Memes communicate internet culture and sense of humor
December 2016, In Depth
Like viruses, memes grow, multiply, and mutate; the internet community has come a long way from the original meme of David Silverman captioned “are you serious” to the more recent Joe Biden and Dark Kermit jokes. Although memes are often taken for granted, they, like many other forms of humor, can be used as a way to communicate current Internet culture.
“Every generation has its in jokes and cultural things it does – this generation is involved in the internet…[and] memes are part of the internet culture,” senior Cole Thompson said. “It’s just another way of expressing comedy; this is what we’re used to, so this is how our humor has evolved.”
Evolutionary biologists like Richard Dawkins originally coined the idea of a “meme,” defining it as “an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture,” according to Wired. Since then, it has been adopted by internet users to create the viral jokes that are now known as internet memes. Wired explains how Dawkins’ original idea is reflected in our memes today:
“[An internet meme is a] hijacking of the original idea and that instead of mutating by random change and spreading by a form of Darwinian selection, they are altered deliberately by human creativity,” according to Wired.
Thompson believes that memes can be used as an effective form of communication.
“[Memes are effective] in the same way jokes are an effective means of communication,” he said. “A lot of memes are used by people trying to forward complex ideas or communicate complex political ideas.”
Junior Ben Konstan disagrees; although he sees the value in humor as a form of communication, he doesn’t think memes serve the same purpose.
“Memes don’t actually communicate anything -- humor can be used in some cases to send a message but memes don’t,” he said. “The ‘no Joe Biden’ meme hasn’t inspired a single person to think more deeply about the election.”
However, Konstan still believes memes like the ‘no Joe Biden’ ones have some comedic value.
“[The Joe Biden memes were used] to express disappointment and sadness in a humorous way that could be shared with a lot of people…they’re a very concise way of messaging humor, they’re easy to read, and generally easy to [create],” he said.
Sophomore Ryan Moore also doesn’t believe they can be used for communication, but he does see a lot of potential for creativity.
“[Memes] are really easy to create, you can be really creative with them,” he said.
From communicating satire and conveying an opinion on an idea to telling an inside joke, memes have been used for a broad variety of purposes. Their accessibility still remains one of their best qualities, however.
“You see a meme and you instantly understand it…they can be really funny and you don’t need to look at it for five minutes to get it,” Thompson said. “It’s the kind of humor that works with everyone, [with] people regardless of culture or economic borders.”
Junior Elsa Runquist also likes how easily communicable memes are.
“They reflect the funny part of regular life...they kind of describe what you go through but in a funny and weird way,” she said.
Although Runquist hasn’t seen memes that try to communicate big ideas, she still believes they can be used to send messages.
“They can break the ice [and] start some sort of a conversation,” she said.
“Every generation has its in jokes and cultural things it does – this generation is involved in the internet…[and] memes are part of the internet culture,” senior Cole Thompson said. “It’s just another way of expressing comedy; this is what we’re used to, so this is how our humor has evolved.”
Evolutionary biologists like Richard Dawkins originally coined the idea of a “meme,” defining it as “an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture,” according to Wired. Since then, it has been adopted by internet users to create the viral jokes that are now known as internet memes. Wired explains how Dawkins’ original idea is reflected in our memes today:
“[An internet meme is a] hijacking of the original idea and that instead of mutating by random change and spreading by a form of Darwinian selection, they are altered deliberately by human creativity,” according to Wired.
Thompson believes that memes can be used as an effective form of communication.
“[Memes are effective] in the same way jokes are an effective means of communication,” he said. “A lot of memes are used by people trying to forward complex ideas or communicate complex political ideas.”
Junior Ben Konstan disagrees; although he sees the value in humor as a form of communication, he doesn’t think memes serve the same purpose.
“Memes don’t actually communicate anything -- humor can be used in some cases to send a message but memes don’t,” he said. “The ‘no Joe Biden’ meme hasn’t inspired a single person to think more deeply about the election.”
However, Konstan still believes memes like the ‘no Joe Biden’ ones have some comedic value.
“[The Joe Biden memes were used] to express disappointment and sadness in a humorous way that could be shared with a lot of people…they’re a very concise way of messaging humor, they’re easy to read, and generally easy to [create],” he said.
Sophomore Ryan Moore also doesn’t believe they can be used for communication, but he does see a lot of potential for creativity.
“[Memes] are really easy to create, you can be really creative with them,” he said.
From communicating satire and conveying an opinion on an idea to telling an inside joke, memes have been used for a broad variety of purposes. Their accessibility still remains one of their best qualities, however.
“You see a meme and you instantly understand it…they can be really funny and you don’t need to look at it for five minutes to get it,” Thompson said. “It’s the kind of humor that works with everyone, [with] people regardless of culture or economic borders.”
Junior Elsa Runquist also likes how easily communicable memes are.
“They reflect the funny part of regular life...they kind of describe what you go through but in a funny and weird way,” she said.
Although Runquist hasn’t seen memes that try to communicate big ideas, she still believes they can be used to send messages.
“They can break the ice [and] start some sort of a conversation,” she said.