Home / Viral Loops / Memes That Broke the Internet: The Human Psychology Behind memes

Viral Loops

Memes That Broke the Internet: The Human Psychology Behind memes

June 9, 2025

Let’s face it — memes run the internet.

From viral chaos to cultural commentary, memes are more than just funny images with bold text. They’re the language of the internet, the inside jokes of a generation, and sometimes, the fastest way to go viral without even showing your face.

But some memes didn’t just go viral — they straight-up broke the internet.

Here’s a look back at the memes that shook the timeline, what made them explode, and why memes are way deeper than we give them credit for.

First, What Even Is a Meme?

At its core, a meme is an idea, trend, or piece of media that spreads from person to person online — usually in a humorous or ironic way. The term was coined by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in the ‘70s, but the internet gave it a glow-up.

In meme culture:

Context is everything
Formats evolve
Timing is king
And virality is often unintentional

Memes That Broke the Internet (For Real)

Let’s take a scroll down meme-ory lane…

1. Distracted Boyfriend (2017)

📷 Stock photo gone wild.
🔁 Format: “Me” ignoring something important for something shiny.
🔥 Used by: Brands, political parties, even therapists.
Why it worked: Relatable + reusable + instant drama in one image.

2. Woman Yelling at a Cat (2019)

👩 Screaming Real Housewives drama.
🐱 Confused cat at a dinner table.
💥 Combined = internet perfection.
Why it worked: The dual-panel made it ideal for vs. comparisons, and the randomness hit peak meme absurdity.

3. “This Is Fine” Dog (2013, forever relevant)

🐶 A cartoon dog sits in a burning room: “This is fine.”
🧠 Deep cut: It’s a satirical take on denial in chaos.
🎯 Still used daily for: Life, news, Mondays, everything.

4. Shrek Everything (2000s–now)

🧅 Shrek is love, Shrek is meme.
📈 Somehow became a surreal, cult-level meme symbol.
Why it worked: Nostalgia + weird internet humor = power combo.

5. Hide the Pain Harold

😐 A man smiling… but you can feel the internal suffering.
💼 Often used for work-related, social anxiety, or “adulting” jokes.
👴 Meme icon status unlocked.

6. Bernie Sanders Mittens (2021)

🪑 Bernie. Sitting. In mittens. At the Inauguration.
🌀 Instantly Photoshopped into everything.
📦 Why it worked: Zero effort energy. Maximum meme potential.

7. “No One:” Literally No One:” (2018–now)

💬 A silent setup → punchline.
🧠 Format mined for awkward behavior, quirks, and call-outs.
Why it worked: It turned nothing into comedy.

8. Crying Jordan (2012)

🏀 An emotional MJ turned meme gold.
💀 Plastered onto sports fails, political losses, and breakup posts.
📉 Still undefeated in meme history.

9. “They Did Surgery on a Grape” (2018)

🍇 The sentence that broke brains.
📺 From a medical robot video — but the comment section took over.
😵 Memeed purely because it existed.

10. “How It Started vs. How It’s Going” (2020)

📸 Split-image trend used to show growth (or total disaster).
📱 Adopted by celebs, brands, and every ex-couple on IG.
🔥 Powerful for storytelling in meme format.

🧠 Why Memes Go Viral: The Psychology

Virality isn’t random. Memes tap into deep human behaviors:

Relatability: “Omg, this is literally me.”
Social Currency: Sharing memes = internet clout.
Simplicity: Easy to get, fast to share.
Emotional Triggers: Laughter, cringe, second-hand embarrassment.
Inside Jokes: Memes = digital tribes. If you know, you know.

Memes aren’t just jokes — they’re cultural signals. They tell us what’s trending, what people are feeling, and how we’re collectively coping (or spiraling).

📲 The Meme Economy: Yes, It’s Real

Memes now drive:

Brand marketing (see: Duolingo’s chaotic owl)
Politics (remember “Birds Aren’t Real”?)
Creator growth (meme pages with millions of followers)
Crypto & finance (DogeCoin started as a meme)

Some meme creators have turned formats into merch, NFTs, and even TV deals.

👀 Meme Culture in 2025: What’s Next?

Memes are:

Getting more niche (inside TikTok subcultures)
Getting more meta (memes about memes)
Going AI-generated (yes, bots are funny now)
Still deeply human (because humor = survival)

Expect more surrealism, more remixes, and yes — more unhinged chaos

Final Thoughts: Memes Are the New Language

If tweets were the headlines of culture, memes are the emotional commentary. They’re how we laugh through heartbreak, roast corporate chaos, or explain existential dread with a SpongeBob screenshot.

Memes connect us — globally, instantly, weirdly. And in a world full of noise, they’re still one of the purest signals we’ve got.

Latest Trending Contents

Nico Growth

Nico Growth is a growth marketing strategist obsessed with engineering viral loops, high-converting funnels, and scalable referral systems. He’s worked with bootstrapped founders, SaaS startups, and indie creators to launch campaigns that don’t just grow—but compound. At ViralLOP, Nico breaks down the tactics behind the biggest viral wins on the internet—from Dropbox’s K-factor play to Clubhouse’s FOMO-fueled growth—and turns them into plug-and-play frameworks anyone can use. When he’s not testing headlines or hacking email funnels, Nico’s probably studying growth teardown threads or building Notion templates for your next viral launch.

Memes That Broke the Internet: The Human Psychology Behind memes

First, What Even Is a Meme?