Lasting Thoughts

If you are here I hope it means you read all my posts, thank you for your time! But, I am not done yet.

Through my research, I have come to view memes truly as viruses. As Richard Dawkins said, they are infectious units of cultural information that are highly contagious spreading from person to person with great speed. But calling a meme a virus does not fully explain my views.

I have found that articulating my thoughts on memes to be quite challenging. Their fluid identity makes thorough categorization impossible. I don’t dislike memes—I find them funny–but my distaste is in the fact that I don’t fully understand the mechanics behind them.  Memes can have significant negative effects, not because they are cruel by nature, but because of the way humans react to them. Pepe the Frog is not intrinsically a hate symbol but was made one long after his creative birth.

I find my internal dialogue on the ethics of memes symbolic to that of free speech. Yes, words can be used with devastating effect, but this is no reason to outlaw them. Memes are inadvertently unethical, like words, the author dictates intention.

Memes are truly fascinating. Something so easy to write off as a silly picture has an immense amount of power. I truly believe this is only the start for memes, they will continue to become further engrained in modern language and society. However, I do heed caution to those who choose to create/share them, question their effects on others and society.