Kyle Winchester

Nicolas Macias

Anamarie Chavez

Meme culture has advanced a lot quicker than anticipated by Richard Dawkins, the

creator of the word ‘meme’. The first meme documented is of a dancing baby developed by two

men named Michael Girard and Robert Lurye. It quickly was edited and shared with friends and

spread a lot quicker than anticipated. And it eventually ended up as a cameo in a popular movie.

Memes then slowly evolved into rage memes. Rage memes are a more simplified meme which

need no context to use, they can be used in almost any scenario. This paved the way for future

memes being created as it provided a structure and a guideline for future people to follow.

From dancing babies, to rage memes, to what we have today, memes have evolved

greatly in the past 20 years. Twitter is one of the platforms that shares memes the most. Self-

deprecating humor has become more common as it is a harmless expression while still providing

content. There are many other different types of memes that all convey the same purpose.

Internet memes convey emotions visually and more quickly than paragraphs of text, which is

perfect for the rapid communication our handheld devices demand of us.

When thinking of memes, it's not often thought to anything more than just a good laugh.

Recently though, memes have taken on more serious messages. This is due to the fact the

because memes are so well known they tend to end up anywhere. These memes remind people to

do things for themselves mentally and physically. Memes that take on more serious tones tend to

want people to do something whether that want is for people to take care of themselves, or even

just to take a stance on certain subjects.

 Sources

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Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Religious Media, and Church Members.
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Memes Created by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Religious Media,
and Church Members.” Journal of Media & Religion, vol. 16, no. 2, Apr. 2017, pp. 67–
79. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/15348423.2017.1311127.

B. Through the Lens of Popular Culture: Why Memes and Teaching Are Well Suited.
SCARDINA, CIRO. “Through the Lens of Popular Culture: Why Memes and Teaching
Are Well Suited.” Teacher Librarian, vol. 45, no. 2, Dec. 2017, p. 13. EBSCOhost,

C. Do not mess with a meme: the use of viral content in communicating politics…
Bebić, Domagoj, and Marija Volarevic. “Do Not Mess with a Meme: The Use of Viral
Content in Communicating Politics.” Communication & Society, vol. 31, no. 3, July
2018, pp. 43–56. EBSCOhost, doi:10.15581/003.31.3.43-56.

D. Lamphere, Carly. “It’s a Meme World After All: An Examination of the Cultural
Impact of the Internet Meme.” Online Searcher, vol. 42, no. 5, Sept. 2018, p. 29.
EBSCOhost,
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ue&db=f5h&AN=131823109&site=ehost-live.