[bokonist]

I've noticed that audiences laugh a lot and that most of what they laugh at is actually not very funny.

Isn't the very definition of funny is that it makes people laugh? Laughter is inherently a social, group bonding phenomena. Inherently, a social, group gathering will have more laughter. There is no such thing as something being objectively funny, funny only exists inside a group and social context, which provides the opportunity for the group to bond at someone's expense (possibly someone inside the group, possibly someone or something outside the group).

[gruseom]

Yes. The next sentence was intended to explain what I meant.