Written by Augustina Tucker

Thumbnail & Banner Photo by IMGFLIP.com

After days of being stressed about a final paper, the day you get your results back has finally arrived. The professor hands you your paper face down, and you turn over the paper with shaky hands. Heart racing, you glance at the not-so-good grade as you meet the gaze of your friend next to you. This glance is quite familiar. You and your friend have shared it multiple times after tests and exams. Your friend looks at you and then whispers, “It really do be like that sometimes”. Memes have a significant role to play in our everyday lives, and we’ve come to love these pieces of entertainment that have surfaced over the years. Before entering the world of memes, we need to know what exactly memes are. So, let’s dive in, shall we?

According to Merriam-Webster, “a meme is an amusing or interesting item (such as a picture or video) or genre of items that is spread widely online, primarily through social media.” The evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins invented the term “meme” in his 1976 book called ‘The Selfish Gene’. He discussed how bits of culture are disseminated through generations over time. Dawkins shortened the word “mimeme” (which is of ancient Greek origin) to meme so that it could rhyme with the word "cream.” As he suggested, “memes were ideas, catchphrases, or bits of information that leap from brain to brain through imitation.” The internet has long been a means of communication with peers, and with the arrival of memes, our interactions have become seasoned with humour. These virtual slices of culture have profound meanings beyond a surface level and reflect our shared experiences.

Memes’ Uses

We use memes in many ways and for different reasons. The predominant reason for the use of these digital pieces of culture is for entertainment. Let’s face it: memes make us laugh. The mere fact that a meme can be used to portray social events in a humorous light, draw attention to political mishaps, and relate to each other is what makes it such a cultural phenomenon. I’ve spent countless hours laughing at memes related to virtually anything, and as students, it helps us wind down after a long day. Some people may even use it as a coping mechanism. With everything happening around us, our brains are constantly stimulated. Memes temporarily distract us from the hustle and bustle of life and allow us to delve into a comedic world where nothing is off-limits. Memes make us happy (especially ones about Carlton, the cat). Another way that memes can be used is as a form of communication. We often share pieces of information through text, video or images that we find amusing. Memes serve as a vessel of informational transmission that has never wavered through the test of time. We use memes because they are convenient and easy to make. They can be related to virtually any interest, and their witty nature makes them fun to use. I use memes to sometimes complain about assignments or too many deadlines. My friends send me memes about my hobbies, and we laugh over them. Memes create a safe space for communication, and they aren’t going to disappear on the internet anytime soon.

Memes’ social and political influence

Propaganda has been prevalent since the dawn of civilization. Digital activism in the form of memes is an important form of expression for people in different parts of the world. The age of information birthed a new form of propaganda, which aims to inspire action by playing off viewers' emotions. Many reasons can be identified as to why memes are used to portray propaganda. They compress complicated ideas into digestible pieces of information and don’t require much effort to create and interpret. They can also easily be shared online and quickly go viral, which makes their influence more pungent. Although many people think memes are harmless, they can be the opposite. Meme wars are one feature of politics that can play a critical role in shaping our ideologies about various topics.

The Dark Side of Memes

Although primarily used for communication and entertainment, memes tend to conceal some disadvantages, some of which pose a series of challenges.

Misinterpretation and Inappropriateness:

Memes can often be misinterpreted and used at inappropriate times. Since everyone’s perceptual depth is different, memes may sometimes come off as condescending, rude, or unfit for a certain occasion. These instances usually arise when a meme is based on a social trend or an opinionated topic.

Cyberbullying:

Memes can act as a tool for disrespecting one another over the internet, which serves as a breeding ground for bullying. Since cyberbullying in any form is unacceptable, people may incorporate relatively offensive content into memes.

Hate speech:

Hate speeches and the exploitation of humour through memes are also common. Hate speech is used to express prejudice regarding religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, and memes have been used as a medium to deliver such comments. With the rise of dark humour, hate speech has been embedded in a lot of the common types of memes we share, which unfortunately serve as a means of degrading one another on the internet.

Significant culture changes can be identified easily through changes in memes. While some people might see memes as a flippant part of internet humour, that is far from the truth. Memes reflect who we are as a society. They give us an insight into how cultural changes shape our everyday lives. In conclusion, memes can either be used for light-hearted entertainment or as a weapon of destruction. They have provided us with countless instances of entertainment, but as we’ve discussed, they can also be used for propaganda, cyberbullying, and negative social influence. At the end of the day, we have a choice: Whether we want to use this powerful piece of media for good or to harm others. In spite of their duality, memes have become a powerhouse of civilization artefacts that have structured our online interactions and our perception of society as a whole, actively influencing our experiences in the digital realm.

A Cultural Phenomenon: Meme Culture and Sensitivity