The mind behind the popular Instagram page unb_memes has shared their experience with the project and the reception from the university community.
Unb_memes is an Instagram page specializing in comedic images and videos, known as memes, relating to the UNB student experience, and has existed since Oct. 2017.
The originator of the page said the initial idea came from seeing meme pages associated with other universities, and observing a popular desire for that gap to be filled at UNB.
“I figured it was something I was able and willing to do,” they said, and so unb_memes was born.
The student reports devoting a considerable amount of time to developing and maintaining the content on the page. They feel no objection to contributing so much time to their passion.
“The page takes up some time of my day to run, but overall I waste enough time on my phone already that it’s never really been an issue for me,” they said.
Posts typically focus on timely events, current issues or ongoing jokes. They range from images poking fun at specific programs, to reactions to snow days, to edited videos detailing a weekend on campus. Unb_memes also welcomes follower submissions.
The student behind unb_memes has chosen to remain entirely anonymous since its inception. They feel that including their identity with their work might invite negative attention that they are not willing to contend with. Over time however, their identity has slowly become more widely known across campus.
“Over time more and more people have found out that I’m behind it which seems to spread to more people as time goes on,” they said. “I don’t really care if people find out who’s behind it, I just don’t feel the need to announce it on the page itself at this point in time.”
Unb_memes currently boasts posts with up to 760 likes, and videos with up to 3,000 views. The page has 2,868 followers, which equates to approximately a third of UNB’s population.
“It feels cool when you put it that way especially considering that it grows bigger every day,” they said. “It feels nice to make stuff that people enjoy, especially when I interact with a lot of those people on a day-to-day basis.”
The page runner said the response has been overwhelmingly positive, with only one indication that UNB administration has taken notice.
“I had made a post over the summer that had a picture of Eddy Campbell in it that got removed from Instagram months later, which I can only assume administration was responsible for,” they said.
The page runner plans on continuing his work for the foreseeable future due to the support from students.