Free Smiles! How to send "Memes" and "Gifs" by phone

This is something that I do almost every single day. It is sooooooo easy, simple, free, and instant! Just like the surprise of a handwritten card pulled from a stack of bills, funny and/or thoughtful text messages can be a great way to not only let someone know that you are thinking about them, but also bring them a much-needed smile! (I especially love the random ones that you know are sure to make someone stop and go "what?!".) Chances are, if I come across a meme that literally makes me laugh out loud, I will immediately grab it and send it to a handful of girlfriends - for no other reason that to bring them a smile.

The internet is ripe with material that will fit just about any circumstance you could think of. Pull up a browser on your phone and do an image search for "funny encouraging meme" for starters. (Fair warning - there are plenty of memes done in what I would consider "ill taste", so you'll have to ignore a few, or add words like "clean" to your search.😉)

For my "how to" example, I will choose a more "serious" image:

Here is a screenshot of the search I did on my phone: 

Notice that I searched only for "encouraging quotes", and then chose the "images" option below the search bar. Once I found an image that I liked, I selected it, and then touched it for a few seconds (holding finger down the whole time) until the following options popped up:

Galaxy Phone

iPhone

Next, I chose "Save Image" or "Download Image". This option is great because it will save it to the photo album on your phone! Now it will be available to use just like any other picture you have taken. (You could post it to Facebook, etc.)











If you know how to message someone a picture (as a text or email even) then you are good to go! Just in case, I will also give further instruction -

Open the image from your albums.

Choose that little square in the bottom left corner that has an arrow coming from it. 

Galaxy

iPhone

That will open your send options, and you can go from there!

Now, imagine getting a text from a friend and finding the motivational penguin:


via GIPHY


Gifs, (short for "Graphics Interchange Format"), are also a fun addition to your texting toolbox. Basically, in this context, they are short animations. There are a plethora of topics that you can find Gifs for, but I especially love the encouragement and motivation topics. One of my most-used favorites is the "hug" search. This is awesome especially for when you just don't know what to say - but you want to express that you are "there", and that you care! Since this is a screenshot, you can't tell but the little ghost bounces up and down and waves it's arms like a hug:

You can see at the bottom of the picture some of the other options that popped up - mostly little clips from movies and shows. Pretty much an option available for whatever the personality is of the person you are sending it to.

On most iphones you can go to settings>general>keyboards and find a "GIF Keyboard" option to add. An even easier method for any phone is to open up the App store and do a quick search:

iPhone

Galaxy

Just like memes, there are types for all kinds of tastes and humor. I usually think about the personality of whoever I am sending one too. Most of my friends know me to be a bit snarky, so I like the fun ones just as much as the "sweet" ones. Hehehehehehe....













via GIPHY

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