Studio audience laughter has been a staple of television comedy for decades, signalling to viewers at home that a joke has landed and inviting them to laugh along. As short-form video and meme editing grew, creators lifted these brief laugh bursts out of their original sitcom context and began using them as standalone reaction sounds. The short version works especially well online because it delivers the familiar cue in under five seconds, fitting neatly into reels, shorts and edits without slowing the pace. Its recognisable, communal sound keeps it useful long after the era of the traditional laugh track.