TikTok users spent much of 2025 complaining that memes had slipped into pure nonsense. Consequently, a growing crowd is pushing for a full cultural refresh, dubbed the Great Meme Reset of 2026, set to begin on January 1, 2026.
Many creators insist that brainrot memes, once funny in small doses, have become the default mode of online humor, especially on TikTok.
In response, TikTokers proposed an idea that started as satire but quickly became a rallying cry for users who felt overwhelmed by chaotic, hyper-ironic formats. Although the proposal began lightheartedly, participants treated it as a chance to restore structure to an art form they believe has lost its edge.
What is the Great Meme Reset of 2026?
TikTokers described the reset as a cultural reboot that would clear away the current trending formats and start fresh. They pointed to memes like Italian Brainrot and the inexplicable humor of “6-7,” saying that cross-pollination among very young audiences pushed strange jokes into every corner of the platform.
As a result, older users watched their For You Pages fill with material that left them baffled and annoyed.
@doug_dimmadome2 I don’t care if its meant sarcastically or not. #niche #fyp #memedrought #meme #slop ♬ sahuur – samuel
Creators compared 2025’s brainrot phase to “content pollution” that warps and ruins everything it gets near. Some argued that memes should return to a simpler era, even if that sense of nostalgia was subjective.
The exact timeframe that people agreed upon was difficult to pinpoint, but the majority of folks online agreed that roughly 2016 was the high point of memes online. As such, the Great Reset intends to flood For You Pages with 2016-era memes, such as Doge, Harambe, Blinking White Guy, and more.
At the same time, many admitted that these older memes appeared every bit as ridiculous as today’s trends.
How does this tie into the Great Meme Depression of March 2025?
The Great Meme Reset also builds on anxieties that surfaced earlier in the year during what TikTokers dubbed the Great Meme Depression of 2025. That stretch, which was marked by a near-total slowdown in original formats, left users joking that they were living through a digital Dust Bowl.
Creators pointed out how the “meme drought” exposed how dependent TikTok (and the internet generally) had become on a constant drip of novelty.
In many ways, the Reset is an extension of that panic: if the Meme Depression revealed what happens when memes dry up, the Reset imagines what could happen if users took control and started fresh on purpose.
Examples from TikTok
TikToker @joebro909 introduced the concept on March 14, 2025, during a comedy skit that mocked the frantic pace of meme cycles.
“I finally know what to do to fix this TikTok drought,” he said in conversation with himself. “We gotta do a complete reset in order to save TikTok. Wait, you’re saying we have to delete every single meme that’s ever been made? Yeah, a whole new generation of memes, start right from scratch.”
@joebro909 The get out revival is essential for us to exit the great tiktok drought of March #fyppppp #viral #meme #skit #memedrought ♬ original sound – Joey
Joe’s video has been viewed over 254K times and has over 34.1K likes, with many in the comments saying that it needed to become a real thing. They pushed 2026 as its official start, though some jumped ahead of schedule and began reposting vintage memes throughout late 2025.
@emanwelemil2 We are genuinely leaving those memes in 2025 because we need 2026 to be perfect #2026 ♬ where you at lullaby – ️
Looking back at past formats reminded viewers how dramatically internet culture has shifted in just ten years. In contrast, recent years leaned heavily on dense irony and layered video edits. Even so, TikTokers argued that memes remained art: crude and disposable, perhaps, but accessible to everyone.
Creators also noted the irony that TikTok itself did not exist during many of the memes they wanted to revive. Still, they believed the reset could honor the past without pretending to recreate it.
@noahglenncarter He great meme reset is coming January 1st 2026 #greatmemereset #foryou #meme ♬ original sound – NoahGlennCarter
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