New Delhi, June 21 -- It started as a joke. Rishabh Malik, 21, a college student from Rajasthan, mimicked a trending meme at a party. "Only one friend got it-we ended up laughing, but the rest looked lost," he says. "That's when I realised not everyone lives online like we do. Sometimes," he adds, "meme references completely derail a conversation, leaving it fragmented or flat."

Visha Agrawal, 23, a graphic designer from Ahmedabad, has experienced similar moments. "I quoted a reel and then had to explain the entire backstory. It killed the moment," she says. For her, the problem runs deeper. "People escalate everything into a debate, even trivial stuff like AI memes. No one knows when to stop."

Manan Sharma, 22, who works in advertising...