From Harambe to storming Area 51, popular culture is often intensely consumed by a meme until it inevitably fizzles out. The newest meme on the scene? Drunk driving. For whatever reason, drunk driving has become the latest topic to joke about. These memes often frame drinking and driving as fun, or even as the “ideal” duo. “Chads” drink and drive, while “virgins” call an Uber. What’s behind the popularity of these memes, and why have they become so prevalent?

Fatalities from DUIs have been in steady decline since the 1980s. Alcohol consumption among youth worldwide has also decreased. Kids simply don’t drink as much as they used to. So why have these memes surged in popularity? Is it simply an irony-coded jab at older generations’ behavior? Or is it a nostalgia-fueled desire for the “good old days,” when these behaviors were more socially acceptable?

Drunk driving memes are part of a larger trend in which activities like drinking beer, going to the casino, and smoking cigarettes are ironically glorified. Drinking beer in the garage while blasting Creed is touted as the ideal Friday night. While many of these memes poke fun at these behaviors, outlets like Barstool Sports and Friday Beers have started posting content of people actually drinking beer and listening to Creed. Life has begun to imitate art.

Irony has pervaded popular culture in recent years. Not long ago, Fila shoes and big logo T-shirts were completely out of style. Now, these items are in vogue. What started as an ironic exercise in fashion has become entirely unironic. At the root of all memes is a sense of irony. Most popular memes derive their humor from the underlying contradiction of their premise. Memes glorifying drunk driving are only funny if you understand that drunk driving is extremely dangerous.

Further, the funniest internet memes are often those that get the most “buy-in.” Harambe was a phenomenon—and hilarious—because hordes of young people took to the streets and made T-shirts to honor a fallen gorilla. People bought in, and that buy-in made it funny.

The danger in making memes that glorify drunk driving is that people start to forget the underlying irony. When sites like Barstool and Friday Beers start pushing these memes, an army of 20-year-old frat boys and underage high schoolers may begin to view the behavior as normal.
“Those memes make drinking and gambling look funny—let’s get drunk, go to the casino, and post it on our story.”
“Hell yeah, bro. That’s fucking sick.”
It’s a slippery slope.

What probably started as an ironic exercise—let’s glorify one of the worst things you can do—has now become tinged with nostalgia for a time when drinking and driving was socially acceptable. Just like the Fila shoes, I fear people will forget what made the meme funny in the first place.

Like all memes, this is likely a fad. The content overload we face in everyday life makes it hard for any one thing to have true staying power. Soon enough, we’ll be talking about legalizing M-80s or joining rotary clubs. But it’s fascinating to see how just about anything can become a joke in today’s world. Truly, nothing is off limits. From 9/11 to the JFK assassination, everything is fair game.

There is some benefit to this—humor often reveals more truth than serious discussion. Laughing at something, for the right reasons, reminds us of the reality behind the joke. However, it’s important to remember why something is funny. Taken at face value with no underlying context, memes can become borderline dangerous for those who lose sight of the forest for the trees.

Just like drinking, it’s important to know your limit. Hopefully, the audience for these memes continues to see the irony—and doesn’t forget the reality behind the punchline.