Humor on the internet

Initially, the internet and its precursors, LANs and WANs, were used merely as another medium to disseminate jokes and other kinds of humor, in addition to the traditional ones ("word of mouth", printed media, sound recording, radio, film, and TV).

[1] In lockstep with the progress of electronic communication technologies, jokers took advantage of the ARPANET,[2] e-mail,[3] Usenet newsgroups (e.g., rec.humor and alt.humor), bulletin board systems, etc., and finally the Whole World Wide Web.

[6] A FAQ of rec.humor gave the following tongue-in-cheek description how jokes propagated in the era of newsgroups:[7] On the opposite side, unlike previous technical means, the Internet as a whole eliminates censorship and self-censorship of humor.

[11] The ability to easily manipulate with images and videos combined with ease of the dissemination of them via the Internet introduced new forms of graphical humor, such as lolcats, demotivators, and funny animations.

[14] Additionally, GIFs frequently include overlaid text or captions to provide context, deliver punchlines, and boost the overall relatability of the digital medium.

[12][17] Finally, the non-verbal, visual nature of GIFs allows them to transcend language and cultural barriers, enabling users to express complex reactions, like surprise, excitement, sarcasm, anger, disbelief, or amusement, and be understood by a worldwide audience.

[12] Therefore, GIFs have become an indispensable component of online humor, attributed to their relatable content, integration within mainstream media culture, effective repetitions, ability to combine text and visuals, and universal accessibility.

[21] Creators of memes will often use humor styles such as sarcasm and silliness to communicate digitally across different online platforms and while they can be niche and very culturally specific, they are often widely shared and may go viral across the internet.

[26] Designed for humorous consumption, they cater to shorter attention spans and thrive on platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels.

Humorous short-form videos offer immediate stress relief, and their easy access on social media makes them a popular and effective coping strategy.

Additionally, humor in short-form videos have been effective in promoting preventive health behaviors, such as those related to infectious diseases, alcohol and tobacco by capturing attention and improving content recognition.

[30] Overall, short-form videos that incorporate humor evoke positive emotions, such as happiness and stress relief, motivating individuals to engage with the content more frequently.