Humor Blurring Boundaries: Why GenZ Prefer Dark Humor Over Light Comedy

You all must have known about the famous Indian show “India Got Latents” and its widespread controversy about Ranbir Allahbadia making a vulnerable joke relating to parents which offended many influencers. The show brings dark humor to the page often liked by many youngsters. This is not the first show that served content with dark humorous jokes, people, especially youngsters prefer to watch shows like this. Let’s crack the reason together, why GenZ prefers dark humor over light comedy.
Picture this: You came back home after a tiring day, and want to lift your mood. What will you do? Hang up with your family or friends? Or watching Netflix and having fun, in your cozy blanket with cold drinks and chips. No, but what you prefer to do is catch up with some funny stand-up comedy. Nowadays, comedy and jokes have become much more flexible, crossing certain boundaries, as the viewers want to consume videos like that. It would be also correct to say that dark humor touches on real-life struggles and opens up to taboos. Many young people feel this experience but aren’t allowed to talk about it in public openly. When one finds something relatable through humor, it brings peace to them. It also helps to make hard topics feel lighter.
Traditional comedy sometimes feels boring. Famous Indian shows like the Kapil Sharma show mostly covered their show by imitating one another or by silly jokes. It can be watched with family making a happy and healthy environment. On the other hand, the era has changed. The newly evolved comedians create a shift from the old prevalent style to a new change in taste of consuming comedy. There are many Content creators making funny content with a blend of vulgarity which is often liked by many. Comedians like Anubhav Singh Bassi, Madhur Virli, Akash Gupta, and Vivek Samtani have gained popularity amongst audiences for their humor and art of crafting jokes within their own stories. The shock factor makes it funnier and keeps it from getting stale.
The way people consume and interact with humor has evolved drastically in the digital age, largely driven by memes, social media, and platforms like YouTube. Unlike traditional comedy, which often relied on structured setups and punchlines, modern humor has shifted towards irony, sarcasm, and self-deprecating wit.

This transformation has given rise to a style of comedy that resonates deeply with younger audiences—one that thrives on cynicism, absurdity, and dark themes. Memes are now a dominant comedic expression, especially among younger generations. Unlike traditional jokes, memes often rely on layered irony, where the humor comes from saying something completely absurd or contradictory to reality. For example: The phrase "everything is fine" paired with an image of a cartoon dog sitting in a burning house (from the This Is Fine meme) perfectly captures the mix of existential dread and humor that defines modern internet comedy.
Traditional comedy often played it safe, avoiding controversial topics and relying on clean, family-friendly humor due to strict censorship in TV and media. Sitcoms and stand-up routines focused on lighthearted, everyday situations, steering clear of dark or taboo subjects like mental health, existential dread, or societal flaws. However, modern audiences, shaped by the internet and a rapidly changing world, prefer comedy that feels raw and unfiltered. Dark humor thrives on brutal honesty, embracing themes of pain, absurdity, and chaos rather than sugarcoating reality.
Dark humor serves as a coping mechanism for many young people, helping them deal with stress, anxiety, and existential dread by transforming their fears into something laughable.

In a world where mental health struggles are increasingly common, comedy that acknowledges pain and absurdity rather than avoiding it feels more relatable. Instead of suppressing difficult emotions, dark humor allows people to confront them in a lighter way, making their burdens feel less overwhelming.