TikTok runs out of funny pieces

Around early March, many TikTok users began to notice a lack of new memes appearing on the platform. Typically, dozens of memes go viral at a time, but recently that pace has slowed. TikTok, which focuses on trending videos, has been hit the hardest.

Memes are images, GIFs, with or without sound, that social media users use to express emotions. Something can become a meme when it has achieved enough virality and versatility, as well as many people must understand and sympathize with the meme.

By mid-month, there had been no real meme explosions or new internet phenomena. TikTokers claimed they had officially entered a “Meme Drought,” or what they called the “Great Meme Depression of 2025.”

When “no meme” is a meme itself

goofangel was one of the first to notice the shortage, posting a video on March 12 that he said was the longest it had been since a viral piece of content went viral, and racked up over 360,000 likes.

TikTokers point out that while the "I Call Patrick Subaru" meme has made a comeback, it's actually from March 2021, so it's not exactly a new meme. This is also a sign of a lack of original content. Users are starting to dig up old trends.

Creators talk about the phenomenon. Photo: TikTok.

According to the website KnowYourMeme , which tracks trends, an average of 100 to 300 memes are added each month. A humorous post on X also suggests that it’s impossible to keep up with all the trends while working.

Soon, discussion of the issue began to spread rapidly. One TikToker humorously compared the event to the Great Depression of 1929, as the dramatic decline in original content was quite similar to the economic situation at that time.

In addition, this also leads to “unemployment” for those who specialize in creating content using memes. They are overloaded with having to reuse old content, lack creative inspiration and are hindered by algorithms.

Eventually, the “2025 Great Meme Recession” spread, leading to many people sympathizing and remixing the content, making it a new meme itself. By mid-late March, the phenomenon had spread to user michaelstoren ’s Instagram Reel, earning him nearly 250,000 likes.

"Meme Crisis 2025" has become a new meme across platforms. Photo: Michaelstoren,

Worried about running out of memes?

Memes will never run out. While there will be temporary shortages of content for a number of reasons, including market saturation and algorithm changes, millions of new videos and posts are still being created every day.

On Reddit there's a site called MemeEconomy , where users predict what content will go viral or lose traction after a few days.

So, like the stock market or the economy, memes have periods of boom and bust, but they never die out. This has happened many times before. MemeEconomy members also noticed a lack of new entertainment content between 2017 and 2018.

Another reason for this recent phenomenon is that there are too many small communities.

In the past, memes would spread mainly through platforms like Twitter, Reddit. But today, with the advent of apps like TikTok, Discord, or other small groups, users are more distracted.

Recently, social networks have also been "terrorized" by a series of AI-generated content. 404 Media believes that hundreds of millions of AI-generated content have affected the algorithm, unfairly competing with original human products.

In addition to entertainment, memes also serve to connect communities and reflect contemporary culture. However, the lack of new content over time suggests that memes are becoming overloaded, and that their lifespan is becoming increasingly short.

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