TikTok has run out of humor.

Around the beginning of March, many TikTok users started noticing a scarcity of new memes appearing on the platform. Normally, dozens of memes would be circulating at the same time, but recently this pace has slowed down. TikTok, with its trending videos , has been most affected.

Memes are images and GIFs, with or without sound, that social media users use to express emotions. Something can become a meme when it reaches a certain level of virality and adaptability, and many people understand and empathize with it.

By mid-month, no memes had truly exploded or new internet phenomena had emerged. TikTokers felt they had officially entered the "Meme Drought," or alternatively, the "Great Meme Depression of 2025."

When "no meme" itself is a meme.

goofangel was one of the first to notice this shortfall. He posted a video on March 12th claiming it was the longest time since a viral piece appeared and received over 360,000 likes.

TikTokers point out that although the "I Call Patrick Subaru" meme has returned, it actually dates back to March 2021, so it's not really a new meme. This is also a sign of a lack of original content. Internet users are starting to dig up old trends.

Creators talk about this phenomenon. Photo: TikTok.

According to data from the website KnowYourMeme , which archives new trends, an average of 100 to 300 memes are added each month. A humorous post on X also suggested that you can't possibly work and keep up with all the trends at the same time.

Soon after, the discussion on this issue began to spread rapidly. One TikToker humorously compared the event to the Great Depression of 1929, as the drastic decline in original content mirrored the economic situation at the time.

Furthermore, this leads to "unemployment" for those who specialize in creating meme content. They are overwhelmed by having to reuse old content, lack creative inspiration, and are hampered by the algorithm.

Eventually, the "2025 Meme Recession" spread, leading many to empathize and reinterpret the content, turning it into a new meme in itself. By mid-to-late March, this phenomenon had spread to user michaelstoren 's Instagram Reel, earning him nearly 250,000 likes.

The "2025 meme crisis" has become a new meme on various platforms. Photo: Michaelstoren

Are you worried about running out of memes?

Memes will never run out. While content shortages may be temporary due to market saturation or algorithm changes, millions of new videos and articles are still being produced daily.

On Reddit, there's a page called MemeEconomy where users predict which content will go viral or lose its appeal after a few days.

Therefore, like the stock market or the economy, memes also have periods of strong growth and slow growth, but they never disappear. This phenomenon has happened many times before. Members of MemeEconomy also discovered a shortage of new entertainment content between mid-2017 and 2018.

Another reason for this recent phenomenon is the proliferation of small communities.

In the past, memes were primarily spread through platforms like Twitter and Reddit. But today, with the emergence of apps like TikTok, Discord, and other smaller groups, users are more distracted.

Recently, social media has also been "bombarded" by a flood of AI-generated content. 404 Media argues that hundreds of millions of AI-generated content pieces have affected algorithms and created unfair competition for original content created by humans.

Beyond general entertainment, memes also play a role in connecting communities and reflecting contemporary culture. However, the prolonged lack of new content indicates an overload, and the lifespan of memes is becoming increasingly shorter.

Source: https://znews.vn/tiktok-het-mieng-hai-post1540848.html