Aug 23, 20214 min read

ARE MEMES SHAPING OUR CURRENT CULTURE?

“Allah has not allowed joking as a reason to mock others” (Ilaam al muwaqi’een)

This hadith conveys that we are not entirely banned from joking around but if we do so we should keep in mind the feelings of others as well.

Now as we come into the topic “Are memes shaping our current culture?”

Let us first see what a meme generally means.

The word ‘meme’ is derived from the Greek word mimema, meaning imitated.

So, basically a meme is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme.

Memes can take many forms within a culture which includes an idea, a talent, a behaviour, a phrase, or a particular trend.

The transmission of a meme occurs when an individual copies a unit of cultural information from another person consisting of a meme.

The process of transmission is primarily accomplished through verbal, visual, or technological communication, which includes everything from books and conversation to television, social media or the Internet.

Following this we now come upon the topic of “Internet memes”

While social media is a communication platform, memes are a way of expressing a culturally relevant notion. A meme is a picture or video that symbolises a specific audience's thoughts and feelings. The majority of memes are captioned photographs meant to induce humour. Internet memes are simple to comprehend, and when people understand and relate to a certain meme, they are more likely to share it.

When a meme is widely shared, it becomes viral and sometimes becomes a trend. Conversely we have some trends that in turn become memes.

The exploration of relationships between cultural evolution, cultural transmission, and imitation has led to interesting theories about memes. Various ideas have emerged about the nature of memes, such as whether they are beneficial, neutral, or harmful. As we know that memes provide a way for people to connect with each other. Knowing the right memes can help you become part of a group. There are plenty of relatable memes online and helps people laugh about certain things.

At the same time, it’s important to consider that memes can be used for harassment as well as for furthering hate speech and disinformation about various social groups. Proof of this is that we have racist, sexist and even anti-Islam memes circulating online. While some people may like them, it might be offensive to others. The individuals who don't have an idea about the topic may believe the information from the memes without checking its authenticity. Additionally, memes cause an emotional reaction, especially with dark humor. This is part of why they are particularly attractive to hate groups. Memes are frequently used to spread violent messages. These memes may be framed as ironic, but the damage they cause is real. Instead of eliciting humour, they spread hate.

But people can participate in meme culture, so that they can create memes that take on these stereotypes and challenge them. These statements can bond and act as rallying points for positivity, and these wholesome memes are a trend only getting more popular over time. In this case people will at least come to understand what is real.

As memes are easy to create nowadays with editing apps and meme-generators they are widely being used and now you can find a meme on every single theme in the world.

But what actually matters is the message it conveys.

Memes are also becoming more politicized and they’re getting widely used by corporations. So the meme culture has seen huge changes.

At the same time, people are becoming more aware of the ways that memes can get misused. We no longer consider memes to be harmless fun. For better or for worse, we’re becoming aware of their social and political influence.

Memes can stop being viral, but a single meme leaves a great impact upon every individual. According to some scholars, memes are parasites or viruses of the mind; once induced into the human mind, their main purpose becomes their own replication, with humans having little or no control over them.

The desire to belong and be with the trend of the world, humans believe whatever they see on the internet. And therefore memes shape our current culture.

Like many other aspects of online culture, memes are easily misunderstood by those who don’t use them regularly. Some find them irrelevant while others find them to be dangerous and harmful to the way we communicate.

But the truth is that memes are a communication tool and they can be used for many different purposes. They can aid positive social changes, but they can also be used to harm others. It’s important to develop a realistic idea of the power of memes as a medium of communication now and in the future.