Memes

Introduction

Memes are the cultural shorthand of the digital age. They are the jokes, observations, and commentaries that spread with lightning speed, carried not by traditional media but by everyday people sharing, remixing, and reinterpreting. At their core, memes are about communication — quick, witty, and visual. They capture a mood or idea in a way that is instantly recognisable and endlessly adaptable.

The word itself has older roots. Coined by biologist Richard Dawkins in the 1970s, “meme” originally described how ideas spread and evolve, much like genes. In the internet era, that concept has taken on a life of its own. Online memes are cultural snapshots: a blend of image, text, and timing that resonates because it feels both familiar and fresh. A photo of a distracted boyfriend, a captioned cat, a scene from a film — these become canvases on which people project humour, criticism, and creativity.

What makes memes fascinating is their democratic nature. Anyone with a phone and an idea can create one. Unlike polished advertising campaigns or carefully produced media, memes thrive on accessibility. Their rough edges are part of their charm. In fact, overproduction often dulls their impact — a good meme feels spontaneous, like it was pulled from the current of conversation rather than manufactured in a studio.

Memes also evolve rapidly. A format that’s viral today can be tired tomorrow, replaced by a new joke, a new image, a new twist. This speed gives memes their energy but also their fleeting nature. They are disposable and yet, collectively, they paint a record of our digital culture: the humor, the frustrations, the politics, and the shared moments that defined a week, a month, or a year.

Beyond humor, memes can carry serious weight. They’ve been used to spread political messages, social critiques, and awareness campaigns. In many ways, memes function as modern folk art — a form of collective storytelling where everyone is both creator and audience. They reflect not just what entertains us but also what we fear, what we hope for, and what we notice in the world around us.

There is also a paradox in memes: they are both highly specific and universally relatable. A meme may reference a very niche trend or event, yet the underlying sentiment — such as awkwardness, pride, annoyance, or joy — can be understood across cultures. This blend of specificity and relatability is what makes memes feel so alive. They tie us to the moment yet remind us of the timeless quirks of being human.

In this section, memes will be treated not just as throwaway internet humour but as a genuine cultural form. Expect explorations of their evolution, showcases of popular formats, and perhaps even reflections on what they reveal about society. The focus is on celebrating their creativity while acknowledging their significance as part of our shared digital language.

Memes may come and go in seconds, but their impact is lasting. They have reshaped how we communicate, how we laugh, and how we connect online. In a few words and an image, they capture the essence of modern expression: fast, sharp, and endlessly inventive.

Dawkins, origin, and memetics

The term meme (from Greek mimema, “that which is imitated”) was popularised by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene (1976). He meant it as a unit of cultural transmission: ideas, behaviours, styles that replicate, mutate, compete. 

In Dawkins’ frame, memes are analogous to genes in biology: they propagate, mutate, and are subject to “selection” (i.e. culture favours some over others). 

But that model has limitations when transplanted to digital culture. Memes don’t always copy faithfully; they remix, hybridise, and sabotage. Scholars critique “memetics” as too rigid for culture’s fluidity. 

Internet memes:
Definition & evolution in digital culture

“Internet meme” is a narrower, more practical concept: a piece of media (image, video, phrase, etc.) that spreads online, often via social media, forums, share chains. 

Limor Shifman gives a refined definition: a group of digital items sharing content, form, and stance, created with awareness of one another, and circulated, imitated, and transformed. 

In practice, memes are less like perfect clones and more like evolving traditions: someone borrows a format, changes one or two elements, passes it on, and mutation accumulates.

The deeper logic: Why memes “stick”

To understand impact, you’ll want to explore why some memes survive and others vanish. Key factors:

Simplicity + recognizability — formats people can quickly grasp, reuse, remix

Flexibility/mutability — templates with placeholders (like blank faces, caption areas)

Emotional resonance — humour, surprise, the absurd, nostalgia, contrast

Intertextuality — referencing other memes, pop culture, or shared knowledge

Platform affordances — what the social media or community lets you do (e.g. TikTok encourages video loops, Twitter encourages short text + image)

Network effects and critical mass — a meme needs enough spread to gain visibility, tipping into virality

Also, in scholarly work, people analyse meme diffusion dynamics (e.g. “sleeping beauties” — memes that lie dormant then suddenly explode) and entropy/complexity increases over time.  arXiv

Historical & proto-memes:
before “meme” was a word

You’ll want to set context to show memes aren’t purely digital novelties.

Cultural artefacts, such as folklore, proverbs, jokes, and urban legends, functioned as memes (in the Dawkins sense) long before the Internet.

In the 20th century: graffiti, catchphrases, political cartoons, slogans, mass media tropes.

“Kilroy Was Here” is often cited as a kind of early 20th-century “graffiti meme” — soldiers all over WWII battlefronts inscribed “Kilroy Was Here,” making it a viral tag. PBS

With the arrival of digital networks, memes transitioned from analogue to digital forums, including Usenet, email chains, and message boards.

Emoticons / ASCII faces (e.g. “:-)”) are early internet memes, simple and replicable. 

As the Internet matured, early viral phenomena (e.g. “Dancing Baby,” LOLcats, and early viral videos) became meme reference points. 

References: Taylor & Francis Online | Wikipedia | MIT Press Direct | Britanica