Behind the Meme: Understanding User Experiences with Memes on Social Media

While memes enhance social interaction on social media, they can raise privacy and security concerns. Despite research on overtly toxic or unsafe memes, little attention has been given to users’ experiences with seemingly safe memes and how contextual factors trigger privacy concerns. This study explores users’ comfort levels, influencing factors, underlying reasons for discomfort, and unmet needs when engaging with such memes. We first collected and analyzed 2,317 Reddit posts describing real-world meme experiences, then conducted an online survey with 324 participants to evaluate comfort across curated scenarios. Our findings reveal that perceived-safe memes can cause harm when shared inappropriately, with comfort shaped by content and context. Privacy concerns intensify with deeper involvement, strangers, and sensitive meme topics. We identified users’ desire for consent and control in meme interactions. Based on our study, we make recommendations for users, developers of social media platforms and policymakers to address meme-related privacy and contextual concerns.