21 Best Plankton Moaning Memes For When You’re Mentally Exhausted

What is the "Plankton Moaning" Meme?

The Plankton Moaning meme (also known as Cursed Plankton or Plenkton) centers on a distorted, hyper-realistic Photoshop edit of Sheldon J. Plankton from SpongeBob SquarePants. The image is instantly recognizable by its pitch-black eyes and hollow, agonizing expression, which originally surfaced in April 2010. According to Cursed Plankton | Know Your Meme, it was created by DeviantArt user Moopintot for a creepypasta titled "Plankton Got Served."

Timeline and Viral Spread

While the image existed for over a decade in niche horror circles on Reddit and 4chan, its current viral format emerged in December 2024. Data from Meming Wiki and TikTok trends show that user @planktongemendo paired the static "cursed" visual with a distinctive, ghostly groaning sound effect. This creative pivot rebranded the once-scary image into a comedic vehicle for expressing raw mental or physical exhaustion.

Primary Use Cases

On platforms like TikTok and X (Twitter), the template functions as a high-intensity reaction image for several specific scenarios:

Social Aversion: A go-to response for "cringe" content or social interactions that feel physically painful to witness.
Sensory Overload: Capturing the gut reaction to unpleasant experiences, such as foul smells, gross textures, or unwanted physical contact.
Existential Burnout: Representing the feeling of being "completely done" with daily inconveniences, work stress, or modern burnout.
Post-Ironic Humor: Utilizing the sharp contrast between the disturbing visual and mundane, everyday captions to create surreal, absurd comedy.