Memes have come a long way, constantly reshaping themselves to match whatever tech and online spaces we are using. In the early 2000s, message boards and forums were popular playgrounds for web humor, giving rise to classic formats we still use today.
That forum era introduced the iconic “image + text” setup thanks to LOLcats, which proved how funny photos were incomplete without a zappy caption. It also showed us that memes were not just hilarious images. People even pranked friends with unexpected links to Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up. It turned Rickrolling into a legendary tutorial in internet trolling.
By the 2010s, social media took over the world. Netizens were able to spread memes faster than ever while also accessing relatable human emotions. Suddenly, a simple photo of a toddler with a clenched fist, aka the Success Kid, became the face of celebrating small, satisfying wins for ordinary people.
As the decade slowly rolled on, sharing memes became the internet’s favorite pastime. I am sure we have all seen the Distracted Boyfriend stock photo. Even though it came out in 2015, that meme is still extremely popular as it illustrates bad choices and temptations. Alas, human emotions are universal and haven’t changed since the old days. No wonder we can still relate to it.
Today, life is busy, and many people prefer to keep in touch with friends and family by sharing memes. Stats show that Instagram users share more than 1 million memes per day. These shared memes spread and evolve rapidly on social media. In fact, in one example, researchers found 121,605 distinct variants of a particular meme across 1.14 million status updates.
Kit Chilvers, the chief executive and founder of Pubity Group, claims that “Memes bring people together through humor and can act as a catalyst for creating social or political commentary.” With authoritarianism on the rise globally, Gen Z is using memes as a tool to stand up against totalitarian governments.
When he coined the word, Richard Dawkins would have never guessed how it would evolve, just like its meaning, and turn into something so meaningful. In fact, brands have also latched on to this trend and effectively use memes for marketing purposes.
Well, I must say, we must be grateful to our meme distributors, who ensure we stay afloat in every trend. You might have seen some of the memes from this list, but did you spot any new ones? Also, which ones made you laugh the loudest? Give them an upvote, or feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments!
