What is the 2026 Great Meme Reset?

## The Great Meme Reset Explained Apparently, the Internet is over the “brain rot” and those soulless AI memes clogging up our social feeds. A comeback of “classic” memes from the 2010s meme Golden Age is on the rise. The Internet is politicking for the return of legends like Nyan Cat and Big Chungus because nothing says quality humor like a pixelated cat flying through space with a rainbow coming out of its ass or a giant cartoon rabbit. This whole “Great Meme Reset” blew up in 2025 because the Internet started whining about a “meme drought.” Over on TikTok, Gen A tokers were roasting all the empty, meaningless memes. At least memes are creative, original, and funny, unlike the “6-7” joke obsession. Then there is the SlimeTok crowd, where the hot thing to do is, um, squish goo for likes, wow, how original!  So, what is really happening? It’s just one big generational fight over what is “funny.” The old guard is clinging to their precious Nyan Cats, convinced that today’s memes are basically comedy gold fueled by social algorithms. It goes without saying, classic memes had “simplicity and universal appeal” (in other words: anyone could laugh at them, even your dead grandma). Now, everyone’s getting nostalgic for the good ol’ days, because nothing says “shared experience” like rewatching the same viral video from middle school instead of torturing yourself watching trending TikTok trash. ## Will the “Great Reset” Change Internet Culture? Not likely. The sheer fact that memes spread like an infectious disease at your child’s daycare makes them hard to “kill.” Memes rely on organic sharing, where users choose to share them rather than being coerced. It is very hard to force a meme to “go viral,” which the 2026 Great Meme Reset will attempt to do.