How a Joke About Paranoia After a Joint Became a Meme
On Twitter, people use parentheses to describe how their feelings change after smoking a joint, drinking wine, using social media, or watching movies — everything starts out fine and innocent, but usually ends with pain, anxiety, and irreversible trauma.
The template first appeared on April 15, when Twitter user @jzux posted a meme dividing a joint into sections. Each section illustrated the level of paranoia a person experiences while using marijuana — from the fear that nobody loves them, to expecting an attack from a demon.
- All my friends hate me, they think I’m annoying and weird, no one will ever love me unconditionally / A demon is going to come and kill me
@jzux’s meme wasn’t the only image illustrating the different stages of smoking. Other Twitter users depicted various strange and anxious thoughts that come up as the joint runs out.
- Hehehe / I’ve never been this happy / Someone is watching me
- Nothing / McDonald’s / I need to learn the history of the Myanmar army right now
- I love nature so much. What a beautiful day / Raccoons work for the CIA
As the format spread on Twitter, users started replacing the joint with other objects — wine, coffee, cigarettes, shoes, or iPhone notes. The template was used to show the joy of starting to use something, and the feelings that come later: disappointment, depression, pain, or even suicidal thoughts.
- Guys, this is so much fun, I love you all so much / Haha, let’s dance. I’m so happy / I want to kill myself
- I wonder who killed her / What the hell
- I’m so hot and cool, I’m going to walk around looking so sexy / Ow, oof, ouch, ow, it really hurts
- I’m never downloading TikTok / Okay, there’s some cool stuff here / This app has taken me hostage, but it makes me laugh and supports me, I’m learning so much / My attention span has dropped to five minutes