The image shows a piece of paper that appears to have been slipped under a door. On this paper, there is a handwritten imitation of a text message conversation. The conversation starts with a greeting from "Daddio" timed at 11:00 PM, saying "Hi daughter. Hope you are behaving yourself. I love you" with a heart drawn at 10:18 PM, followed by a text at 10:50 PM with another heart.
In the next message, timed at 10:55 PM, the sender asks "Why are you not answering me?" which is a common question when someone does not receive a prompt reply to their texts. However, the humor arises in the following message from "Daddio", timed at 10:56 PM, which reads "Oh wait…" followed by a handwritten emoticon that resembles a ‘troll face’, known for indicating a prank or a joke.
The punchline, indicated by the ‘troll face’ emoticon and the realization, "Oh wait…", suggests that the sender has remembered that the reason for the lack of response is that the daughter's phone was confiscated, hence why he scribbled this comedic exchange on paper rather than texting. The entire situation is an analogue, humorous representation of a digital-age interaction.
People might find this image funny because it reflects a playful and lighthearted family dynamic, where a parent goes through the effort to recreate a digital communication context in an old-fashioned, tangible way after taking away the actual means of digital communication (the phone).
The juxtaposition between modern technology and the decidedly low-tech approach using a simple pen and paper mimics a smartphone interface in order to deliver a message. This playful role reversal adds to the humor, as it is typically the younger generation who is known for adapting old methods to suit modern ways.
Finally, the humor is also in the self-awareness exhibited by "Daddio", who recognizes the futility in asking for a response from someone who can't respond due to his own previous actions (taking the phone away), and the immediacy with which he realizes his error, all captured within a mock text conversation. Daddio Hi daughter Hope you are behaving yourself I love you 10 18 PM 10 50 PM Why are you not answering me 10 55 PM Oh wait 10 56 PM 10 58 PM