Meme trends dominate youth culture

By: Maisie Stout         

What is a meme? The dictionary defines meme as an element of culture or behavior that may be passed from an individual to another by a means usually through imitation. Urban Dictionary defines meme as a “not a word, but a lifestyle.” In modern society, both of these definitions are accurate. Memes are most commonly known as images used to introduce a satirical message to the internet. Memes can be offensive, relatable, or they can make absolutely no sense at all. These memes can include basic stock photos with witty non-sequiturs, the Pepe frog meme, and even the acronym meme trend (making and acronym and making the words not correspond with the letters).

 A good meme will go viral within about two days and stay relevant for at least a month. This happens a lot, and most people make meme calendars so that they can look back and find what meme was popular in what month. For example, in January of this year the “what in tarnation” dog meme went viral on Twitter and Instagram. Meme accounts on these social media sites will also make meme calendars into its own meme.

Most memes have a trend that doesn’t last very long. Memes like Alex from Target and the Cash Me Outside Girl were relevant for about a week before they became unpopular. Other meme trends are seasonal, one of which would be the Thanksgiving clapback memes.

According to a recent poll, the most popular 2017 meme among Ripley students is the Post Malone meme. Post Malone is an up and coming rapper with many hits including “Congratulations,” “Rockstar,” and “I Fall Apart.” The trend started by putting Post Malone’s face on random things and making a visual pun. This would include images like “Toast Malone,” “Watermalone” and “Coast Malone.”

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All of these memes represent different ideas and trends, but they still have one similarity. Memes are a way for everyone- no matter the age, gender or race- to express themselves satirically through visual jokes.