What is a Meme?

Memes are ways to express culturally relevant ideas. Formally defined as a cultural item in the form of an image, video, phrase that is often altered in a creative or humorous way, memes are used to connect people through the internet. In today’s internet culture, a meme can be easily created out of any unique image in a matter of seconds. These images can be used to convey one’s personal humor, elicit humor in others, or as commentary on current events and social/political ideas. Memes can be found throughout virtually every popular social media site such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. There is even a popular meme group on Facebook called “Zoom Memes for Self Quaranteens” with more than 812,800 members that mostly consists of college students. The group is used as a coping mechanism for students that are stuck at home during the Coronavirus pandemic. For example, group members post relatable memes that illustrate their experiences with their social lives being transferred into an online environment using programs such as Zoom.



Another genre of memes are called “wholesome memes”. Rather than using edgy, ironic humor or political satire, these memes are made to counter toxicity. They serve to elicit supportive responses that allow people to take a break from all the bad things that are happening around the world, and remind them of the good. These memes often include the use of cute cat and dog pictures, emoji-style hearts, and stuffed animals. They are my personal favorite because they never fail to make my day better! :)