As “every day” and perhaps “dumb” as they might seem, memes are an all-in-all fascinating concept. Simply put, it’s an element of culture, usually a thing with some meaning attached to it, that gets passed from person to person like a viral infection. The internet has simply allowed this to happen a lot faster.
At the same time, the ability to create and spread memes so quickly also contributes to their lack of longevity. Most memes come and go in a matter of months if not weeks, as formats and topics change and evolve.
Often, memes are a classic way to convey in-jokes in a community. After all, most professions, areas, fandoms, and demographics all have meme pages set up specifically for their own use. Remember, a core component of memes are the common points of reference, that allow most people to get the necessary information out of what often amounts to an image and a little bit of text.
The idea of a meme as a sort of virus is actually quite old. Indeed, the very word, at least as we know it today, comes from Richard Dawkins's 1976 book “The Selfish Gene.” He was arguing about aspects of culture that are passed around, mutating and changing, but keeping a recognizable form. But it would only be around the time of the internet when memes truly took off.
After all, with digital tools, now everyone can pass around and create memes. While in the past, access to broadcasting tools and media was highly limited, now, with the right moves, anyone can go viral from the comfort of their bedrooms. This has created a sort of meme golden age, where there is new content being created daily.
