Gen Z here.
People liked being part of in jokes nobody else understood. Eventually it evolved into creating jokes even you yourself weren’t in on just to confuse the fuck out of people. Brings the satisfaction of seeing people not understanding the “in” joke and the additional satisfaction that they never will be in on it either.
The “that explains nothing” feeling when you see the origin is part of the joke.
A few people would be in on it. The victim comes over and the instigator tells a stupid pointless joke, and everyone laughs. The outsider either laughs along and is mocked for being a brownnoser, or they look confused and are mocked for not getting the joke.
Gen Z here.
People liked being part of in jokes nobody else understood. Eventually it evolved into creating jokes even you yourself weren’t in on just to confuse the fuck out of people. Brings the satisfaction of seeing people not understanding the “in” joke and the additional satisfaction that they never will be in on it either.
The “that explains nothing” feeling when you see the origin is part of the joke.
That was a thing when I was in 4th or 5th Grade.
A few people would be in on it. The victim comes over and the instigator tells a stupid pointless joke, and everyone laughs. The outsider either laughs along and is mocked for being a brownnoser, or they look confused and are mocked for not getting the joke.
The Markiplier E is the most poignant example I’ve seen of this phenomenon.