What's in a Meme

Images invoke emotions. There are times when circumstances are tied to a particular image that, in reality, it has no relation to whatsoever.

Such is the case with the art of the meme. From the humble beginnings of The Dancing Baby, to That Feeling When, to anything in regards to Spongebob Squarepants, memes have become a mainstay in social media culture.

In general, it seems that the majority of the interactions we have with our online friends is through social media postings, and, in my personal experience, laughing at the memes they share.

I'm a bit of a social media hermit. Don't judge me.

It goes deeper, however, than simply making a joke out of an image of Kermit the Frog drinking tea. Context and audience matter in the art of the meme, and it's become ridiculously easy to offend people in the casual way we interact, especially online.

The computer or phone screen is so easy to hide behind, and many people wouldn't dare say some of the things we type to somebody's face.

The mask distorts our features even more when we use things, like memes, that don't even originally come from our own minds to get our points across.

Yes, even persuasive articles make use of outside sources to prove points, but they're normally cited as outside sources, and the source won't ever completely agree with every single one of your points.

Yes, memes are generally meant as a laugh. Things start to get murky when you start using memes to score political points.

And when you're sharing that image of Kermit the Frog, or Patrick Star, or Dwight Schrute, to call people stupid because they don't agree with your ideals...maybe it's time to take a step back from the screen and think for yourself.

But that's none of my never mind.

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Thanks to Kelsey, Thomas, Emily, Jennifer, Alicia, Heather, Robyn, Erin, Jess, Adam, Bobby, and Tom for sharing some laughs with me leading up to this post.

For next week, I want to know what trivia I should call you about if I ever need help with it. What movie, book, or show do you know like the back of your hand? (For instance, the back of the main character's hand for my favorite trivia has the words "I must not tell lies" cut into it.) Or maybe sports is your thing, or classic rock.

Post your submissions in the comments section below, and don't forget to subscribe!