Hmm, I think I actually have something to contribute here in terms of understanding: you're right that counterculture doesn't really exist as it may have in the past, but the desire to show individuality still is there which has led to a progressive acceleration in the edginess/weirdness of modern meme culture.

If you feel slightly put off by the memes you see and/or discourse around them, it's sort of by design. It's meant to differentiate.

I've only recently realized this though (as I've expanded my perspective), and I think for the most part, this is something that largely happens subconsciously. If you ask someone gen z or younger, they won't know what you're talking about if you ask. That's mostly because your baseline of edginess/weirdness is defined by relative experience, and someone who's grown up perpetually online is likely to be skewed much more differently than someone who hasn't.