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- <p><em data-stringify-type="italic">This is a sample article from our special edition of Meme Insider, celebrating Instagram's 10-year anniversary. To see the full issue, subscribe below!</em></p>
- <p> </p>
- <p><strong>The Future of Instagram</strong></p>
- <p><strong>Social Media Is Constantly Changing With the World Around It, and Instagram Is Only Getting Better Thanks to These Rising Influencers and Meme Pages</strong></p>
- <p><strong>By Phillip Hamilton</strong></p>
- <p>Instagram has gone through a lot of changes since going live back in 2010. What started as a platform for sharing photographs and captions with friends has turned into a whole new world where users enjoy everything from memes and comics to artwork and videos. As the community surrounding Instagram grows and changes, so does the entire landscape of content on the platform, from the meme creators to the activists. </p>
- <p>The Instagram of 2030 — or even 2025 — is set to look much different than it does now, and that’s not just because of technical updates. A few growing accounts exist today that give us a glimpse into what the future of Instagram might look like, so we had a peek at some of these accounts and even had the chance to speak with some of them to learn more.</p>
- <p><strong>@todaywasmybirthday</strong></p>
- <p>Memes on @todaywasmybirthday’s page feature two things: existential dread and nostalgia. If that doesn’t sound like a good time to you, think again.</p>
- <p>@todaywasmybirthday has built her account on a very specific aesthetic that combines modern-day millennial stresses and nostalgia with a bleak, but relatable, sense of humor. A quick browse through her page reveals an archive of memes featuring Furbys, Gremlins, small dogs, old dolls, Teletubbies, and Tamagotchis to name a few. On top of all this is bold, varied text in numerous font styles that hearken back to the days of cheap bubble stickers and basic photo-editing apps. It’s a specific aesthetic that might not make sense to everyone but makes more sense the more you browse — especially if you’re a millennial.</p>
- <p><em>“My aesthetic changes as I learn how to use Photoshop, but the 2000s have a special draw for me. It’s less rose-tinted than those times were, but I feel like that is inevitable given how the internet has made information more accessible.” - @todaywasmybirthday</em></p>
- <p>In almost every comment section on @todaywasmybirthday’s page, there’s someone saying they had the toy featured in a given meme as a kid. The nostalgic toys are relatable to followers, representing them in a way. The toys and properties featured are often worn and “tired” looking, including the dogs. They’ve aged with the viewer since their prime in the ‘90s, and they’re taking on the weight of the world like everyone else. Their feelings of dread in an uncertain time reflect that of the follower, offering comfort and a good laugh to numb the pain.</p>
- <p>Just as they gave millennials comfort as children, these nostalgic figures continue to do so on @todaywasmybirthday’s page, but in a much different way. The content may not be for everyone, but it’s these sorts of high-quality, niche pages that could solidify Instagram as the place to go for memes heading into the future.</p>
- <p><strong>@namaste.at.home.dad</strong></p>
- <p>If you thought @todaywasmybirthday’s page featured a lot of text, get prepared for @namaste.at.home.dad.</p>
- <p>Her page can feel overwhelming on the first scroll. “Who has time to read their memes like this?” you might ask. But @namaste.at.home.dad’s page has a lot to offer and gives followers exactly what her bio claims: Caricature assassination by a subcultural tourist through run-on sentences.</p>
- <p>While most memes try to get a joke across using as little text as possible, @namaste.at.home.dad is flipping that convention on its head. Her memes are extremely varied in topic, and the majority of them are made to lampoon trendy attitudes and cultures in as many words as will fit on a 1080x1080px frame. Nothing is safe, from urban explorers and rave culture to girls who strive to be “not like the other girls.”</p>
- <p>Many of the memes come off as streams of consciousness, putting the poster’s opinions out on the table with little care as to how it’s perceived. This could come off as “offensive” to followers who tend to fall into one of the categories lampooned in the memes, but @namaste.at.home.dad pulls it off with a dripping layer of irony and a fantastic sense of self-awareness. They’ll often back up their claims in a hilarious way in the caption, which is just as important to the page as the meme itself.</p>
- <p><em>“I have a fast, loud ADHD brain and an innate perfectionist mentality that comes out in a creative space. Every word, the phrasing, the tones, and the organization of each punchline have been written over and over again, but the stream-of-consciousness style I employ is a way of packaging the characters “thoughts” so they mesh with the readers. I would call them personal as much as I would any other meme to be honest, I just get a lot more specific and go deeper than most. You can pack in multiple jokes, multiple punchlines. It’s not meant to be a whole bunch of words that lead you to the joke but a journey of jokes that bring you to complete the puzzle.” - @namaste.at.home.dad</em></p>
- <p>@namaste.at.home.dad’s 60,000-plus followers prove that the internet hasn’t killed <em>everyone’s </em>attention span. Memes are evolving on Instagram, and more text seems like a likely avenue they’re going down.</p>
- <p><strong>@djinn_Kazama</strong></p>
- <p>Deep-fried memes are a staple of Instagram’s meme culture, so it’s no surprise that they’ll remain a staple of the platform for years to come.</p>
- <p>Deep-fry memers put in a lot of effort to achieve a “grimy” aesthetic with their content, featuring enlarged pixels, pasted text boxes over stolen memes, and a general feeling of discomfort. No deep-fried meme creator puts in as much effort as @Djinn_Kazama though, who looks to bring these techniques into the future of Instagram in strange new ways.</p>
- <p>With over 55,000 followers, @Djinn_Kazama has mastered the art of the grimy meme. Using heavy irony and intentionally “terrible” quality to lampoon right-wing politics, hype-beast culture, and current events, @Djinn_Kazama is taking deep-fried, “low-effort” memes to the next level. Many deep-fry meme accounts today are satisfied with stealing a meme, editing it a little, and sticking it on their page, but there’s a lot more effort in @Djinn_Kazama’s memes. The jokes are always fresh and snappy, the images manipulated to a disturbing degree, and the messages behind each meme range from brutally honest to straight-up absurd.</p>
- <p><em>“Literally any image can be edited to look [deep fried]. Memes don’t have to be edited properly or look pretty to be a valuable or worthwhile creation. It’s a rejection of “art” having to fit certain guidelines to be effective. Memes are a very accessible medium, even more currently than a lot of established forms of artistic expression. I don’t need to be knowledgeable about programs I can’t afford or great editing skills, I can still create something that people will be receptive to by adequately conveying a feeling or idea.” - @djinn_kazama</em></p>
- <p>This isn’t your grandma’s favorite deep-fried meme page. @Djinn_Kazama’s page proves that some formats need a little more care and attention to stay fresh. If @Djinn_Kazama doesn’t go down as the queen of deep fry, nobody should.</p>
- <p><strong>@joegunn90</strong></p>
- <p>Then, on a somehow opposite <em>and</em> parallel track, we have @joegunn90. His memes take the most classic text on the top, image on the bottom meme format you might see somewhere like Facebook, and combines it with videos of (mainly) women reacting in hilarious and relatable ways. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but there’s something refreshing about his page.</p>
- <p>The memes on @joegunn90’s account are beautiful in their simplicity. They bring the mind to a more classic meme era when Tumblr reigned as the supreme king of memes and Facebook wasn’t considered a cringe-laden minefield. What’s most impressive about the memes on this page is the level of originality through such an overused format.</p>
- <p>@joegunn90 doesn’t borrow popular meme formats, reuse punchlines, or capitalize on the current meme scene for success. Instead, he sticks with one tried-and-true format and combines that with unique GIFS — some treading previous meme territory, but most not — for great effect. You might think this would attract some “haters” due to the “stale” format, but there’s not a hateful comment to be found here. People love the simplicity and good vibes that @joegunn90’s memes radiate, and Instagram is a better place for it.</p>
- <p><em>“I would say the freshness comes from the innately fresh material I source from (e.g. new Real Housewives episodes) or new, universally-relatable events that I react to with memes (e.g. a pandemic).” - @joegunn90</em></p>
- <p>The future of Instagram isn’t all about evolution and progress, it’s also about sticking to what people know and love while giving them that content in a consistent and fresh way. @joegunn90’s 100,000 followers prove this.</p>
- <p><strong>@not.yr.boyfriend</strong></p>
- <p>There’s a lot of negativity on social media, but @not.yr.boyfriend is here to wash that away with brutal honesty and inspirational posts in a fresh new skin.</p>
- <p>The first thing you’ll notice about @not.yr.boyfriend’s page is all the color and vibrant text. Hot-pink backgrounds contrast metal-inspired fonts and meme-worthy images that offer followers positive messages, relationship advice, and honest reminders regarding life, love, and everything in-between.</p>
- <p>A good example of this can be seen in a post with over 10,000 likes that reads, “It’s not that you only attract toxic people, it’s that those are the people you are willing to see because they complete yr patterns and affirm yr negative core beliefs about yrself and relationships.” The caption attached to the post delves further into this idea, where @not.yr.boyfriend offers followers a personal look into their experiences with “toxic” people and false love.</p>
- <p><em>“I lost interest in content that felt meaningless. I started making content to help myself process things I was going through, and to offer something different than the depression/anxiety/bpd memes that only made us feel worse. The impact on others is what keeps me creating. I </em><em>have an album in my phone labeled "why I meme" filled with screenshots of ppl telling me my content helped them in one way or another. A follower asked if they could make a bulletin board with my memes for the youth treatment center they work in and my heart exploded.” – @not.yr.boyfriend</em></p>
- <p>It’s this effortless mix of honesty, style, and recognizable meme-humor that make @not.yr.boyfriend an important part of Instagram’s future. The internet can be a toxic place — something many people get lost in. They let it warp their beliefs and their self-worth through unachievable standards and perceptions of how one is “supposed to act.” @not.yr.boyfriend gives followers the reminders and truths they might not want to hear, but need to, allowing them to grow and change for the better. The Instagram of the future will be a much better place because of accounts like this.</p>
- <p> <strong>@Sainthoax</strong></p>
- <p>With over 2 million followers, @sainthoax has found runaway success creating video memes lampooning everything from politics to pop culture.</p>
- <p>If you’re looking for a page to escape politics, you’ve come to the wrong place. @sainthoax isn’t afraid to take the current state of politics down a peg or two with her hilarious and chilling memes. You’ll see a healthy mixture of posts criticizing Trump and Ivanka next to memes featuring strong women reacting to BS and being generally fierce. When she’s not putting the current presidency on blast, you can find @sainthoax riffing on the current news cycle, including everything from coronavirus deniers to celebrity culture.</p>
- <p><em>“</em><em>In 2013, I created Saint Hoax as a safe haven where I could share my views on politics and popular culture while retaining my identity and privacy. Through memes, I was able to share so much about who I am and what I stand for despite actually saying very little.Through a meme, it’s possible to compress a complex issue, narrative, or set of emotions into a single image or phrase. Moreover, they are a great way to reach Gen Z and get them involved in urgent political and social issues.”</em></p>
- <p>Beyond the memes, @sainthoax is also a talented artist. On her page, you’ll find story highlights including photo-realistic paintings of celebrities in an absurdist, Salvador-Dali-esque style. Her art gives us a peek into what makes her memes so fresh. She’s a true creative, and she’s using that talent to deliver commentary and get laughs out of her audience.</p>
- <p><em>“</em><em>I want people to laugh [when they see my page]. With everything going on around the world today, we all desperately need that in our lives. The second thing I would want them to take away from Saint Hoax is the message behind each piece of content. The humor is the first layer and the second one holds a more complex narrative that I’m trying to create a conversation around (which often ends up taking place in the comments section). Whether it’s a social or political issue, ideally, I want people to use my platform as a space where they can engage in healthy conversation and even debate through art and humor.”</em> - @sainthoax</p>
- <p>@sainthoax’s hustle is commendable. Her memes are high quality, and they’re all original, something that’s hard to do with such an over-memed topic like politics. Despite the often stressful nature of her content, the way @saithoax’s memes are put together is fun and fresh. She offers political escapism in the form of political memes unlike anyone else.</p>
- <p><strong>@monachalabi</strong></p>
- <p>@monachalabi’s page offers one of the most digestible and artistic ways to educate yourself on the issues facing the world today.</p>
- <p>The majority of @monachalabi’s posts are accurate graphs and infographics in a unique, hand-drawn style. Topics she’s covered so far include a graph showing the duration of protests that create change, the average number of hours it takes to be a cop vs. a beautician, and a comprehensive slide-post describing exactly how COVID-19 antibody testing works.</p>
- <p>“<em>I think a lot of charts fail. They're either too complicated - littered with labels and strange annotations that mean you have to study them for a long time. Or else they're clear but forgettable. Being memorable is important! It means that people can better use that information from the chart when they're thinking about questions like: What is the pay gap between people of different races? Does having more police officers make a neighborhood safer?” </em>- @monachalabi</p>
- <p>@monachalabi covers tons of interesting and little-known ground here, including a recent focus on the genocide of Uighur Muslims in China. The way she presents this heavy content with colorful, cartoon-inspired graphs is unlike any other page. Everyone stands to learn something from a page like @monachalabi’s.</p>
- <p><em>“</em><em>I hope that when people look at my work they think "that looks easy". Maths can be such an alienating subject - but all you really need is a question and a little patience to find the answers. I think that's the first step to being an activist too.” </em>- @monachalabi</p>
- <p><strong>@itsjakeberg</strong></p>
- <p>@itsjakeberg is a video meme creator who has made a career out of mocking just about everything and anyone.</p>
- <p>His video memes feature the classic “text-on-top, source video on bottom” format mixed with digestible videos and skits featuring Jake himself. They’re extremely relatable, and it’s hard not to laugh when you see just how much fun he has with his memes. Recently, Jake has been expanding into Instagram Reels territory with the same hilarious and relatable content he’s always offered.</p>
- <p>Jake has been on a bit of a quarantine kick lately, as all of us have, with a relatable focus on lockdown life. His memes cover every quarantine woe and misfortune we experience, from Zoom meetings to stimulus checks to a haircutting tutorial that involves photoshopping celebrity hair onto your head. If you ever need to laugh about the terrible situation we’re all in, @itsjakeberg is here to help you out.</p>
- <p><em>“A lot of my inspiration for relatable content comes from my real-life experiences, so naturally a lot of my recent stuff is centered around quarantine. There definitely is a lack of inspiration that I think a lot of creatives are feeling [because of quarantine], but I also think it’s a fun challenge to try to make interesting content under the constraints we are in. 2020 has been a super heavy year so if even one person sees my stuff and smiles or gets a distraction from all the chaos, then making the videos has been worth it.” </em>- @itsjakeberg</p>
- <p>Jake’s video memes are creative, they’re classic, and they provide a lot of comfort in these trying times by offering a sense of community, allowing us to laugh at things we typically don’t get to. Jake is just trying to make his way through the world like all of us — he’s just doing it in a much funnier way than most.</p>
- <p><strong>@ploxyzero</strong></p>
- <p>In @ploxyzero’s short two years on Instagram, he’s become something of a meme master. His page features 100 percent original video memes covering all the most absurd topics. You’re not going to find much political or social commentary here, and it’s a welcome treat for those looking for pure escapist memes, especially if you’re a gamer.</p>
- <p>@ploxyzero’s memes are almost 100 percent gamer-related, especially as of late. On his page, you’ll see content featuring characters from familiar series like “Super Mario,” “Kirby,” and “Animal Crossing,” all of it original, eclectic, and devoid of traditional punchlines. An example of this can be seen in a post on May 24 where a disembodied arm puts a poorly rendered Pikachu into the microwave, lets him cook for a few seconds, then pops him out, steaming and hot. That’s the whole video, and there’s something curiously mesmerizing about it.</p>
- <p><em>“Video games have been an incredibly popular pastime for years. Because millions of people are familiar with these games, combining them with some sort of ongoing trend, unexpected twist, or real-world elements creates the recipe for a perfect meme. I'm fond of gaming memes myself since I have so many good memories attached to particular games. Playing games is one of the primary ways I like to spend time with friends.” </em>- @ploxyzero</p>
- <p>On @ploxyzero’s page you can turn your brain off entirely and enjoy good, pure memes at a rapid pace. If there’s ever been a time for pages like this, it’s now.</p>
- <p><strong>@southamericamemes</strong></p>
- <p>Of course, the future of Instagram doesn’t just lie in the hands of English speakers. Abroad, we can look at @southamericamemes as a great example of this, with a thriving meme account of over 3 million followers.</p>
- <p>If you don’t speak Spanish, you likely won’t understand a lot of these memes. You will, however, recognize a lot of familiar formats, as well as a lot of new ones that haven’t hit it big in North America yet. This gives you a great peek into the world of South American memes, highlighting just how universal they are. The memes on @southamericamemes appeal to South American meme-lovers in the same way we appeal to English versions: They’re relatable, and they help us cope with heavy subjects through comedy.</p>
- <p><em>“[Memes] express what we are going through at the moment or remind us of things we experienced in our childhood that we sometimes don't even remember. These mental triggers are incredible, not to mention it's something you can do with almost anything. We keep our memes up to date, especially in Brazil, where even the greatest tragedies end up becoming a joke (unfortunately). We have a lot of repercussion in commercial work involving memes. We also have a super partnership with Flocks, which is a producer that believes in memes as a form of communication and thus allows us to reach millions of people with our content.” - </em>@southamericamemes</p>
- <p>If you’re a Spanish speaker, there’s a lot to love about @southamericamemes. Even if you’re not, there’s a lot of fun to be had taking in the new formats and speculating.</p>
- <p><strong>@broobs.psd</strong></p>
- <p>Then there are accounts that go beyond simple positivity and delve into positive change. The future of Instagram is nothing without its strong, growing activist culture.</p>
- <p>The world is experiencing a lot of distress right now. Whether it’s the heightening impact of climate change, the current presidency, or the police brutality protests, activist visibility has never been so important. Instagrammers like @broobs.psd offer wannabe and successful activists, as well as those in need of education, an accessible and effective mode of learning.</p>
- <p>@broobs.psd is a CHICANX collage artist who uses Instagram to share their artwork and political opinions with over 100,000 followers. Their art has a retro feel to it, featuring trippy bubble-text and washed-out pastel colors, as well as cut photographs of figures like Martin Luther King and Breonna Taylor to name a few. Their collage art often resembles the concert posters of the ‘70s, only instead of advertising rock music, their art advertises change and progress with mantras like “Say her name” gracefully adorning @broobs’ page.</p>
- <p><em>“</em><em>The thing that appeals to me about collage is that it is accessible to everyone! Instagram is good for spreading messages to the masses. Making sure knowledge is accessible to everyone and that people understand what we're trying to do with our movement towards equity and equality.”</em> - @broobs.psd</p>
- <p>@broobs.psd’s page shows us what activism on the web can and should look like. These are the protest signs and chants of Instagram, offering activists and allies thoughtful, engaging content to interact with between real-life activism. Many of these pieces could easily fit in a gallery, but the fact that they’re free on Instagram shows how genuine @broobs.psd’s call for social action truly is.</p>
- <p><strong>@ohhappydani</strong></p>
- <p>@ohhappydani might be one of the most organized activists on Instagram. In only 10 short months, @ohhappydani has managed to gain nearly half a million followers at the time of this writing. Her page is full of color and positive messages looking toward a brighter future.</p>
- <p>Her style is distinct and consistent, each post looking like a more engaging version of a training slideshow you might sit through when you start a new job. Her posts are meant to educate and explain complex issues in an attractive and easily digestible way. On @ohhappydani’s page, you can learn a wide range of important, little-known lessons, such as covering the school-to-prison pipeline and how to support neglected students through remote learning to name a few. This is mixed with positive selfies featuring Dani herself, keeping the mood of her page lighthearted even when covering the most contentious issues. If you ask Dani, though, it’s not positivity that drives her, but hope.</p>
- <p><em>“For me, I would say that I'm clinging to hope more than positivity these days. So many aspects of this work are heavy, and that weight needs to be felt in order to fully recognize the severity and impact of these issues. With that said, I still have hope that things can and will change for the better if we all do our part and make a difference within our own spheres of influence! I'm encouraged by knowing that I can remind people of the power they have to do good work, and as a naturally optimistic person, I keep that truth with me every day.” </em>- @ohhappydani</p>
- <p>The most impressive thing about @ohhappydani is how much she’s doing at only 25 years old. Her page represents exactly how young people can educate the world on some of the most important topics through Instagram. With a great mixture of art and education, hers is a page everyone should be following.</p>
- <p><strong>@jenerous</strong></p>
- <p>Finally, we arrive at @jenerous. With almost 200,000 followers at the time of this writing, @jenerous isn’t your typical activism Instagrammer.</p>
- <p>@jenerous’ page offers followers a good mixture of humor, fearless selfies, and honest slide-posts highlighting real-world issues and giving followers reminders that they don’t need to answer to anybody. One day on @jenerous’ page, you might see an informative slide post titled “Silence about black trans lives is violence,” and the next, you’ll see a series of tweets about abolishing classism. On another day, you might see a few selfies from @jenerous, whether she’s rocking her quarantine gear, holding a sign at a protest, or smiling with her favorite adult toys. She’s an influencer, an activist, and a comedian all rolled into one, and it’s this unabashed flexibility that makes her page so special.</p>
- <p><em>“I learn so much from my followers, but I get a lot of commenters who want to troll me and anyone I am advocating for. After a while, you know which comments to listen to and which to ignore. This type of content is taking off right now because people are ready to actually listen to this info. It’s so much more than just a trend.” - @jenerous</em></p>
- <p>What makes @jenerous’ account and accounts like hers an important part of the future of Instagram is how casual and open she is when presenting her opinions on some of the most contentious topics of debate today. @jenerous is fearless and outspoken but isn’t afraid to show off her more humorous side either. People are becoming more open and real on social media. They’re moving away from heavy photo editing to match some societally propped-up “ideal” and simply showing off themselves with all their quirks. @jenerous’ follower count proves that the market for content like this is growing, and will continue to do so well into Instagram’s future.</p>
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- <p>No matter who you are — your sense of comedy, your identity, your political involvement — the Instagram landscape is only becoming more inclusive of your desires. The world is constantly changing, and social media follows right behind it. Just as everyone else has to adapt and grow, so do the people of Instagram, and the platform itself. With great, original users like these climbing their way to the front lines, the future of Instagram has never looked brighter.</p>
- <p>Keep an eye on these unique pages — chances are you’re going to be seeing a lot of them in the days to come.</p>
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