Memes

Memes. I really never thought I’d ever have to write about them. Not gonna lie, a lot of them are pretty funny. I can probably spend hours on twitter laughing at a bunch of memes people have posted. And then after I can laugh (or cry) at myself at the amount of time I spent on them. But after reading Michele Knobel and Colin Lankshears article, not only did I feel a lot better about myself but I also felt like one of the few people who actually know what the definition of a meme is and how memes even became memes. Honestly, if I didn’t have this class I probably wouldn’t have even thought it was important (I’m not even sure I do now but at hey, least we don’t have to write an essay).  Anyways, I use memes a lot myself too.  

Whenever the professor says they drop the lowest test score

when chipotle tells me the guac is extra 

Or when someone agrees with you when you roast yourself (or when life just becomes too much for me to handle, which is basically the same thing but its ok, I’m ok)

I also never really thought about how or why memes became so popular. Who makes them? And how do they get so popular so quickly? Michele Knobel and Colin Lankshear define memes as “noticeable and often rapid uptake and spread of a particular idea in the form of written text, an image, a language ‘move’, or other piece or unit of cultural information” (1).  They talk about the three characteristics of memes; fidelity, fecundity, and longevity. These three characteristics outline how memorable memes are, how fast they spread, and how long it survives. A lot of the memes I see are found through many different social media outlets such as Twitter or Facebook. Sometimes they become so popular that I even have my mom sending me messages about how funny the harambe memes are (mom if youre reading this please, stop.) Before reading the article, I probably would’ve just defined a meme as a funny picture with a caption. And now, well, if I’m being honest I’ll probably still talk about it the same way as I did before. But at least I have something to awkwardly talk about to my mom when she asks me about what I learned in school today.

The Mr. krabs meme, for example, contains all of the characteristics. This meme speaks to me, and probably a bunch of other people, on a personal level because it accurately depicts how someone feels when something even slightly overwhelming happens to them. I use it all the time to convey how I feel during certain situations, whether it be confused, anxious, or if I feel like I’m being attacked when I’m really just trying to have a good time. It has been used repeatedly through social media and because it accurately illustrates the internal struggle that a person may feel at any given moment, it continues to be used even now. This single meme can be used for so many different scenarios.

When its summer and you finally check your bank account after 3 months  

When it’s the first day of class and the professor starts to lecture right after showing you the syllabus

When you just wake up from a nap and you feel like you’re in the fourth dimension

Memes, for some reason, have become a large part of social interaction. They convey thoughts, feelings, and reactions to other people in simple, but amusing ways. Memes have also become part of our culture. I feel like memes are a good way of understanding how people relate to one another and how we sympathize other people’s feelings. Whenever I text my friends and they send me a meme I always reply with “same” or “omg lol me too”. They allow strangers to connect with each other and start conversations comfortably. Because of memes, we have not only created a new form of communication, but also a form of amusement and humor that can be shared with anyone and everyone.  

Thirty years from now, I wonder how people will react to memes. Will they still relate to them? Or will they think they’re outdated and lame? Will they even still exist?