A friend shows you something on their screen, and what you find funny could destroy the confidence of someone else. Whether you have heard it, said it, or seen it, shock humor invades our daily life like a termite upon wood. Shock humor desensitizes topics that are sensitive for a reason and disrupts peace at Mid-Pacific InstituteWhile in the moment using shock humor may seem funny, it has no place at our school. .

Shock humor is the use of offensive or repulsive language for comedy and is considered a subset of dark humor. Whereas some dark humor jokes have an actual planned-out tag line, shock humor does not always include a punchline. Using a slur as humor is part of this. The presence of this “humor” at our school is like that of an infestation and should not be ignored, and it is too often that shock humor is heard on this campus.

“Some days (I’ll hear it) three to five times a day,” sophomore Ethan Ho said when discussing shock humor at school. “Other times I won’t hear it all until it gets to like a certain period of the day, then it'll just spike.”

All around Mid-Pacific Institute, students like Ho have to listen to shock humor nearly everyday. For those who are wondering, why does shock humor exist? Sadly, it is not so simple.

“One reason I think, especially, teenage boys use shock humor is to show off to their friends,” psychology teacher Henry Hail said.

It all starts with competition. Teenagers love attention, and for some people, it is a competition to get and steal attention from others. More often than not, humor is used to get this attention. Shock humor’s scandalous-like nature grabs the most attention the quickest and with the least amount of effort.

Next on the list is Nihilism, the belief that life is without purpose, so no action or word matters. Nihilism influences shock humor by taking the value out of what is said, making it easy to say these jokes. Users of shock humor are not necessarily hardcore nihilists, but are unknowingly dipping into the belief.

Finally, social media also plays a big part in this mess. Your parents may be right, it is the darn phone. Because most kids are spending a fair amount of time on social media everyday, they are exposed to many kinds of content. Some of this content is other kids competing for attention, or even unknowingly sharing nihilistic beliefs. Extended time on social media normalizes what is seen, and kids becoming desensitized to topics like violence is dangerous.

But does the reason really matter?

First of all, you never know who could be listening in on you. Whether it be an elementary student learning new words, or perhaps the unintended victim of what was said, or even a camera waiting for the perfect moment to record you and ruin your entire life with what it captured. Shock humor is not only not worth the risk, But for the victims it’s another story.

One conversation. One sentence. One word.

That is what really matters for someone’s day, someone’s week, to be ruined. Shock humor may just be a word, but a word is what its context makes it. That which seems like a joke to you may not be perceived the same by others. One joke that seems funny can be the reason someone never wakes up with a smile on their face, or never wakes up at all.

“I think if we normalize (shock humor) to an extreme extent, it would be harmful towards actual social issues and problems that we have in society.” sophomore Kazunori “Kazu” Fowler said.

Nihilism as an excuse for shock humor does make sense in some ways. Our generation is growing up in a world where danger seems to always be on the horizon. To some people, this belief is freeing, knowing that all the burdens on your shoulders do not matter in the grand scheme of the universe. To that extent, shock humor is understandable.

I am not saying you are not entitled to your own beliefs. You can think nothing matters. But when you take someone else’s everything away, that is not humane.

According to the Center for Disease Control, suicide rates have increased by 37% in America after the year 2000.

“If you're using shock humor, that's really violent or offensive, that may actually hit one of your friends close to home, because someone they care about identifies in that group,” sophomore dean. Camille Lesnick said.

You may not believe it, but your words hold power, and someone else listening in may think so too.

I love my friends. I love coming to school every day and seeing their smiling faces. So it hurts when I hear something that I know they do not really mean. It also hurts knowing that one word could ruin their whole life if they are not careful. This certainly affects people who listen, but it also affects those who are unaware of the weight of their words. Everyone I have ever known has the power to be a good person and live a good life. Do not let a stupid joke take that away.

Shock humor has no warmer of a home at Mid-Pacific Institute than it does anywhere else.

For the listeners, and the worried friends, you are not alone. All it takes is not laughing at someone’s joke, calling them out, or thinking before you speak. Be that friend that looks out for those around you.