The Unsettling Emergence of the Before-and-After Tragedy Meme

Each year, as I clear out old voicemail messages, I pause to listen to one I’ll never erase: a Christmas greeting from an uncle who passed away just months later. His voice still brings warmth, though it also stirs a bittersweet sadness. Had I not contracted Covid-19 that year, I would have spent Christmas with him. Instead, I delayed my trip — and we never reunited.

Our reliance on technology has transformed how we encounter and remember death. Where once personal mementos like postcards and letters were the primary keepsakes, photography and home videos expanded that archive. Later, emails and phone messages added layers of digital memory. Social media then introduced public digital legacies — profiles and posts that continue to exist long after their owners are gone. Yet these traces typically remained meaningful mainly to those who knew the deceased and chose to revisit their online presence.

Recently, I noticed a shift while scrolling through TikTok and Instagram. A new meme style began to dominate my feed: videos or photos of ordinary moments — a young man diving off a cliff, a woman sunbathing, children playing — paired with captions revealing that these seemingly joyful scenes were the last before life-altering tragedies. The accompanying music was either solemn or uplifting, underscoring the contrast between the moment’s happiness and the impending sorrow.

Typical captions read:

“She doesn’t realize this is her final video with her little sister.”

“Laughing here because I thought he was clumsy, not knowing he was only two months away from a terminal diagnosis.”

“He had no idea this morning stretch would be his last before becoming paralyzed.”

Initially, my response was probably not what creators of these memes intended. At first glance, the clips felt clichéd and grim — a reflection of a generation compelled to document every moment of life, no matter how painful. This reaction likely stemmed from the tension between the lighthearted, often frivolous style of TikTok content and the deeply serious, tragic narratives these memes conveyed.