If you use social media then you have definitely come across memes. Memes convey whole ideas, attitudes, beliefs and emotions through one image or a video that is just a couple of seconds long. But they did not always start out as this.
The term memes was first used by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book titled The Selfish Gene. he used a parallel with the human gene which multiplies and makes its presence felt through various generations in a family tree. The meme too was described as a phenomenon that duplicates itself as across cultures and finds meaning in them all. These memes too go viral and are relevant even when there are differences between people and their cultural backgrounds. If the meme does not offend or insult a particular group then it is found to be funny all through and by everyone. Social media websites are replete with meme pages that have funny content which is made and shared by people from around the globe.
Meme sharing websites and their popularity
Social media websites do have their own share of meme pages but there are many websites where memes of various genres are the only content available. People log in to websites like putput.net when they want to have a good laugh. The memes on such websites are sorted according to genres and types. If you wish to scroll through a feed full of animals doing cute things or watch funny videos then these websites are the place to be for you. You can curate your feed to include memes from topics you are interested in. Imagine having endless pages of content from topics that you are interested in. That is exactly what social media websites dealing specifically with memes aim to deliver for their users. Who would not want to be on here?
The appeal of memes
Memes are some of the most engaging content available on social media websites. They are very adaptable and can be relevant across cultures, countries and various age groups so they are popular everywhere. Meme pages do their best to churn out newer and fresher content that can go viral daily. They adapt popular memes to certain contexts or create new ones so that their followers have new content to engage with on a daily basis without scrolling through the same ones whenever they refresh their homescreens to load new content.
Memes have been popular for quite a few years now and will continue to remain so in the near future because of the ease with which they can convey ideas, beliefs, thoughts and attitudes. Memes are for every occasion and they certainly throw light on the attitude towards a global event or anything that has global impact. Having figured this out, brands have started using memes to market their products and make them more relevant and relatable for their buyers. As you are scrolling through social media and feeling like you need to have a snack you find a meme about craving chocolates makes you crave them more. You will surely look up the brand that posted the meme and might want to try their product. So, other than just being a cultural phenomenon, memes are also becoming influential to business and almost all aspects of life.
To Conclude
Memes are definitely used for their original intention of making people laugh but they have become so much more in recent years and will continue to remain so in the near future. So, they cannot be ignored. In fact, the power they have over the human psyche can be used for the good of the world.
