According to English teacher Callie Hefstad, humor at school isn’t the same for everyone. She said humor types often depend on students’ backgrounds, and it can change depending on their identity.

“My class is very heterogeneous,” Hefstad said. “We have so many different students from different cultures, interests (and) races, and humor is very cultural, so I see my different groups of students have very specific types of humor that they laugh at. For boys in particular, we actually call this the superiority theory of humor, (and their humor is) attacking each other. I used to do a unit where it was all about American humor, so one of the things that I learned was the superiority theory. I think of it like roasting, and I feel like in particular, I see that a lot more in boys than with girls.”

Social studies teacher Emily Rennhak said humor often works as a social tool that helps people feel bonded. She said in psychology, this idea is known as group affiliation, which describes how people build relationships by sharing experiences and a sense of belonging.

“There’s a lot of power in humor to act as a connection,” Rennhak said. “When we study social psychology, we talk about this (phenomenon called) group affiliation. When there’s a really great inside joke, you form this cool affiliation, which is why sometimes it’s weird when your classes switch, or you have an outside guest in your classroom, because you form these patterns together within your group. With humor, you hope that yourhumor is used to form an affiliation and that your humor isn’t exiling people. Hopefully it’s used as a connector instead of a divider.”

Junior DJ Piehowski, who is currently in a psychology class at Park, said his sense of humor plays an important role in who he becomes friends with. He said he tends to connect more with people who like to joke around and keep discussion light rather than those who prefer more serious conversations.

“I like to joke around a lot, so that definitely narrows down who I am friends with and could cause some (issues with potential friends). For example, some people are friends to hold each other up and talk about certain stuff, and other friends are friends who just goof around all the time, and I definitely feel like I am one of those people who like to goof around,” Piehowski said.

Social worker Kjirsten Hanson said addressing harm caused by humor requires open, respectful conversation rather than confrontation. Hanson said creating space for time to think back on actions allows people to recognize the impact of their words and take accountability without becoming defensive.

“If there was a situation where humor divided some students, that could be a really good time for people to come together, and if both parties are willing to sit down and share why someone felt hurt (that would be beneficial in ensuring no further damage is caused),” Hanson said. “One thing we’ve really lost is the ability to have conversations that allow us to pause, reflect and say, ‘You’re right. I’m really sorry. I messed that up,’ especially when it comes to something that someone thought was supposed to be funny.”

According to sophomore Brayden Falness, people can easily judge others based on their sense of humor, sometimes viewing certain jokes as immature or off- putting. Falness said shared humor can also strengthen friendships and play a major role in shaping how people connect or distance themselves from others.

“If someone laughs at stuff that’s really offensive, people might see them as immature, but I have the same sense of humor as my friends, and it makes us close, so I just think humor can be really important in talking with people, and it could make them closer or make them not want anything to do with a person based on their humor,” Falness said.

Hefstad said everyone has different boundaries when it comes to others joking around. She said addressing harmful jokes is necessary to help students understand how humor that seems joyful can still negatively affect others and requires caring for others.

“Everyone has their own limit as to what’s too far in comedy or humor,” Hefstad said. “(That) is something you need to talk about. Sometimes in class if I hear something a student says that is harmful to the learning community, or to one person in the community, I need to pull them out and address it and help them to understand what harm was done, and in their head, they may have thought it was just something funny and lighthearted, but how it can actually affect other people (might need to be explained). I feel like it is just really tied up with empathy.”

According to Rennhak, humor is innappropriate when it specifically pinpoints unchangable aspects of someone’s character. She said jokes should be guided by awareness, context and whether the humor is actually beneficial or potentially hurtful. 

“If you are coming for somebody’s identity or something that they can not change about themselves, then that is crossing a line,” Rennhak said. “I’ve heard the advice that if you point something out about somebody that they can change in five seconds, that’s helpful, so if you have spinach in your teeth, then that’s something you can point out. If you are pointing out how ugly their haircut is, they can’t fix that in five seconds, so it would not be helpful, and I think the same thing goes for humor. If you are poking fun at someone in the moment or the small personality traits that are endearing to them, then great, but if you are making fun of someone’s heritage, race, gender or sexuality, then unless that’s done in a kind way or there is a really strong relationship between the two people, then that’s the line.”

According to Piehowski, the effect of a joke should be judged by who might be negatively effected by it. He said humor aimed at real tragedies or specific people oversteps boundaries because of the damage it can cause.

“One way I would determine whether a joke is funny or offensive is to see who might be harmed by the joke and if it is targeting a specific person. For example, if someone were to make a joke about 9/11, it wouldn’t be funny because real people died, and it really impacted some people’s lives,” Piehowski said.

Hanson said there is no clear boundary for humor because people perceive jokes differently based on their experiences. She said dark humor is especially challenging because it pushes limits that may feel acceptable to some but deeply insulting to others.

“That (joke limit) line is going to be dependent on who’s receiving the humor or what they might perceive as a lack thereof,” Hanson said. “There isn’t really a line because what somebody might see as humorous, I might see as really offensive. That’s the challenge with dark humor, is it pushing that edge of, is this okay to say? Is this now moved into a completely inappropriate realm?”

According to junior Sam Ramirez, modern humor has moved toward being more rude and aggressive rather than genuinely funny. She said current jokes often resemble verbal attacks, sometimes masked as compliments or using extreme and potentially dangerous langauge.

“Nowadays, I think humor has changed to be actually offensive, like death threats or disguising something mean as a compliment, and just completely shifted into something more like an insult than a funny joke on somebody,” Ramirez said.

Falness said dark humor can be uncomfortable and confusing, especially when it comes to jokes about serious topics. He said those kinds of jokes often make him question the intent behind the humor and why someone feels the need to say them.

“Sometimes I’ll see dark memes about serious stuff like death or mental health, and it makes me think about why people joke about heavy topics. I find it really weird most of the time. It makes me second-guess what their intentions are with the jokes, or why they felt the need to say that stuff,” Falness said.

There are dark humor jokes all over social media, and they’re focused on numerous different and frequently controversial topics. According to Piehowski, he finds this to be wrong and uncomfortable.

“If you go on social media, like Instagram, in the comments you are definitely going to find offensive stuff that seems like it’s people just joking around,” Piehowski said. “Still, it’s actually a lot of dark humor that a lot of people may not find funny. People say things like ‘Oh, it’s just a joke,’ but it’s really not.”

According to Rennhak, people frequently utilize humor to cope, especially in difficult or uncertain times. She said while humor can help people process fear or stress, it also requires careful awareness of when it becomes harmful to others.

“Humor is often used as a coping mechanism and a way to get through the day, and while there’s a lot of benefits to using humor to poke fun at the dark, scary things that are happening, and there’s a lot of research that supports that and says that our brains get dopamine and serotonin from this sort of joking, I think we also need to be really careful to navigate that line of, when is something being helpful to us and harmful to others,” Rennhak said. “In psychology we talk a lot about social traps, and a social trap is when you make a decision off of what will immediately benefit you even if it causes harm to the greater good, and I think when it comes to dark humor we really need to be attentive to the room and the situation.”

Ramirez said humor can be an effective coping tool, but should be used carefully. She said humor has the ability to hurt others as a way to deal with personal emotions.

“Humor can be a really good way to cope. It can 100% go too far, and it shouldn’t be your first choice to cope, but I do think it’s a great way to lift up spirits,” Ramirez said. “(However, it becomes bad when) it normalizes attacking people when you are sad, as if it’s ok, to bring someone down just because you don’t feel good about yourself.”

According to Hefstad, humor can occasionally be used to hide deeper struggles rather than address them directly. She said paying attention to how and when students use humor can help identify when someone may need support.

“I’m someone who masks my difficulties with humor, so I understand when students do that,” Hefstad said. “I’m really sensitive to that, and I always make it a point to talk to that student one-on-one later, if I can tell that they are maybe deflecting. For example, I’ve had students in class who are always raising their hand and being the class clown, but they haven’t been turning in their assignments at all, or they’re really struggling with a particular skill. It’s my job as a teacher to put the pieces together and see how humor can be used as a way to mask their embarrassment. I look at it as a signal that a student might need help. I also have students who are just funny, and it’s not always that extreme, but I do feel like it’s my responsibility to be aware of that.”

Piehowski said humor helps him carry on by offering a temporary escape from difficult situations that occur in life. He said humor creates space for brief happiness and lightness.

“I do usually use humor to cope because it takes your mind off a particular moment for a little bit. Humor just gives you a little pause to be silly and have a joyful moment, especially when there could be other tough things going on around you,” Piehowski said.

According to Hanson, recognizing when humor is being used as a coping mechanism requires self-reflection, which can be difficult during hard times. She said people often become aware of this pattern through feedback from others rather than realizing it on their own.

“Self-reflection is hard, especially if you’re going through a hard thing,” Hanson said. “It would take recognition of, ‘why am I always making a joke about this? Why am I doing this?’ That takes a lot of higher-order thinking and a willingness to then confront that thinking, and it’s going to be hard to pinpoint (why someone is using dark humor to cope). For people who are potentially in more survival mode, I may not always recognize those pieces around me, because I’m just trying to make it from day to day. For others, I think sometimes it comes through other people. Somebody saying, ‘Hey, Kirsten, what’s that about? Anytime (a certain topic) is brought up, you make a joke, or there’s some kind of humor, have you noticed that in yourself?’ Sometimes that mirror being held up for other people is the way that people recognize (using humor to cope).” 

Falness said humor isn’t always useful in terms of coping, and can sometimes make situations worse. He said jokes can minimize other people’s struggles and even hide deeper issues.

“I don’t use humor to help me, but sometimes jokes can make things worse if they are making it seem like something that someone else is going through isn’t a big deal. (Humor) can cover up a lot of things,” Falness said.

According to Rennhak, she correlates jokes being made as a reflection of what is happening in our society. She said while dark humor may show signs of deeper, darker feelings, and teachers often notice how students use that in the classroom, analyzing jokes should not automatically be seen as a sign of mental health struggle.

“As teachers we hope to know our students pretty well throughout the course of the year, and sometimes we know that they’re dropping dark humor and a student will follow up with teachers privately on that and say, ‘Hey, I know what I said is kinda going to a dark space, and to be honest I am in a dark space and this is how I’m making light of it.’ I don’t think we should assume that just because somebody’s engaging in dark humor, that they are experiencing depression. I do, however, think that the more we use dark humor as a society, the more it might be more reflective of our (collective) mental state, and plenty of psychological studies will show that the social circumstances and conditions that we’re under are putting a lot of pressure on us as a society,” Rennhak said.