Memes and Internet Culture

So, memes are a pretty clear part of internet culture. In past posts, we have explored how we define memes and how social capital informs our consumption of memes.

But let’s talk about how memes fit into internet culture. 

Culture is a dimension of social life that connects individuals through shared practices, norms, beliefs, values, material objects, language, beliefs, and even symbols. 

We may even think about sub and counter-cultures to give more perspective on how cultures are constantly reinforced and reshaped. 

By thinking about how culture works through everyday interactions, we can start to draw the connection to memes. Memes act as units of cultural exchange – rapidly shared and imitated memes are reflective of our culture online. 

Liking, sharing, imitating, and remixing memes help to shape and reinforce internet culture through our unique personal identity. 

Where it becomes wild is when we think about the unprecedented number of people globally who can be the creators and sharers of content. And just like the ‘offline’ world, not everyone is particularly aware of the audiences they may be sharing with. 

I’m not saying everyone on the internet has a truthful message or is misinterpreted – there will always be bad apples, but comedy, satire, and general unseriousness are repeatedly identified as misinformation or thanks to social media companies, de-influenced or removed. 

I’ll let you philosophize how digital content should be managed or regulated. But I urge you to consider if it is the content itself that is so dangerous, or is it perhaps the ability for any one person to influence our shared internet culture that creates disturbances?

Traditionally, media and the content we consume on mass have been strictly regulated - social media and the internet more generally have disturbed this type of centralized control. In reaction, tech companies and government agencies seem to be willing to go to all lengths to get it back.

Right or wrong. It just is.