I was checking Twitter on my iphone the other day and I saw this tweet. Before taking this class I hadn't really heard of what memes were but now the term seems to pop up everywhere. In this tweet, my friend Nathan is referring to a famous book that outlined "the five love languages." The five "traditional" languages the are: quality time, gifts, physical touch, acts of service, and words of affirmation. In this post, Nathan is acknowledging the prevalence of memes in our culture and is indicating that they do have some value. For him, and countless others, memes can be a way to express feelings and emotions that we would otherwise not be able to. As embarassed as I am to admit it, I'm pretty sure I have apologized to my mom through an LOLcat (I did apologize in person later). This goes to show that even the silliest memes can have cultural value and personal significance.
I am on the same page with you in that before this class, I didn’t even know the definition of a meme or their prevalence in their culture. Even though I viewed memes all the time, I wasn’t able to identify what they were and the fact that they have certain target audiences and “lifelines” on the Internet. I agree with you that many people use memes to express feelings and emotions that are difficult to get across. They are truly another form of language, another medium to get a point across. Even though I think some memes are completely idiotic, I think your last sentence is 100% true! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with this as well and would like to add that I sometimes use memes as a way to connect with people, like if I see something I know my friend would like I post it on their wall, in a way it's sort of a form of virtual gift giving.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brittany that it is a form of "virtual gift giving." For me personally, humor is a way I connect with other people and more specifically revolve around Internet memes.
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