Some see this as sociopathic, others view it as progress.
If there’s one thing Gen Z is known for (other than "brain rot" slang and reviving Y2K fashion) it’s their dark humor. From mental health struggles, to economic hardship to 24/7 distressing news stories, no topic seems off limits for a punchline to the generation whose inherent tech savviness is both a gift, and a curse.
Even 9/11, once a strictly somber day of remembrance that put comedians like Gilbert Godfried and Bill Maher on the chopping block for trying to make light of, is now fodder for countless Gen Z memes.
As stated in a recent Rolling Stone article, “To be on social media in 2024 is to be swimming in jokes and memes about 9/11. Things that might once have been whispered among friends are now shared by meme accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers.”
The article certainly back up this claim, listing everything from viral TikToks contrasting the year 2024 with 2001 (the button being reacting to the planes hitting towers) to using making self deprecating jabs with the Twin Towers as the main image, to mocking silly pop culture moments by juxtaposing it against the well known photo of George W. Bush being informed that the country was under attack.
A meme that reads "I love those early 2000s aesthetics" juxtaposed against an image of the Twin Towers. i0.wp.com
But while these memes could be seen as something apathetic, even sociopathic, perhaps this is actually a sign of progress.
Professor Avery Holton, the chair of the Department of Communications at the University of Utah, shared with ABC News that—especially for a generation not even alive when this historical tragedy happened—the fact that they are “planting themselves into the conversation” at all potentially “brings[the event] back to the forefront so that it’s not forgotten and it still remains something that we talk about.”
And let’s remember, using gallows humor to cope with tragic events is nothing new. Only two weeks after the attacks the stiracl new site The Onion put out an issue dedicated to 9/11 titled “U.S. Vows to Defeat Whoever It Is We’re At War With.” Another example—when Harper’s Weekly published a series of cartoons showing then president-elect Abraham Lincoln using goofy disguises to thwart would-be assassins. Or the boomer inclination to make jokes about Pearl Harbor.
It’s really only the fact that, in a digitally prevalent world, that these jokes are easily mass produced, and therefore seem like a blanket perspective.
As many Gen Zers can attest, they are aware that 9/11 was a tragedy, they simply aren’t as emotionally triggered by it.
And honestly, non-stop online coverage of violence, how could they be? It can’t really come as a surprise that Gen Zers might want to conjure up a laugh, however sardonic, to combat feelings of powerlessness that come from a 24 hour news cycle. Perhaps Ben Collins, CEO of the Onion, said it best when he wrote, “Jokes get us through these moments because otherwise that helplessness can turn into rage.”
Perhaps this is yet another opportunity to actually learn from our younger counterparts. When humor gets so dark that it dehumanizes, that’s one thing. But when it’s used to cope with an equally dark world—that’s another. Often a sign of progress is being able to look at past tragedies without falling into despair. Maybe this is positive takeaway we can extract from these memes, even if we can’t fully understand them.