Of Memes and Millenial Culture

Dear Boomers, fellow Millenials,

I will hereby attempt to define the nature of memes, explain how they have emerged to become part of today's culture, and share with you some of the gems I discovered while wandering on the interweb. If you already consider yourself a 'Memelord', please read this.

Ever wondered what makes a good meme?

The very basic idea behind memes is the use of a relatable picture to either enhance a joke, share an opinion or describe a situation with humor. The saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" has never been more true.

GIFs (a.k.a short clips) tend to stick halfway between pictures and memes. A former roommate of mine actually wrote a thesis on GIFs and how such content was used by people to convey emotional messages. This practise is becoming mainstream as young people develop an "International Culture" through TV shows, globally discussed events such as politics and more. Some influential people like Elon Musk and Pewdiepie have decided to make one with the meme community and it was proven an efficient way to engage with your audience at large.

Another component to mainstream adoption is the bias with which media corporations operate today. Since the industry has centralized itself around a handful of companies, everyday narratives are biased and the truth is being obscured more than ever. Original content thrived as a way to retake control over this bias, as there is a grain of truth in every joke. As Michael Moriarty said: "The biggest threat to any politician is an artist".

Naturally, as we connect with each other in a border-less internet ecosystem, many things become relatable by a majority of people and by almost all millenials. Sometimes it even makes me question the existence of some kind of unknown mental connection between all of us.

Evidence #1: The Floor is Lava. Most kids, me and my sister included, liked to imagine such a scenario. Noone can tell where it originated but everyone can relate.

Evidence #2: The "Cool S". No comment required I guess.

Back to memes. There is some unseen consensus when it comes to deciding which memes are good, and which belong to normies (a.k.a noobies). The communities of many platforms (Reddit, 9gag, 4chan to name a few) play this role by upvoting or downvoting memes according to their taste.

Finally, the viral memes give birth to what can be called a meme format. Similarly as the "Knock Knock" from the Knock Knock jokes; anyone can create its own joke using the same base. Here are some gems.

Notes: A dark humor is often conveyed through memes, mostly because of the creators' demographics as well as the millenials who love it. You should also know there are unspoken rules in the meme community such as saying "pics or it didn't happen", admitting 5/7 as the best rating possible or redirecting people to the "Never gonna give you up" video.

I hope you liked the article, whether you already knew much about memes or not. I'd love to write more about it and share some other memes given the Steemit Community is interested. Feedback and memes appreciated.