Sharing memes is a love language at this point, right up there with quality time and acts of service. After all, finding the perfect one and sending it to your friend, partner or group chat takes genuine skill. You need good taste and to know exactly what the people in your life find funny.
So to keep your arsenal stocked, we pulled together some of the best posts from the Instagram page @namastayyinyourlane. There’s definitely something in here worth forwarding, or at the very least, something to make your own afternoon a little better. Scroll down and see for yourself.
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Of course, we all know that memes aren’t technically an official love language. There are five of those, by the way, in case you’ve forgotten. And they go beyond romantic relationships too. We can use them to show love to anyone in our lives.
Words of affirmation is about showing love through compliments and encouragement. Quality time means giving someone your full attention and doing things together. Gifts are about thoughtful gestures that show appreciation.
Acts of service means helping out and making someone’s life a little easier. And physical touch covers things like hugs, holding hands and all the other ways we connect physically.
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But think about it. When you send a funny picture to your friend or significant other with the caption “us,” you’re doing more than just sharing a laugh. You’re telling them that something reminded you of them, that you understand them well enough to know they’d find it funny.
That kind of thoughtfulness is really no different from any other way we show the people in our lives that we care. So honestly, sending memes really is its own kind of love language at this point.
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Relationships counsellor Louise Tyler explained to Stylist how memes can actually serve as digital hugs for our closest people when they need it most. She described sending memes as what therapists call “warm fuzzies.”
These are small gestures between people that communicate something along the lines of “I see you and you matter to me.” Tyler pointed out that in the past, these gestures might have been compliments or small thoughtful gifts.
But today, sending a meme can have the exact same effect. According to her, it all comes down to small moments of real human connection that come with a boost of oxytocin, which is the bonding hormone sometimes called the “love hormone.”
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Memes also play a surprisingly big role when you’re getting to know someone new. According to a Hinge survey of 2,000 users, sending memes is actually the number one preferred way to flirt both before and after a first date.
On top of that, 73 percent of people on the app use memes to figure out if they share a sense of humor with a potential match. And 60 percent said they want to get a feel for someone’s meme humor before even agreeing to meet up in person.
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So if that doesn’t prove how much memes matter in our relationships, what does? They can genuinely influence whether someone feels like a good match on a dating app or whether you even want to meet them in real life.
A well-timed, well-chosen meme can say a lot more about compatibility than a standard opening line ever could.
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Theodora Blanchfield, AMFT, explains in an article for Verywell Mind that memes have fundamentally changed how we communicate. They can make it easier to express things that are typically hard to put into words.
Research shows that memes addressing difficult topics like mental health or loneliness give people a safer and even socially acceptable way to share some of the weight of those feelings.
Finding humor in tough situations can also take some of the power away from emotions that might otherwise feel too heavy or taboo to bring up.
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Memes are also a really underrated tool for maintaining friendships over time. A lot of us have close friends who live far away or who moved to a different city at some point. Texting and calling are great, but they can take a lot of energy and time, especially when you’re trying to keep up with everyone you care about.
Sending someone a perfectly chosen meme is quick, funny and reminds them that you haven’t forgotten about them. It keeps the connection alive without always needing a full conversation.
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At the end of the day, memes really are a love language. They let us show people we’re thinking of them, make them laugh when they need it and stay connected even when life gets busy.
Whether you’re bonding with a long-distance friend or just brightening your partner’s afternoon, a good meme does the job every single time. So the next time you hit send on one, know that you’re doing more than just being funny. You’re showing someone you care.
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