Internet Meme

An Internet meme (commonly known simply as a meme) is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. Inspired by the concept of memes proposed by Richard Dawkins in 1972, Internet memes can take various forms, such as images, videos, GIFs, and various other viral sensations. Characteristics of memes include their susceptibility to parody, their use of intertextuality, their propagation in a viral pattern, and their evolution over time. However, since the metaphorical connection to the academic subject was popularized by internet denizens, eventually internet memetics became a fully developed research area of internet culture and communications, especially through the works of Limor Shifman post-2013. While Shifman attributes the term to work by Michele Knobel and Colin Lankshear, the term Internet meme is also historically tied to Mike Godwin in 1993 when he discussed memes as spreading via messageboards, Usenet groups, and email. Also, many other early memetics scholars suggested the meme concept would thrive in an online context. These memes are often discussed as images, GIFs, and other sorts of media. With the rise of social media platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, memes have become more diverse and can spread quickly. More recent genres include "dank" and surrealist memes, as well as short-form videos such as those uploaded on Vine and TikTok. Memes are considered an important part of Internet culture. They appear in a range of contexts, such as marketing, finance, politics, social movements, religion, and healthcare, and the use of media from various sources can sometimes lead to issues with copyright.