The Brief: Social media users are bracing for 2021 with New Year and NYE memes about the potential that the coming year holds.

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DEEP DIVE

By all measures, 2020 has been a rough year. While New Year’s predictions and celebrations are typically filled with nostalgia and optimism, much of the sentiment expressed in memes about 2021 is pessimistic and bleak.

Yes, time is a construct, and while nothing other than the calendar will necessarily change when the clock strikes midnight, the start of a new year can be a time for reflection and transition. People are finding ways to celebrate the end of a terrible year and to hope for a better 2021, expressing some of their many emotions about the holiday via memes.

Here’s a nice neutral note about the New Year:

On Twitter, people are warning others that “2021 will be my year” might be an overly-optimistic take given how disastrous 2020 has been.

Although 2021 could be worse, there’s still plenty of reason to celebrate the end of 2020.

Twitter took the liberty of turning some poignant tweets about the past year into billboards:

Elsewhere on the internet, people are expressing their range of emotions about the 2021 New Year via memes, dark humor, and commiseration.

2021 from funny

“I can’t wait for 2021! It’s gonna be a whole NEW start!!……………” from HolUp

To the people waiting on 2021 to arrive… from AdviceAnimals

https://unsympatheticchemprof.tumblr.com/post/638291605421424640

https://kiss-love-queen-kiss.tumblr.com/post/638236284552364032/2021-the-bar-is-low-so-it-wont-be-difficult-for

https://kaanbubelli.tumblr.com/post/638855219301793792

New Years 2021 memes

2021 new year memes

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