You know the feeling. You’re sitting in a Slack channel or a Discord server, minding your own business, when you glance at the bottom of the screen. Those four little words appear: several people are typing. It’s not just one person. It’s a crowd. It’s an impending wall of text that’s about to hit your notifications like a freight train. Honestly, it’s one of those rare UI features that managed to transcend its basic utility and become a universal symbol for "brace for impact."
The several people are typing meme isn't just a funny picture you share when a group chat goes off the rails. It’s a digital artifact that perfectly captures the frantic, often chaotic nature of modern communication. We’ve all been there—someone drops a controversial take about pineapple on pizza or, worse, a company-wide policy change, and suddenly the indicator bar turns into a beehive of activity.
Where the several people are typing meme actually started
The roots of this meme aren't buried in some obscure 4chan thread from 2005. They’re actually rooted in the rise of enterprise and community chat tools like Slack and Discord. While Skype and MSN Messenger had the "is typing..." status for decades, those were one-on-one experiences. Slack changed the game by aggregating that data in public channels.
When Slack became the default "office" for millions of people, the "several people are typing" notification became a harbinger of doom. If you see that message in the #general channel after an awkward announcement, you know the drama is about to be legendary. By 2017, Discord users started taking screenshots of this specific notification and pairing them with cursed images or chaotic scenarios. It was a match made in internet heaven.
Think about the visual of a single, innocent question followed by a screenshot showing that 15 people are currently typing a response. It’s a comedy of scale. The meme works because it taps into a very specific type of social anxiety that didn’t exist before high-speed, multi-user chat.
The psychology of the typing indicator
Why does this specific phrase hit so hard? It’s the suspense.
Psychologists often talk about "variable ratio reinforcement," but in this case, it’s more about the "anticipatory gap." When you see one person typing, you wait for a thought. When several people are typing, you’re waiting for a consensus, a conflict, or a dogpile. It represents a shift from a conversation to an event.
The indicator acts as a low-resolution signal of high-intensity social activity. On Discord, where communities can have tens of thousands of members, seeing that little gray text pop up creates a "calm before the storm" vibe. It’s a digital standoff. Everyone is loaded and ready to fire their takes into the chat.
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Why we can't look away
- The FOMO factor: You can’t leave the app because you know something big is coming.
- The threat of the "Wall of Text": Several typers usually mean several paragraphs.
- The bystander effect: Sometimes you see it and decide not to type because the room is already too crowded.
How the meme evolved into surrealism
As with most things on the internet, the several people are typing meme didn't stay a simple screenshot for long. It got weird. Fast.
Users began deep-frying the images, adding heavy distortion and glowing eyes to characters to represent the sheer intensity of the "typing." You’ve probably seen the version where a character is sweating profusely or looking at a computer screen with pure terror while the "several people are typing" bar sits at the bottom.
It also branched out into different platforms. While Slack and Discord are the primary sources, people started photoshopping the status bar onto things that don't even have chat functions. Imagine a picture of a historical document or a holy text with a "several people are typing" indicator at the bottom. It suggests that the entire world is about to have an opinion on something that happened centuries ago.
There’s a specific sub-genre of this meme that uses it as a "reaction image." If someone posts a truly horrific take on X (formerly Twitter), a user might reply with a screenshot of a Discord bar showing several people are typing. It’s a way of saying, "You’ve messed up so bad that the entire group chat is currently drafting a legal brief against you."
The Slack vs. Discord experience
It’s worth noting that the "vibe" of this meme changes depending on the platform it references.
On Slack, the several people are typing meme is usually associated with workplace dread. It’s the feeling of a "per my last email" moment escalating into a full-blown HR nightmare. It’s professional, cold, and terrifying.
On Discord, it’s chaotic. It’s meme-lords, gamers, and niche hobbyists all trying to get the last word in. The Discord version of the meme often feels more like a riot, whereas the Slack version feels like a courtroom.
Interestingly, the actual code behind these indicators is relatively simple but resource-heavy for servers. Apps have to track "key-up" and "key-down" events and then broadcast those to everyone else in the channel. Most platforms cap the display at a certain number—usually, if more than three or four people are typing, it switches to the generic "several people" or "many people" text to save on screen real estate and processing power.
Real-world impact and "Typing Awareness"
Is it possible to have too much information? Some UI/UX experts argue that typing indicators are actually bad for our mental health. They create a pressure to respond quickly and an anxiety about how our message will be received while we are still in the middle of drafting it.
There have been cases in professional settings where seeing "several people are typing" has actually silenced employees. They see the activity, assume the conversation is moving too fast, and delete their own draft. It’s a weird kind of digital suppression.
On the flip side, it adds a layer of "humanity" to a text-based medium. It reminds us that there are actual people on the other side of those avatars, thinking and reacting in real-time.
The most famous variations you've probably seen
If you're hunting for the "greatest hits" of this meme format, they usually fall into these categories:
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- The "Cursed Take" Response: A screenshot of a bizarre statement followed by the typing bar.
- The Deep-Fried Chaos: An image so distorted you can barely see it, emphasizing the frantic energy.
- The Historical Anachronism: Applying the UI to a scene from a movie or a historical event.
- The "FBI is Typing" Crossover: Combining the typing indicator with the meme about government surveillance.
Each of these serves a different purpose, but they all share that core DNA of "something big is about to happen."
Why the meme won't die
Memes usually have a shelf life of about two weeks before they become "cringe." This one is different. It’s been around for years and shows no signs of disappearing. Why? Because the software that created it is still part of our daily lives. As long as we are using Discord and Slack to communicate, the several people are typing meme will remain relevant. It’s a joke about the tools we use to tell jokes.
It’s also incredibly versatile. It doesn’t require a specific character or a specific background. It’s a modular piece of comedy that you can slap onto almost any situation involving a group reaction.
Actionable insights for the digital age
If you find yourself triggered by that little gray text, there are actually things you can do. Most of these apps allow you to turn off typing indicators—though usually only for yourself.
- In Discord: You can go into your "Text & Images" settings to disable your own typing status if you want to be a "ghost" while you draft your manifestos.
- In Slack: It’s a bit harder to hide, but focusing on the "Drafts" section can help you stay away from the live-fire zone of a heated channel.
- For Content Creators: If you’re trying to go viral, using the typing indicator as a visual hook is a proven strategy. It naturally draws the eye to the bottom of the frame, creating a sense of movement in a static image.
Ultimately, the meme is a mirror. It reflects our collective discomfort with the speed and intensity of digital life. It’s a way to laugh at the fact that we’re all just a few keystrokes away from a social meltdown.
Next time you see those words appear, take a deep breath. It might be a wall of text, or it might just be three people all trying to type "lol" at the same time. Either way, you're now part of the meme.
Practical Next Steps for Navigating Group Chat Anxiety:
- Audit your notification settings: If seeing the typing indicator in a specific channel stresses you out, mute the channel. You don't need to see the sausage being made; just read the finished messages.
- Practice "Slow Typing": Don't feel pressured by the "several people" indicator. Take your time to finish your thought in a separate notepad app if the live environment is too distracting.
- Use the meme to de-escalate: If a chat gets too tense, posting the actual several people are typing meme can often break the tension and make everyone realize they’re being a bit much.