GagBase Logo Explore

we were no different

This meme is a humorous generational comparison that makes the point that people currently mocking modern youth trends as cringe forget that they participated in equally silly, cringe trends when they were younger. The top text sets up the joke: people complain that the viral '67' trend is cringe and question what is wrong with kids today, then the collage below shows what the same people were doing years ago, all iconic 2010s trends: a group of teens doing T-poses together in a bathroom, a teen doing the dab dance, an absurd MLG edited meme featuring Doge, and the surreal classic Meme Man 'THANCC DRINCC' comic. The original title of the meme 'we were no different' summarizes the joke: there is no difference between the cringe trends of today and the cringe trends of the past when the current complainers were young.
Make

Text content

"67 is cringe bro, what is with kids nowadays?" also them years ago:

Overview

This meme is a humorous generational comparison that makes the point that people currently mocking modern youth trends as cringe forget that they participated in equally silly, cringe trends when they were younger. The top text sets up the joke: people complain that the viral '67' trend is cringe and question what is wrong with kids today, then the collage below shows what the same people were doing years ago, all iconic 2010s trends: a group of teens doing T-poses together in a bathroom, a teen doing the dab dance, an absurd MLG edited meme featuring Doge, and the surreal classic Meme Man 'THANCC DRINCC' comic. The original title of the meme 'we were no different' summarizes the joke: there is no difference between the cringe trends of today and the cringe trends of the past when the current complainers were young.

Origin notes

This meme originated as a Reddit meme, with the original title 'we were no different' as provided. It uses a common comedy format of comparing past and present youth trends to highlight the hypocrisy of calling modern kid trends cringe while ignoring one's own past cringe. It compiles existing iconic 2010s internet meme and youth trend content to make its point, and circulates widely on Reddit and other English-language social media platforms.

Similar memes

The meme features a top caption that reads: "67 is so cringe why kids are so dumb these days?" MFs back when they were kids, followed by an image of two muscular men in a professional wrestling ring. The men are wearing black shirts with white designs and blue jeans, posing with intense expressions—one has arms crossed while the other stands with hands clasped. The background shows a wrestling ring with ropes, an audience, and smoke, emphasizing a classic wrestling event setting. The humor stems from satirizing generational criticism: adults mocking younger generations' "cringe" behavior while the image reveals their own past participation in similarly over-the-top, cringe-worthy activities (represented by the exaggerated wrestling poses).

Every generation had it's cringe

The meme features a top capti…

The meme features a real person standing in a domestic room with a wall clock (showing approximately 10:20) and a closed door in the background. The image has two text overlays: the top text reads '9 YEAR OLD ME AFTER DRINKING WATER FROM A WINE GLASS' in bold uppercase letters, and the bottom text states 'I am [blurred] fucking drunk' with a portion of the text blurred out. The humor stems from the playful exaggeration of a child's misunderstanding that drinking from a wine glass (even with water) would make them 'drunk,' highlighting childhood innocence and the tendency to mimic adult behaviors with naive seriousness.

9 Year Old Me After Drinking Water From A Wine Glass

The meme features a real pers…

The meme consists of a top text box with the message: 'My brothers... no matter how cringy and ironic the meme reset is, we must push on. This is da wae.' Below the text is an image of a red, anthropomorphic character with large, round eyes, a yellow beak, and a smiling expression, set against a plain blue sky background. The character appears to be in a confident pose, leaning slightly with a relaxed demeanor.

My brothers. This is da wae.

The meme consists of a top te…

This is a single-panel meme using the iconic 'Me and the Boys' template from the 1967 Spider-Man animated series. It shows four supervillains (Rhino, Vulture, Electro, Green Goblin) all grinning widely in a row. The text at the top reads 'When you and the boys see the meme that was popular when you first started using reddit', referencing the shared nostalgia long-time Reddit users feel when encountering old viral platform memes with friends who were also active on the site at that time.

Me and the boys seeing an old popular Reddit meme together

This is a single-panel meme u…

This is a 3-panel vertical meme using the popular Blinking Guy reaction template. The first panel shows the character looking forward normally, with the text '27 years old' displayed to the right. The middle panel shows the character mid-blink with his eyes closed, paired with the text 'COVID-19' on a black background to the right. The final panel shows the character opening his eyes again looking forward, with the text '30 years old' to the right. The humorous premise references the common relatable perception that the multi-year period of the global COVID-19 pandemic passed extremely quickly, feeling like a single blink that skipped 3 years of people's lives as they aged from their late 20s to 30.

Blinking Guy Meme Joking About Fast Aging During COVID-19

This is a 3-panel vertical me…

This is a 4-panel comparison meme calling out generational hypocrisy. The top text first states 'MILLENNIALS CALLING OUT 67 AS BRAINROT...', referencing the popular Gen Z viral audio trend '67' that millennial and older generations often dismiss as meaningless, low-effort 'brain rot'. The second top line reads 'MEANWHILE MILLENNIALS 13 YEARS AGO...', followed by four panels of Japanese comedian Pikotaro, creator of the 2016 viral hit 'PPAP (Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen)', performing the silly, iconic hand gestures from his viral music video. The joke points out that millennials embraced similarly frivolous, silly viral content 13 years prior, making their criticism of Gen Z's trends hypocritical.

Millennials Mocking Gen Z 67 Brainrot Hypocrisy Meme

This is a 4-panel comparison …

This single-panel meme features four simple Wojak-style stick figure characters, each labeled with the logo of a famous 90s/2000s children's media franchise above their head, ordered left to right as Sesame Street, Barney, Bob the Builder, and Thomas & Friends. The top heading reads 'Days since your children's media franchise published a book with the N-word in it:'. The three leftmost characters sit under the text 'What?', looking confused, as these franchises have no recorded history of publishing content including this racist slur. The far right character representing Thomas & Friends sits under the text '27,342 days' (over 75 years), with a smug expression. The joke references a little-known real-world fact that an early Thomas the Tank Engine published book included the N-word, making Thomas the only franchise in the group that has had this type of controversial content. The original title 'Confusion and Delay' is a callback to a common catchphrase used in the Thomas & Friends series, adding an extra layer of reference for long-time fans of the show.

Confusion and Delay: Thomas & Friends N-Word Book Meme

This single-panel meme featur…

A meme featuring a top text overlay that reads 'When you think about anything you did or said in the past:' followed by an image of a small, brown cat with wide, startled eyes. The cat is positioned centrally, with large, bold text above it reading 'Oh no' and below it reading 'Cringe.' The combination humorously captures the universal feeling of embarrassment when recalling past awkward actions or statements. A 'made with mematic' watermark is visible in the bottom left corner, indicating the meme was created using the Mematic mobile app.

Oh No Cringe Cat: Reliving Past Embarrassments

A meme featuring a top text o…

A two-panel meme comparing the emotional reaction of 6-year-olds and 25-year-olds upon realizing their mother will die one day. Both panels feature the same black-and-white drawing of an elderly, weary figure with a sad expression, emphasizing that the pain of this realization endures across different life stages.

6 vs 25 Year Olds Realizing Mum Will Die Meme

A two-panel meme comparing th…

A 2x2 grid meme consisting of two images and two corresponding text labels. The top row features a person with a neutral expression on the left, paired with the text 'depressed people on Instagram' on the right. The bottom row shows another person wearing gold sunglasses and smiling widely on the left, paired with the text 'depressed people on Reddit' on the right. The meme humorously contrasts the perceived public personas of depressed individuals on Instagram (neutral/serious) versus Reddit (casual/playful).

Depressed People on Instagram vs Reddit

A 2x2 grid meme consisting of…

A meme image featuring three cartoon characters arranged horizontally in a sequence. The top text reads 'I WAS TODAY THIS YEARS OLD WHEN I REALIZED BARNEY RUBBLE IS...CAPTAIN CAVEMAN 😲'. The first character on the left resembles Barney Rubble from 'The Flintstones' with a blonde crew cut, brown tunic, and a cheerful expression, pointing upward with his right hand. The middle character shows a transitional appearance, with slightly more facial hair and a rugged look. The third character on the right is clearly Captain Caveman, with a full brown beard, shaggy hair, and a spotted fur outfit, maintaining the same upward-pointing gesture. The humor stems from the playful implication that Barney Rubble evolves into or is secretly Captain Caveman, using the popular 'today years old' internet phrase to convey a sudden realization.

I Was Today Years Old When I Realized Barney Rubble Is...Captain Caveman

A meme image featuring three …

A meme illustrating how nostalgia distorts our perception of the past. The top of the image reads 'Nostalgia be like:' followed by a creepy, humanoid figure with hollow eyes labeled '2014:'. Below it is the same figure labeled '2022:' with a speech bubble containing a small, colorful, simplistic drawing of a person with a sunset background, also labeled '2014:'. The visual joke demonstrates how we remember the past (2014) as more positive and idealized than it actually was.

Nostalgia Be Like: How We Remember the Past vs Reality

A meme illustrating how nosta…