Schizoposting

About

Schizoposting is an internet slang term used to refer to the act of posting memes as though one were having a mental breakdown. Schizoposting memes, also called "schizo memes," generally exploit the topic of schizophrenia and mental instability and lean into conspiratorial cultural narratives, sometimes intersecting with occultism or mysticism. Memes often employed in schizo-posts are Trollface and other Rage Comics characters. The term is often used in relation to the word "shitposting," which is a term used to describe memes that can be considered spam or nonsequiturs.

Origin

The phrase itself has been used on 4chan since at least November 6th, 2016, when it was used as a general slang term and without its Rage Comic connotation.^[1] The earliest known use of the term on 4chan was in response to a post about memes as occultism in /pol/ in which an anonymous reader responded to a thread saying, "nice schizoposting, friend" (seen below).^[2]

The label "schizoposting" drew continued usage on 4chan in consecutive months, with an anonymous user posting a picture of Charles Manson to /pol/ on December 28th, 2016, alongside a caption that read, "F--k shitposting, try Schizoposting" (seen below).^[3]

Spread

Use of the term "schizoposting," when defined as the act of posting illogical memes that could be made by someone suffering a mental breakdown, persisted across 4chan threads in the years following 2016, often in reference to QAnon] conspiracy theorists. However, the term only gained significant virality on other social media platforms after the year 2019. Early Facebook mentions include the caption of a December 2nd, 2019, image posted by a meme page about cryptids that gathered over 100 likes in three years (seen below).^[5]

Early Instagram mentions include a February 21st, 2020, video post by user @ginger_meme_dood that gathered over 2,000 views in nearly three years (seen below).^[6] The word "schizoposting" also began to be used regularly on Twitter in 2020.^[7][8]

On April 26th, 2021, the subreddit /r/schizopostingmemes was created, gaining over 20,000 members before being banned after users began posting images of dead birds they had supposedly killed in a competition to prove they were the "top schizo." One such post was made by Redditor bemmington (awesome) on July 3rd, 2022, which gathered over 95 upvotes and 45 comments in seven hours.^[9]

On May 3rd, 2022, the Facebook page "schizophrenic order of piss" was formed where such memes and posts are shared, which gathered over 600,000 followers as of December 2022.^[10]

Related Memes

Schizowave

Schizowave refers to a series of music videos based on imagery associated with various beliefs, conspiracy theories and mental disorders such as schizophrenia, gang-stalking, paganism, Hyperborea, Hollow Earth and Nordic aliens, often intermingled with various memes, and set to various remixes and mashups. A relative of Fashwave, the trend gained online popularity in 2020, with a video known as Gotye Wokeuplikethis Hyperborea gaining popularity as a meme format.

I Hate the Antichrist

I Hate the Antichrist refers to a series of memes, including image macros and Rage Comics, referring to the United Nations (UN) as "the antichrist," a belief perpetuated by certain conspiracy theorists. The memes often depict ways to troll the UN, baiting them by telling them "I hate the antichrist," and first appeared in late 2020 but was popularized throughout early 2021.

Pill Time

Pill Time is a four-panel Schizoposting Rage Comic in which an apparently schizophrenic Trollface, happy to have a companion, takes his medication and finds out that his companion has vanished. In memes, various characters are edited in as Trollface's wife or friend.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References