The reeeee screech spread as part of internet reaction culture, where a long, distorted cry is used to signal exaggerated anger or frustration. Short clips of the sound were shared on soundboards and in meme edits, often paired with frozen faces, rage comics style images and gaming fails. Its length makes it easy to loop, trim or stretch over a scene, and that flexibility kept it in use long after many single-hit reactions faded, especially in Discord calls, streams and short-form video edits.