There is a good reason “meme” is a household word at this point, we’ve all got our favorites. After all, it’s the sort of content one can just enjoy at all times of day with low commitment. In general, people gravitate towards concise, bite-sized information because it snugly occupies the niches of daily life.
Waiting in line, commuting, or waiting between tasks only offers instantaneously accessible attention for a few seconds, and a fast meme or a bite-sized news update will do the trick. There is joy in consuming something whole in an instant without incurring the time investment of a long article or video.
Our minds also pay for surprise and novelty, and memes or short videos offer them in regular doses. A wry pic with a clever quip is a mini-dopamine hit: we understand the joke, we enjoy the funniness, and share it and then search for the next one. Micro-laugh moments build up throughout the day as a feeling of pace as we accrue tiny rewards every time we glance at our feed. This fast feedback loop is rewarding, especially when larger projects require steady effort with reward to be repaid later.
There is also a cultural background. Memes play on shared knowledge, inside jokes regarding a popular television show, a viral video, or a common annoyance, so encountering one makes us feel like part of an in-group. Even if the punchline is esoteric, witnessing others "get it" affirms in-group membership. Because these types shift quickly, noting a new variation can make us feel in-the-know, stimulate curiosity, and have us want to sit back and see what unfolds.
The simplicity of short content also lowers the bar to creativity. Anyone can insert a photo into a string of text and experiment with a joke or a quip. Because it is so easy, more voices are amplified, and people get to be both consumers of and sometimes creators of their own versions. Remixing a template or riffing on a trend becomes an accessible creative medium, one that offers a sense of authorship without requiring sophistication or lengthy production.
Attention spans have shifted with a world of constantly buzzing notifications. Our brains make up by scanning and skimming, and not deep reading, so short posts are what comes naturally. A fat book of writing or long video may demand more focus than we can muster with distracting pings in the background, but a meme or short explainer is accommodative of a distracted mind.
It does not mean that we cannot enjoy more meaty content, but as our attention unravels, bite-sized morsels seem like a lifeline. Social algorithms favor instant gratification, inviting one to like or share content instantaneously. As we scroll, websites provide more of what hook us first, repeating the cycle of quick content consumption.
