You’ve seen internet memes before, whether you’re casually scrolling through your social media feed or are part of an online community. Do you know how memes evolved to become a cultural phenomenon today? Here are the top four ways Internet memes have changed the world.
The Beginning of the Meme
Internet memes emerged with the dawn of the internet. Since the early 1990s, people have used the term “internet meme” to define transcending cultural phenomena of existing mediums with replication and mutation into a new idea. The rise of cultural networks, such as social media platforms, blog sites, and chat rooms, created new outlets for users to edit, create, and upload new content. These memes were pictures or video clips that users cropped, edited, or captioned with some sort of message. Though typically humorous, these memes also opened new threads for social and political awareness across ideologies.
The Rise of the Popular Cultural Phenomenon
Since then, internet memes have become a cultural sensation in their own right. What began as a satirical take on preexisting popular culture has evolved into recognizable, indistinguishable jokes, parodies, or remixes of original thought. Today, memes take on different perspectives likewise to art, leaving interpretation to the viewer. From edgy, dark humor to absurdist, avant-garde images, memes evolved to become both in-group and out-group discourse. Reddit is a huge platform for meme-related content, but the rise of YouTube reaction videos and TikTok’s short-form content furthered the outreach of inside jokes to viewers worldwide.
Social Movements and Internet Activism
Naturally, internet memes can be a tool for political, religious, or social movements from all sides of the spectrum. Sometimes, people use them to draw attention to existing political strife, such as animal welfare or reproductive rights. Other times, they have become synonymous with alt-right leanings, given the plethora of meme usage in fringe online communities. Pepe the Frog is one example of a meme that users removed from its original intention as a funny cartoon and began using on alt-right forums to represent extremist ideologies. The creator of Pepe has fought against misinterpretation of his art, yet as a meme, this symbol remains at the forefront of online political message boards.
Business and Commercial Enterprise
Another one of the four ways internet memes have changed the world is through commercial enterprises. One notable example is Dogecoin. In 2013, software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer created Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency based on the beloved “Doge” meme. Dogecoin is currently one of the top-performing cryptocurrencies people mine today. Another instance of memes having a financial effect was the GameStop short squeeze in 2021. GameStop, the videogame retailer, had open stock options at the time. Following memes suggesting they do so, users collectively bought stock to increase its value to up to $500 a share, causing massive financial consequences for hedge funds and short sellers. This market manipulation proved how collective action from memes and internet communities could have real-life consequences.
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