Have you ever found yourself in a scenario where a friend made a poor choice or said something extremely foolish in the group chat, and you were at a loss for words?
For years now, I’ve had a meme folder on my phone. In conversations with friends, my personal favourite meme to pull out is the Tom Cruise laughing shoe meme. It’s a terrific way to respond to someone who is acting foolish, and it strikes the ideal mix of silliness, satire, and pop culture reference.
For you to add to your meme folders, Pandas, we’re showcasing a few reaction memes from the merely reaction photos Facebook group today. Is your pal behaving like a grumpy clown? Drop one of these in the conversation to let them know!
Bored Panda made contact with Cam Keys, one of the group administrators. They graciously consented to provide us with further information about the history of the group, the most popular reaction memes, and the most frequent difficulties the administrators and moderators encounter. View our discussion with them below!
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The way we connect online is changing at really fast speeds. Smileys and emoticons seemed like they were the primary forms of communication only yesterday. And they termed people who didn’t use them “boomers.” When GIFs gained popularity, it became fashionable to respond to your friends’ actions and remarks with a deft touch of sarcasm and pop culture allusions.
Emojis and GIFs seem so 2010s these days, don’t they? We therefore send memes that best capture our emotions. Because of this, hashtag collections such as just response photos can be veritable gold mines of reaction memes for every possible situation, including perplexity, humour, and even intense emotions.
According to its developer, Cam Keys, the page was created roughly 4.5 years ago. “Me and a friend used to go back and forth sending reaction pics,” they claim. “It was a tiny little community where I would be mainly the only person to actually post any pics with a few like-minded friends.”
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“Back then, it was just a silly, casual space to post and laugh at the funny, relatable content we all loved,” Cam continues. “I found that over time, especially as of [late], people were genuinely interacting with the posts. For whatever reason, there’s been an oddly enormous increase in demand for this kind of entertainment.”
In April of current year, 2024, the group’s popularity increased significantly. Cam claims that at one point there were only 900 members, but all of a sudden there were almost 220,000. “It was incredible to see so many people from all over the world joining in and contributing,” the administrator tells us.
“People may now find some humour and camaraderie in the group, which has truly grown into a lively community. These days, there is such a big, active community, and most people jump to help one another and defend what we’ve built.”
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According to Cam, the most well-liked reaction photos in their neighbourhood are ones that are humorously depicting common feelings and are relatable. “[The] ones that are useful in a variety of contexts. They do enjoy a good bit of sarcasm, light-hearted ridicule, and the dramatic embellishment of everyday events. These frequently receive a lot of interaction.”
“Every day, for instance, people submit the iconic ‘Get a load of this man’ reaction picture, especially when someone in the group is acting foolishly or disobeying the rules. To sort out the a-holes, utilise this one. Cam continues, “Reaction photos that feature beloved characters and tap into common emotions are also very well-liked.
“During the time of the US and UK elections, these were very popular, mostly being utilised as a means of expressing frustration. Simpsons reaction photos and similar content are fantastic and timeless, but whenever there is fresh, viral content, people always upload reaction memes of it. This is amusing to watch since it makes other people curious about where the photos are from and ask questions.”
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The community grew quickly, which gave the administrators greater responsibilities and difficulties. Cam explains to Bored Panda that one of the most difficult tasks has been to continue the content’s high calibre and engaging tone—or, as they put it, “keeping things fresh.”
“As the group grows in size, a greater variety of personalities and viewpoints also naturally arises, so it’s critical to maintain the group’s original goal of exchanging relevant and humorous reaction photos and memes in a welcoming atmosphere. We don’t want to turn into a place that people feel afraid or like they can project themselves onto.”
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Handling the overwhelming amount of postings and comments has proven to be difficult as well. “With over 220,000 members, the content flow can be overwhelming at times, and ensuring that everything aligns with the group’s guidelines requires constant attention,” Cam says. “Especially when, sometimes, you get raided by people who just want to spread negative and offensive rhetoric or harm others.”
“To tackle this, I’ve expanded the admin and moderator team, bringing on people I trust who understand the group’s vibe and are committed to keeping it a fun and safe space,” they say. “We also establish explicit guidelines and revise them as needed. A few automated methods for moderating assist in maintaining group efficiency and task management.”
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The group has disagreements and bad behaviour just like any other online community. “The larger the group, the more likely it is to have disagreements or misunderstandings, and a lot of bigoted people hide on social media platforms and the internet,” Cam stated. “We’ve overcome this by being very clear about our expectations for behaviour in the group and by being quick to step in and transparent on what we will not [tolerate] when issues arise.”
“The key has really been to foster a strong sense of community and mutual respect among members, which has largely helped to minimise problems and keep the group enjoyable for everyone.”
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By no means are reaction pictures and memes a recent development. The facepalm is widely regarded as one of the original response faces, and it seems to have been used for the first time in 2004. A website called MyFaceWhen.com including a variety of GIFs and response photos was made in 2010. Tumblr and Facebook groups and pages that were similar were followed.
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