(This is one of the many meme-related articles I will be writing. Stay tuned folks, it's about to get spicy.)
In today's society, new ways of communicating with social media have introduced themselves and become a way for people to connect and create relationships. Through the Internet, we have become a culture that zones in on current events and occurrences and highlights them with jokes as these ways of communication. These, are called memes. These pictures and videos or even pieces of texts seem to be able to go viral in a matter of hours. While some may say we've lost our touch with reality, I firmly believe that because of the rise of memes, our connection with current events and creation of empathy with one another has increased and improved among all ages.
Memes not only bring us together as a community, but introduce a comedic effect and spin on things that previously we may not have known about.
For instance, the meme that comes to mind when I think of what got me interested in the Republican Party nominees was the meme of Ted Cruz as the Zodiac Killer. This not only gives us something to laugh about, but it also gets people interested in who Ted Cruz even is and what's going on in the "Political World," because for most young people, that isn't a topic they enjoy discussing in depth. It comes across as boring and negative, but with the rise of memes, the humorous spin on it makes people stand back and look at things with a different lens. I found that I actually wanted to learn more about politics after looking at gifs and images than starting with news channels and articles. The memes I came into contact with led me to the articles that shed light on politics and many other issues, and I think that many could say the same.
As well as bringing about issues and topics otherwise uninteresting to some people, memes create an alternative outlet to understand and relate to one another. Every time I feel as if words can't describe how I'm feeling to a particular text, event, or occurrence, I send a gif or picture that reacts perfectly and it all fits together. Friends have gotten to know me better because I've shown them my humor through memes. On the Internet, underlying common experiences can be connected through these ongoing jokes. It's a way for people to understand and know that we, as a society, are all the same. We feel the same things underneath our differing experiences from day to day. We can empathize with memes that have underlying themes of love, stress, and sadness. For example, Gavin, a boy that started on vine but ended up as a living meme with his relatable facial expressions, connected me to emotions I couldn't express with words and in turn, connected me to the people who felt the same.
