The Power Of Internet Mems: More Than Just A Quirky Humor

In his book The Selfish Gene published in 1976, Richard Dawkins was the first to coin the concept of memes in academia. He suggested that the term meme is a Darwinian, gene-centered approach to cultural evolution, calling it “the unit of cultural transmission”. Internet memes are without a doubt one of the most popular and influential forms of modern online communication. Internet memes are known as messages in the form of phrases, videos and mostly images that are roaming in the Internet world. As they propagate, these memes go through various changes by Internet users. In this essay we will explore the definition and concept of memes, the negative aspects of memes such as racism and discrimination, and the genre of religious memes. Before we start exploring Internet memes it is important to understand what they are by defining and characterizing their concept. Memes are an academic concept first mentioned by the biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976 in his book The Selfish Gene by defining it as “the unit of cultural transmission”.

In his book, Dawkins explains how he came up with the name meme: We need a name for the new replicator, a noun that conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation. ‘Mimeme’ comes from a suitable Greek root, but I want a monosyllable that sounds a bit like ‘gene’. I hope my classicist friends will forgive me if I abbreviate mimeme to meme. I find it very interesting how Dawkins relates the concept of memes to the concept of genetics. I believe he is correct to do so as just like when genes propagate themselves in the genetic pool by traveling from body to body by eggs or sperms, memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by going from mind to mind by a process that we can call imitation. Dawkins also uncovers the property of competition and its role in the development of replicators. By competition he is referring to the Darwinian theory, which proposes that environmental pressures upon the replicators make them compete for resources and their environment shapes them. This theory also proposes that successful mutations can compete, maintain and multiply with other beings in the same environment, or in this case other memes. As pointed out by Dawkins, there are three characteristics that make a meme successful: longevity, fecundity, and copy-fidelity. This concept of meme is by no means set in stone.

Although Dawkins’ definition and concept of memes is the most known and noted, the concept of memes is constantly evolving. However, at the core, these various themes can be humorous as well as address topics in a serious manner. Regardless, it is fair to say that Internet memes are indeed a very powerful communication tool in our modern society. Going forward in this essay, we will address the negative effects of memes as well as explore the popular theme of religious memes. The online form of communication is quickly becoming a leading form of social interaction in modern society. “From 2001 to 2011, the proportion of Internet-using households in the United States increased from 50.4% to 71.7%”. Social network site growths are even more substantial: “From May 2008 to May 2013, social networking use among Internet users in the United States increased from 29% to over 72%”. Indeed, internet is part of daily lives of many people around the world, and along with it is the notable and very unique online communication method; the use of Internet memes.

According to Dawkins, Internet memes are “bits of cultural information that spread from person to person over the Internet, rather than face-to-face. These messages are varied, selected for, and retained by users as they propagate through social groups online”. Social media websites and apps such as Facebook and Twitter are the dominant platforms on which people can post memes for reactions, critique, approval, and contributions by others whether the meme is intended to be humorous or confessional. However, it is important to note that internet memes which prioritize humor and encourage the expression of negative thoughts towards outgroups may lead to a message that reflects disparagement humor, meaning that it derogates a target for amusement. We can also observe that stereotypical statements and jokes are usually more socially acceptable in the Internet world than elsewhere. This is why people on the internet tend to respond less negatively to such expressions of bias. This makes one wonder, are social norms different on the internet than in the real world? “Social norms are internal standards for defining what socially appropriate behavior is, both generally and in particular contexts”. These social norms can be significantly cued “through communication of how people tend to act, as in the case of exposure to disparagement humor in which cueing hostility toward other groups is acceptable”.

Furthermore, the way someone responds to others on the internet supporting or condemning expressions of bias can be observed by whether the other person making the statement is an outgroup or ingroup person. People tend to be more vocal to expressions of antidiscrimination norms when they are made by an ingroup person rather than an outgroup person who can be disregarded. It is also interesting that “recent research into disparagement humor has revealed that sexist, but not racist humor is viewed as being more socially acceptable than sexism expressed seriously”. Let’s have a look at a meme used in the study of Duchscherer’s and Dovidio’s article where there is expression of a racist and stereotypical message towards Asian people. Looking at this image some may chuckle and find it humorous, some may have a neutral reaction to it and not think much of it, while others may find it offensive as expressed by some of the respondents in the article: “I find this offensive, actually. I’ve seen Asians who are great drivers”. “As an Asian person, I find this offensive, actually. I’m a great driver, and so are a lot of my Asian friends”. Evidently, it is dependent on who the audience of these types of memes are. If the audience is not part of the mentioned group, then they seem to generally take less offense and accept the intended humor behind the message. While if the audience is part of the mentioned group, in this case Asians, then they are more likely to take the message negatively. Regardless, insulting memes should not be supported as there is other ways to express humor that can be pleasant to the general public without offending a particular group.

When exploring the concept Internet memes, it is important to consider the racial microaggressions and the perceptions of Internet memes. “Although blatant forms of discrimination have declined, racial prejudice continues to manifest itself in subtle ways. For example, People of Color experience racial microaggressions”. Some people might think that the Internet provides a safe space for people of marginalized groups, but the reality is that racial prejudice and discrimination is very prominent online. In the United States, approximately 51% of African American and 54% Hispanic Internet users have been victim of harassment online, in contrast to 34% of White Internet users. Racial discrimination happens when a person is treated unfairly compared to another person simply because of their race or ethnicity. Racial discrimination can be very evident but in in other cases it can be manifested in subtler ways. Therefore, even though memes may be intended to be humorous, they can actually be racist in nature. In the world of Internet memes, we can find many memes about religion. These Internet memes based on religion can be defined as, “memes circulated on the Internet whose images and texts focus on a variety of religious themes and/or religious traditions”.

When we identify the types of genres of Internet memes regarding religion and the images these memes use to showcase messages about religion, we can agree that Internet memes communicate particular understandings of religion through digital culture and a form of religious studies that scholars call Lived Religion. “Lived Religion, rather than seeing religion as a set of organized or officially sanctioned rituals and doctrines, focuses on how people actually express their religiosity in everyday life”. When we investigate the messages behind religious Internet memes, it allows us to understand how digital culture aids in the promotion of Lived Religion through social trends such as memes within popular culture. It can be said that Internet memes about religion work as a way of communicating expressions regarding religion through the digital world. Dawkins mentions various examples of memes such as musical tunes, fashions, and even catchphrases, however “this idea has been closely associated with discussions of Internet memes, used to describe the way digital images and messages are spread quickly and modified into new forms of communication online”. Furthermore, Silvestri proposes that “you must not only have technological and cultural access to the digital sphere, but you must also be able to meaningfully participate in its discourses”. What Silvestri means is that online users have to be technologically proficient and well immersed in popular culture discourses to create and conceptualize memes that can not only carry, but also spread meaning in a viral fashion.

Within religious memes we can find six common genres such as Stock Character Memes with Religious Themes, Religious Figure Memes, Reaction Memes, Implicit Religion Memes, Religious Spoof Memes, and Video Memes. It is important to be able to identify which genre a meme is part of, as this can help us identify the different ways religion is addressed within the meme. Let’s further explore the most prominent genre, Stock Character Memes with Religious Themes. These memes are the ones that simply add written religious elements to stock-character macro-meme template images that are often unrelated to religion. A stock character is often derived from certain literary tradition that is a stereotypical individual which the audience can easily identify due to frequent recurrences. A good example of a stock character is the Condescending Wonka from the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. This condescending Wonka meme template started as a still image shot of the character Willy Wonka in the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. This meme is a classic and is used in various ways since its creation in 2011 by an addition of substantially sarcastic or patronizing texts paired on the image.

Of course, this image has been given religious oriented elements as well. In this example, the meme states, ‘Oh, you go to church every Sunday? Tell me about what a great Christian you are’ in a way that questions or undermines the person’s character whether or not the individual goes to church often or not. Another very popular meme that used religious elements is the famous ‘Hey girl’ meme. In this example, we have the use of religious figures focused around celebrity images that may or may not have a religious affiliation but where the meme itself shares a religious message. The following image shows the famous American singer, Adam Levine, along with a text saying ‘Hey girl, Philippians 4:8 tells us to think on whatever is lovely… Guess that means you, babe!’ heychristiangirl.me/ Evidently, the original purpose or message of this image was not the text it includes, however that’s the beauty of religious memes, in them, Lived Religion is presented in a very flexible and dynamic way. What is most interesting with this is that many religious memes use common parodies to critique or question religion while usually drawing on popular assumptions about religious beliefs and lifestyle. On the other hand, the exact same image can be used with a message that supports religious ideals. This really shows how flexible and powerful memes can be as a communication tool, as it allows us to shape the medium in a distinctive manner that can portray an array of different messages. In conclusion, memes are certainly a powerful communication method in our modern society.

The definition and concept of a meme is much more complex and evolving than one might think, as suggested by Dawkins and his concept of memes being comparable to the concept of genetics. Furthermore, memes are indeed powerful communication tools, however they are also responsible for spreading negative messages pertaining to discrimination, racism, sexism, and other types of degrading messages and ideas. Nevertheless, memes have various themes that can be silly in nature as well as address serious topics and ideas. For instance, we explored the theme of religious memes. It is fascinating to have such a unique yet broad communication method in our society. Memes are not only influential but also have the ability to spread ideas and messages in a very viral fashion making it a powerful communication tool, whether it is intended to share an important message or simply intended to entertain its audience with some quirky humor.