In recent weeks, the meme trash dove took the world by storm, flopping its way across Facebook into dms, statuses and comments. Trash dove became an actor in animated videos and was even brought to life through real world reenactments by talented costume makers and headbangers. Merely an online sticker, trash dove came to embody so much in so little time and was able to say much of what we were thinking but not quite ready or able to articulate.
While our reasons for using trash dove on social media may vary, what is evident is that memes are meta; they can encompass a variety of emotions, thoughts, feelings, actions and even political discourse and humor. In abstracting the world at large into content, everything becomes more digestible, even consumable across one of the most accessible mediumsthe internet.
While the internet has in many ways proliferated the usage of memes, they have existed since human beings began to share information with one another. The internet has globalized memes and has allowed people to absorb information from those sharing content on the other side of the world at exponential rates and add their own spin on them. In the past, long before the internet, memes were shared as far as one could travel across land and water and over the course of longer periods of time. Contrary to popular belief, memes have been here with us all along.
The Historical Origins of Memes Memes have existed since the dawn of civilization and have been used to share and exchange cultural information between human beings for thousands of years. The word meme, coined by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 novel The Selfish Gene, describes the transfer of cultural information from one person to the next. Similarly to genes, memes have competed for survival throughout history and only the dankest become viral. As cultural units, memes are vessels of information which have journeyed across human civilization to popularize certain ideas and in turn, ensure their continuity.
Our ancestors used memes for cave drawings and to teach one another to create fire. Wherever there has been an opportunity for learning and sharing knowledge, memes have enabled us to replicate concepts and ideas and build upon them. While human endeavors such as art and music may not enable us to survive genetically, they are fantastic examples of how memetics have developed. Our brains are oversized and have the ability to store vast troves of information for later use. Becoming an incredible violin player may not be conducive to spreading ones seed, yet it is a meme that has become revered amongst humans in their pursuance of the arts.
Ultimately, human beings have evolved genetically to replicate information and be extremely good at making memes. We are such excellent meme-makers that we no longer use them explicitly for sharing concepts and ideas vital to survival. In the past, memetics allowed us to learn quickly from one another how to carry out tasks that would provide us with greater capacities for hunting, foraging, gathering, finding fresh water to eventually writing, reading, creating vast agricultural systems, building shelter, traversing continents and even more amazing feats. In becoming next-level copycats, human beings have collaborated with one another to create innumerable memes, both for survival and consumption.
A major defining characteristic of successful and not so successful memes is the extent to which they last and mutate. While some memes, such as learning to boil water to ensure no dangerous bacteria lingers in it or wearing animal furs to keep our naked bodies warm in the midst of winter, have remained relevant and largely static for centuries if not thousand of years, while others, such as a unicycling frog named dat boi, come into existence swiftly and disappear altogether just as quickly. Furthermore, instances of memes such as Hand Me the Aux Cord draw on other memes and mutate to become meta. When these memes mutate into warp drive, at some point they no longer become funny and vanish between the surface of newer memes. Given this, memes of the internet age, while existing on a greater scale, are not as successful as those who have remained relevant since earlier times.
Memes of Today The memes of today are Kermits, spongegars and trash doves. Those of the not-so-far-away past were lolcats, challenges accepted and forever alones. We use memes not only for absurd humor but also for societal and political commentary. At this time in human history, every single thing that we think or do can be turned into a meme and is likely a meme already. Memes can be jokes about miniscule everyday observations or the endless woes of mental illness. Memes are cathartic and allow us to process information through the abstraction of tragedy and global events. Whatever our interests or needs, a meme exists for us.
In the age of the internet, the ways in which we communicate with one another and share cultural information change every day and do so at alarming rates. We can speak with anyone anywhere at any time and relay information about the space and time we are situated in in moments or as it happens. This ability to virtually participate with billions of others in meme-making means that the sharing and exchanging of information is limitless. Memetics is an emerging discipline and as the way we communicate and share information continues to be ever-changing, this will be an area of study for decades to come.
The concept of memetic engineering, similar to genetic engineering, describes a process of careful selection of memes to be created and distributed for successful replication. In doing so, the memetic engineer would purposefully construct memes to influence others to replicate them. These memes may be anything from political ideology used to sway voters to commercials enticing potential customers. Regardless, memetic engineers can seize the memes of production to draw in supporters.
Both memetics and memetic engineering can be used to better understand memes as simplistic and absurd as trash dove but also as complex and nuanced as the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Having existed as long as humans have transferred cultural information from one to the next, certain memes have remained largely unchanged and survived the ages while others mutate exponentially yet come and go at a moments notice. With the rise of the internet, our attention spans have shortened and the amount of available disposable content has increased. As a result, we require an influx of memes to remain entertained while navigating this technological era.
Main and lead images via twitter @striffleric and @WHATINTARNATlON
Deidre Olsen is a Toronto-based writer, blogger and poet with a love affair of social justice, technology and dank memes. In their spare time, you can find them learning Jiu Jitsu and how to code.
Original post:
On Memetics and the Transfer of Cultural Information - Paste Magazine
- Meme Central - Memes, Memetics, and Mind Virus Resource [Last Updated On: June 12th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 12th, 2016]
- about memes - Susan Blackmore [Last Updated On: June 13th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 13th, 2016]
- Meme - RationalWiki [Last Updated On: June 13th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 13th, 2016]
- memetics - RUBINGHSCIENCE.ORG [Last Updated On: June 17th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 17th, 2016]
- Meme - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: June 17th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 17th, 2016]
- Understanding Memetics - SCP Foundation [Last Updated On: June 17th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 17th, 2016]
- Memetics [Last Updated On: July 29th, 2016] [Originally Added On: July 29th, 2016]
- Index [www.susanblackmore.co.uk] [Last Updated On: August 12th, 2016] [Originally Added On: August 12th, 2016]
- Memetics and Infohazards Division Orientation - SCP Foundation [Last Updated On: August 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: August 23rd, 2016]
- MeMetics - Your Trusted Online News and How-to Site [Last Updated On: September 20th, 2016] [Originally Added On: September 20th, 2016]
- Meme - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: October 19th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 19th, 2016]
- Memetics - Chielens [Last Updated On: November 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 16th, 2016]
- Applied Memetics LLC - Jobs [Last Updated On: November 21st, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 21st, 2016]
- Memetics Story [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- Philosophy of Religion Religion and Memetics [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- Mem Wikipedia [Last Updated On: December 7th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 7th, 2016]
- Thagomizer and Four Other Invented Words - Big Shiny Robot! [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Cognitive science: Dennett rides again - Nature.com [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- The scientific controversy behind memes - Varsity Online [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Is America Prepared for Meme Warfare? - Motherboard [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Row erupts as East London gallery accused of showing 'alt-right' and 'racist' art - Art Newspaper [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- The Meme Culture of America is Taking Over - TrendinTech [Last Updated On: February 26th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 26th, 2017]
- Do Daniel C. Dennett's memes deserve to survive? - Spectator.co.uk [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- What is a Meme? | The Daily Meme [Last Updated On: March 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 23rd, 2017]
- Memeology: Where did memes begin? - Dailyuw [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2017]
- Memes could be the key to predicting the future | Digit.in - Digit [Last Updated On: April 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 7th, 2017]
- Can NATO Weaponize Memes? - Foreign Policy (blog) [Last Updated On: April 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 13th, 2017]
- Film: Ghost in the Shell - The Yale Herald [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2017]
- The Skeptical Zone | "I beseech you, in the bowels of ... [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2017]
- TruthHawk - Memetics, Information, Society [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2017]
- What Are Billbugs And How Do I Get Rid Of Them? | MeMetics [Last Updated On: May 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: May 13th, 2017]
- American Arrested After Airplane Brawl in Tokyo - NEWS.com.au [Last Updated On: May 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: May 17th, 2017]
- Science explained: Viral memes for Boar reading teens - The Boar [Last Updated On: May 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: May 17th, 2017]
- Here's one reason why people are fighting on planes so much - New York Post [Last Updated On: May 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: May 18th, 2017]
- Harambe one year on: How the gorilla became an internet meme - The Independent [Last Updated On: May 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: May 28th, 2017]
- Editorial: Circumspect, respect - Sun.Star [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2017]
- Meme-Gene Coevolution - Susan Blackmore [Last Updated On: June 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 7th, 2017]
- Memefacturing dissent! Breaking down the 'science' of memes in India - Mid-Day [Last Updated On: July 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 1st, 2017]
- The Meme-ing of Life - Aitkin Independent Age [Last Updated On: July 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 7th, 2017]
- Internet Memes Are Changing The Way We Communicate IRL - HuffPost UK [Last Updated On: July 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 14th, 2017]
- Dangers of drugs - Side effects of long term use of sodium valproate - The Village Reporter and the Hometown Huddle [Last Updated On: July 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 15th, 2017]
- Lasix g6pd deficiency - Salix lasix furosemide - The Village Reporter and the Hometown Huddle [Last Updated On: July 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 17th, 2017]
- The Pro-Trump Media Is Full Of Offensive Memes And Trolls, But Is It A Hate Group? - BuzzFeed News [Last Updated On: July 26th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 26th, 2017]
- The Most Influential Memes on the Internet - Fox Weekly [Last Updated On: July 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 28th, 2017]
- Red viagra - Viagra and red bull safe - Bournville Village [Last Updated On: August 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 8th, 2017]
- Female viagra pills name - Buy female viagra online cheap - Bournville Village [Last Updated On: August 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 9th, 2017]
- Alt-Right? No, the Far Right. - Patheos (blog) [Last Updated On: August 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 14th, 2017]
- Skin care specialist school - Does cialis require a prescription in usa - Bournville Village [Last Updated On: August 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 16th, 2017]
- Ajanta pharma kamagra soft tabs picture - Kamagra soft tablets - Filipino Express [Last Updated On: August 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 16th, 2017]
- Keywords nolvadex - Can you buy nolvadex over the counter - The Santa Clara [Last Updated On: August 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 20th, 2017]
- The matter with memes - The GUIDON [Last Updated On: August 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 20th, 2017]
- Memes, memes everywhere | SunStar - Sun.Star [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2017]
- Who Elected Zuckerberg Head of the Thought Police? - The Real News Network [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2019] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2019]
- The Hi-Tech Traditionalist: From Samizdat To Memetics What Is Similar And What Is Different Between Soviet And American Dissidents - Tsarizm [Last Updated On: November 15th, 2019] [Originally Added On: November 15th, 2019]
- Celebrate the Arts at Blackout Black Friday - Memphis Flyer [Last Updated On: November 30th, 2019] [Originally Added On: November 30th, 2019]
- Book That Inspired Facebooks Chief VR Researcher And Coined Metaverse To Get HBO Series - UploadVR [Last Updated On: December 18th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 18th, 2019]
- 'Snow Crash' TV Series in the Works at HBO Max - /FILM [Last Updated On: December 18th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 18th, 2019]
- Snow Crash TV Series Adaptation is Coming to HBO Max - Epicstream [Last Updated On: December 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 22nd, 2019]
- Controlling the Narrative? - Church Militant [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2020]
- Army Of Contact-Tracing Workers Being Recruited To Help Combat Coronavirus Pandemic - CBS San Francisco [Last Updated On: May 22nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 22nd, 2020]
- The pandemic dividend: The other two viruses we dont think about - Deccan Herald [Last Updated On: December 30th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 30th, 2020]
- Are Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey Working in Tandem to Spread BTC FUD? - The Tokenist [Last Updated On: June 28th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 28th, 2021]
- Why Ethereum's Price Is Built on Firmer Ground Than Bitcoin - CoinDesk - CoinDesk [Last Updated On: June 28th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 28th, 2021]
- MINDFULNESS | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary [Last Updated On: September 12th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 12th, 2021]
- meme | Definition, Meaning, History, & Facts | Britannica [Last Updated On: September 12th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 12th, 2021]
- TikTok memetics: Gen Z is reshaping the world, and fast - Geektime [Last Updated On: October 7th, 2021] [Originally Added On: October 7th, 2021]
- Hideo Kojimas The Creative Gene is a heartfelt tribute to pop culture - The A.V. Club [Last Updated On: October 17th, 2021] [Originally Added On: October 17th, 2021]
- Meme sounds JAYUZUMI SOUNDBOARDS [Last Updated On: November 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: November 11th, 2021]
- An Interview With The World-Famous Artist Who Created The Internet's Favourite Fake Lineup Shot - Wavelength Magazine [Last Updated On: November 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: November 21st, 2021]
- Power of memes - The Manila Times [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2021]
- The Department Of Transportation Should Leave Advertising To The Kardashians - Above the Law [Last Updated On: December 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: December 3rd, 2021]
- The Rise of MemeCoins: Will They Survive 2022? - International Business Times [Last Updated On: January 24th, 2022] [Originally Added On: January 24th, 2022]
- AMC Dips 4% Despite Strongest Earnings in 2 Years - The Tokenist [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2022]
- Social Cohesion | Healthy People 2020 [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2022]
- Francis Heylighen - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2022]
- Darwin's Dangerous Idea - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: March 27th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 27th, 2022]
- GameStop stock split: What you need to know - finder.com.au [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2022] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2022]
- Antisemitism on the rise in America: An explainer and research roundup - Journalist's Resource [Last Updated On: May 28th, 2022] [Originally Added On: May 28th, 2022]
- Memes: What are They and Why They Are Important [Last Updated On: July 9th, 2022] [Originally Added On: July 9th, 2022]
- Memetics. Meme means copy. Bio means two. | by Ilexa Yardley | The ... [Last Updated On: August 30th, 2022] [Originally Added On: August 30th, 2022]