Internet memes and online culture

In short: Memes are images, videos, or texts that spread rapidly on the internet, often humorously commenting on social topics. They constantly evolve as users remix existing formats.

In more detail: The term “meme” originally comes from biology and refers to a culturally transmissible idea.

In detail

• Origin and spread: Memes often arise spontaneously and spread exponentially fast through social networks.
• Format variety: From image macros with text to GIFs to short video clips, many different meme formats exist.
• Remix culture: Users creatively modify existing memes, causing individual meme templates to evolve further over months.
• Social commentary: Memes frequently comment on current events, politics, or everyday experiences in a humorous way.
• Generational differences: Meme styles and humour differ greatly between age groups and online communities.
• Commercialisation: Companies increasingly use meme formats for marketing, which users receive with mixed reactions.
• Legal grey areas: Using copyrighted images in memes often moves within a legal grey area (netiquette-online-kommunikation, filterblase-und-algorithmen).