13 Photos of People Laughing at Themselves, and Why It Works

Self-deprecating humour is the art of making yourself the punchline: a burnt dinner, an oversized coat or an embarrassing childhood photo turned into a joke you tell first. Done lightly, it signals confidence. The 13 photos below were shared by people who chose to laugh at their own mishaps, from a scar turned into a fish skeleton to macaroni cooked without water.

What makes these pictures likeable is ownership. Nobody here is being mocked by strangers; each person picked the moment, wrote the caption and decided to share it. That is a very different thing from laughing at someone else's misfortune, and it is why the jokes land warmly rather than cruelly.

The images first circulated on Reddit and Twitter in late 2018, and each is credited to the account that posted it. Alongside them, we look briefly at what psychologists say about the different ways people use humour, and where joking about yourself stops being healthy.

Why laughing at yourself can be a strength

Psychologists Rod Martin and Patricia Doris built a well-known questionnaire in 2003 that sorts everyday humour into four styles. Two are aimed at other people: affiliative humour, which brings people together, and aggressive humour, which teases or puts others down. Two are aimed at yourself: self-enhancing humour, which finds the funny side of a bad situation to cope, and self-defeating humour, which runs yourself down to win approval.

Studies using the scale have linked self-enhancing humour with higher self-esteem and wellbeing, while self-defeating humour tends to go with more anxiety and low mood. These are correlations, not proof of cause, but they suggest a useful rule: joke about what happened, not about who you are. "I forgot the water" is a story. "I'm useless at everything" is a verdict.

Bodies, ages and old photos

A scar turned into a fish

A long surgical scar on an ankle has been tattooed with a fish head at one end and a tail at the other, so the stitches become the backbone of a fish skeleton. According to the original post, the tattoo was done by Trevor Varem at Mission Tattoo. Turning a scar into art is a popular way to take back ownership of a part of the body that once meant pain. Photo by Holdenl2121 / Reddit.

Dating after 30

A smiling woman wears a hoodie that reads "At my age I'm not a snack, I'm a Happy Meal. I come with toys and kids." It flips the slang compliment "snack" into an honest, cheerful description of dating as a parent. The joke works because she is clearly the one wearing it with pride. Photo by WhiteHotWombat / Reddit.

The yearbook quote

A student's yearbook quote reads: "If you like water, you already like 72% of me." It is a sweet line with a small scientific stretch: according to the US Geological Survey, adult bodies are up to about 60% water, while babies start out around 78%. The name has been blacked out for privacy. The image was credited to Andyh10s on Reddit, via Bright Side.

"Me about to be kidnapped in 1984"

A child in a red jumper poses at home beside a clown in full make-up, polka dots and giant shoes, who waves a gloved hand at the camera. Kids' parties in the 1980s often hired clowns, and plenty of adults now look back at such photos with a mix of fondness and horror. The poster's caption pokes fun at the clown's slightly sinister grin. Photo by entropy413 / Reddit.

Outfits that went their own way

"Get dressed up for professional Christmas photos"

Asked by his wife to dress up for formal Christmas photos, a man took a mirror selfie in a full suit and tie covered in festive cats, trees and snowflakes. Novelty Christmas suits became a seasonal craze in the late 2010s. He technically followed the brief. Photo by Darzin / Reddit.

The coat that fits a family

A tweet explains that the writer asked her dad for a small coat, or the next size up if small was sold out. He came back with a 3X, and the two mirror selfies show a puffer jacket that swallows her whole. She clearly found it funnier than annoying. Posted by reginvgeorge / Twitter.

A police officer winning Halloween

A Colorado Springs police officer looks out of his patrol car window wearing a pig nose. Police officers sometimes join in Halloween with costumes, and dressing as a "pig", an old insult for police, takes the sting out of the word. Photo by Skwerilleee / Reddit.

The best review

On an Amazon listing for a flowing maternity photo dress, a reviewer named Gil gave five stars with a picture of himself wearing it in a dramatic outdoor pose. His wife had bought it for a pregnancy announcement, it was too big, and he "saw his opportunity". Reviews like this are rare proof that customer feedback can be an art form. Photo by rd357 / Reddit.

Anything can happen at a rock concert

Three snaps tell a story in fishnets: a lost shoe in the mosh pit, the decision to carry on with one foot in a sock, and finally a stranger's trainer found on the ground and worn anyway. Losing shoes in a mosh pit is common enough that experienced gig-goers recommend laced boots. Posted by IAm_ALoser / Twitter.

Kitchen disasters, travel and phone jokes

"I tried to make macaroni except I forgot the water"

The inside of a microwave shows a small mound of pasta charred to black on its turntable, with scorch marks all around. Dry pasta heated without water simply toasts and then burns, and the smoke can set off alarms. The poster's honest caption turns a smelly mistake into something everyone can laugh at. Photo by yasuhohirose / Twitter.

"I was lost in China, but I saw this extremely helpful sign"

In a huge, nearly empty airport corridor, a bilingual sign says only "You are here", without a map. Signs like this usually sit next to a floor plan, which in this case seems to be missing or out of frame. Photo by RCx_Vortex / Reddit.

Setting your own face as wallpaper

A phone lock screen shows its owner with eyes half closed in a dreamy, sleepy pose. When he unlocks it, the home screen greets him with a second photo of himself, this time frowning sideways at the camera. It is a joke he gets to enjoy dozens of times a day. Posted by JaceAltair / Reddit.

Home ATM

In this short clip, a grinning young man lets a friend tuck a banknote into a fold of his stomach, and moments later the note pops back out like cash from a machine. He is clearly in on the joke and enjoying it, which is exactly what separates good-natured body humour from mockery. Posted by highclassmang / Reddit.

Keeping the joke kind

The thread that runs through these photos is choice. Each person picked a small, specific mishap and shared it on their own terms. If you want to bring more of this into your own life, a few habits help:

• Joke about the event, not your worth. Laugh at the burnt pasta, not at being "hopeless".
• Tell it before someone else does. Owning a mistake early takes the sting out of it.
• Know when it is a mask. If every joke you make is at your own expense, or humour is covering real distress, talk to someone you trust or a doctor.
• Leave others out of it. Laughing at yourself is generous; laughing at a stranger who did not choose the joke is not.

For another set of people who refuse to take themselves too seriously, see Grandparents With a Sense of Humor: Creative Family Photos.

Sources: photos credited above to their original posters on Reddit and Twitter; Wikipedia: Humor styles (Martin and Doris Humor Styles Questionnaire); USGS Water Science School: The water in you.