionary, a meme can be defined as ‘an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) or genre of items that is spread widely online especially through social media’. Memes are used as a tool to share information in a mostly humorous way on various social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. and they have a universal understanding amongst the users of those platforms. They prove to be a uniting factor among people of various cultures, ages, sexes and more by having a widely understood meaning and a means to generate mirth in the consumer. 

Memes have historically been of many forms such as videos, images, certain text phrases and other media forms. Video forms of memes often arise due to viral videos that spread through the internet like wildfire. Often these viral videos or memes have no conceivable meaning, it just happens to be something funny. There is no actual humor in a video of a boy reading out a street sign and saying he had expected the road to be working ahead after all, except for the sheer stupidity and simplicity of it. These videos were at a peak during the time of the video sharing platform ‘Vine’. Vines were the pinnacle of meme videos where people would share short clips of funny things and they would go viral and would get shared and reshared thousands of times before they became memes themselves. 

The internet has a way of evolving with its past, where one cannot truly understand all of the current trends without knowing the past ones at least in brief. This creates an interesting phenomenon wherein an internet user has a specific part of their memory dedicated to storing up all the past memes and viral content on the internet which is associated with the ever changing virality of new content that comes up online. The digitized memory of the brain is hardwired to make sense of the current trends if they are in any way related to prior stored information and thus a new and endlessly connected mesh of information is formed online. 

This mesh of ever flowing content which is all interconnected has created a larger gap in the digital age spectrum. The different generations have different capacities or experiences with storing the information available online. Gen Z, who is brought up and raised in the highly computerized world with ready availability of the internet is more in touch with the memes and trends of the present. This does not take away from the fact that they are somewhat distanced from memes from the previous generation of the millennials, because they were not yet born when the millennials were developing the internet and all the memes that came at that time are too old for Gen Z to know unless someone digs through the archives of internet memes. But by far, the most disadvantageous is the generation before millennials. They have a tough time adapting to this digital world, as they grew up when the invention of the internet was still underway. They barely know how to use the internet, the knowledge of memes is far cry. 

This digital disparity between generations about the understanding of memes and viral trends causes what is known as digital dysphoria amongst the elders. They suffer through bouts of alienations and perceived eliminations from the lives of their loved ones only because they are not ‘hip’ enough or caught with the current trends. Often there are cases of grandparents feeling secluded by their grandkids due to their inability to be connected through social media which is the best means of communication for the grandkids. There have also been cases where grandparents or elder folk have admitted to have felt ridiculed when the ‘youngsters’ talk about how they do not understand certain memes or viral video references. Some memes perpetuate stereotypes about older generations, portraying them as technologically inept or out of touch. These stereotypes can contribute to negative perceptions of elderly individuals in digital spaces and reinforce age-related biases. 

Elderly people often rely on memes and internet lingo or jargon to understand what is happening in the world and feel more connected culturally to the digital space and it is our responsibility as online residents to help them in their journey so they have as less problems as possible. It is on us to make sure that no person who is willing to learn the ways of the internet is disappointed or disheartened. There are many ways to achieve this. Organizing digital literacy workshops is one great example of how we can not only teach people how to judiciously and safely use the internet, but also how to understand certain references and memes for easier communication online. Meme culture has grown like a colony of bacteria infecting a piece of bread but it is upon us to make sure it grows to accommodate more people and proves to be accessible to everyone. If something designed to create a positive culture online serves to discriminate against a certain group of people, it has failed to accomplish its job and we must strive to do better.

[expectedbehavior]