You open up your phone and start to scroll through your feed on social media.
You like his post. Like that meme. Comment on her post. Follow that TikToker.
You then stumble across a meme about the possibility of the conflict dubbed as World War III. While you find it hilarious, and you want to like it, you’re faced with a dilemma.
Is it okay to like a meme relating to Trump’s assassination of an Iranian general?
Quickly after General Qasem Soleimani passed away, memes, tweets, and TikTok videos began to trend, leading people to wonder if World War III is a possibility.
“The memes say something about our generation. It’s a little bit scary because it can highlight the fact that our generation thinks everything is a joke, and they don’t take the news very seriously,” said Jono Sison, a sophomore.
The trending memes are about various aspects of the unrest between Iran and the United States. Whether it’s the draft, bombings, gun violence, or the Iranian people, the memes have broken the internet.
“I think World War III memes are terrible because they highlight such bad stuff in our society,” Sison said.
Twitter is a significant source for spreading information to all generations and political parties. Whether users choose to spread their views through articles, retweets, memes, or gifs, through these different platforms, what is being called war is becoming quite casual.
“I believe that, although World War III memes can be a little hysterical and funny at times, they also highlight how scary the situation actually is,” Sison said.
The popularity of the conflict has been put in the hands of teens and millennials who are spreading information mainly through the internet, despite how inaccurate that information may be.
“I think people are freaking out about nothing, and it’s spreading misinformation. Especially people that don’t keep up with the news and are getting their information from these memes,” said Bang Tang, a sophomore.
On the other hand, some students at Carlmont find the memes hilarious, and they are trending on social media.
“I think the memes are pretty funny. Some of them are trying too hard to hop on the trend, but they’re really funny,” said Emma Elliott, a sophomore.
Regardless of opinions like Elliott’s, others like sophomore Isabella Wilson think differently.
“People think it’s funny to joke about political issues, but it’s not,” Wilson said.
Similar to Wilson, junior Myles Allison thinks these jokes are “extremely immature.”
Going back to our history with World Wars, the potential of a third one strikes fear among the youth.
“It’s scary because they’re real-life scenarios that can actually happen if our future leaders don’t do the correct things,” Sison said.
