Influence of memes

Abstract

The term “meme” was coined by Richard Dawkins in his book, “The Selfish Gene” in 1976. Oxford Languages describes the term as “an element of a culture or system of behaviour passed from one individual to another by imitation or other non-genetic means”. (STEYNVAART, n.d.) Tracing back its connection to ‘genes’, memes are generally curated with an intention to transmit socio-cultural information through a process of socialisation and involves different symbols of language, gender, religion, race, political affiliations etc. to make them more relevant for the audience. There exists literature which bestows memes with the power to influence people’s attitudes, beliefs, values etc. This precise ability of memes to shape opinions has progressed over the years. With growing digitalisation and consumerism in our societies, the position of memes gets constantly redefined. For those who make memes, seeing their creations gain traction must provide a sense of validation. And even for the ones who just share memes they found funny, there is a feeling of being part of a larger discussion—a stake in a public discussion, a voice. (Rana, 2020) Memes are ubiquitous and are often a representation of the society in which they are created. They are multifunctional, and serve several purposes including but not limited to: • Expression of people’s opinions • Propaganda tools • Development of a communal sentiment Memes have assumed greater importance in recent times owing to their ability to go viral in a limited period and be relevant to people across the globe. This indicates the explosive potential of memes to trigger a change in thinking patterns of their audience.