Endless ranting, insulting, irony, and unwelcome news online can get pretty tiring. But this wholesome class of memes is optimistic and celebrates the joys in life, giving you a break from all of it. People want to be reminded of good things and to simply switch off from feeling anxious or annoyed.

It’s refreshing to see memes that have no hidden messages and are easily accessible to make you feel good. They are playful, straightforward, and so simple, which isn't what the world usually is.

It also pushes the idea that caring for ourselves and others is important. Living in a stressful era sometimes makes us forget to stop and breathe and celebrate the small victories, but a friendly reminder like this one can make all the difference.

Amazingly, meme viewing is proven to be beneficial in managing anxiety. It was found that creatively discussing mental health through memes can help to make social and emotional bonds with others. Some people with mental disorders feel apprehensive about verbalizing their struggles, and knowing that they're not alone can be very comforting.

Memes especially helped people when they were stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. It gave people something to do and kept them relatively sane. According to research, people who looked at memes associated with the pandemic had decreased levels of COVID-related stress. Viewing memes was also connected to increased positive feelings and the ability to cope.

The rising positive outlook online also gave way to the appearance of wholesome internet trolls. It’s the noble kind of pranking when internet users take over discriminating subreddit pages and turn them into something sweet.

R/RaceRealism used to be a toxic place where white supremacist beliefs were shared, but activist trolls have flooded it with posts of actual car races. At the moment, discussions on this page focus on whether Formula 1 is the “superior” race and if it makes someone a “race traitor” to enjoy cycling.

One of the biggest victories of wholesome internet trolls was the reclamation of r/Stormfront, Reddit’s oldest neo-Nazi forum. Now, it’s dedicated to discussions about the weather.

How do they do it, you ask? Well, once a subreddit with discriminating content has been identified, the sneaky do-gooders check to see if its moderators are still active. If they have been inactive for long enough, anyone can take over by requesting the page’s rights. They simply wait it out and strike when they see a great opportunity to do some good on the Internet.

Wholesomeness truly brought about a cultural shift in mood. However, just a few years ago, it wasn’t as inspirational. In the ‘90s and '00s, wholesomeness was associated with family values and decency. It was quite a dated outlook that pressured girls to adhere to Christian purity. Wholesome was “The Little House on the Prairie,” and a mother vacuuming in high heels and pearls.

By the late '00s, it started picking up new connotations and cutting its ties with the religious emphasis. In 2014, Honey Maid released a commercial that celebrated the diversity of all wholesome families. A collection of heartfelt moments brought real stories to life to show the world what wholesomeness really looks like. It included American same-sex couples, blended, immigrant, and biracial families. The idea of wholesomeness became one of friendliness, warmth, and support.

After those new connotations started being accepted, it shortly became fashionable as a contrary response to the not-so-kind online movement “Gamergate”. It was a year-long online harassment campaign against feminism, diversity, and progress in video game culture. They tried to target anyone they believed was pushing social justice into video games. At the time, the internet became more than a little toxic, and wholesomeness became an inviting escape.

Since then, wholesome content has continuously grown in popularity and even begun to be appreciated by Gen Z. It became a sort of compliment to anything that is sincere, nice, or cute. That’s how Pedro Pascal, a kitten riding on a dog’s back, and elderly people playing board games became wholesome.

The ugly things online can’t be completely solved, but serving wholesome memes can make it a tad better. This trend accurately shows us how each of us can contribute to making the online environment more positive and supportive.

For more wholesome binging, make sure to check out our other heartwarming publications, such as this one and this one!