From Koko the Explorer to Wash Your Lyrics to the Stoic Mike Wazowski-Sulley Face swap, memes have taken the world by storm as we know it. Perceived as nothing but humorous viral posts, the social media phenomenon is understood only as a funny picture accompanied by a witty tagline. However, during the COVID 19 pandemic, memes have proven to have a more significant impact than what everyone initially thought.
In 1976, Richard Dawkins coined the word meme in his book The Selfish Gene, wherein he defined the term as any cultural transmission of information. Memes can be ideas, fashion, tunes, or inventions that start with an individual and spread from one person to another in a fast-paced manner. Based on Dawkins’ book, memes act similarly to genes in living cells-- easily duplicated and continually evolving within culture and social groups.
With the aid of society’s prevailing media and technology, internet memes are easily duplicated, spreading like wildfire as they are shared from one person to another. Making, sharing, and referring to memes have become common in today’s generations. Moreover, for this year particularly, COVID memes have garnered immense popularity, impacting society both for better and for worse.
However, memes do not only spread online humor. At times, they have reportedly propagated misinformation and racism across the many social media platforms. When the novel Coronavirus was introduced, several fake news stories started circulating around the world, leading to various misinterpretations of the severity of the pandemic and racism against Asians. Memes relating to bat soup and gurgling bleach for safety are evidence of this.
Nonetheless, COVID memes have been said to be an effective coping tool when facing nationwide lockdown and community quarantine. Based on research, humor, whether it be light or dark, amidst negative situations could potentially reduce anxiety and stress in an individual. It also allows people to connect across the globe as numerous memes address universal issues that are relatable to many worldwide. From complaining about the government's shortcomings in addressing the Covid pandemic to the many struggles of distance learning, memes enable humans to feel a sense of belonging, knowing that they are not suffering amidst the COVID-19 pandemic alone.
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