You come across them daily while scrolling through social media, those little snippets of humor, criticism or sarcasm known as memes. But have you ever wondered where the word “meme” comes from and why these elements have become so popular around the world?
They are graphic content that is shared and forwarded virally., and they are usually funny or clever. They can be images, videos, GIFs, texts, songs, or any other form of expression. They are easy to share and they all have a meaning that can be understood by everyone.
The origin and meaning of the word meme
Many people use the term meme to refer to images or videos that are spread over the Internet, but few know where this word comes from.
It should be noted that it was invented by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in his book The selfish genepublished in 1976. Dawkins wanted to explain how ideas, as well as culture, are transmitted and change like genes, and for this he created the concept meme, which means a cultural unit of transmission.
In addition, The term is derived from the Greek word mimeme, which means that which is imitated or that which is replicated. Richard, with his acumen, simplified the word to have a phonetic similarity to gene, as he sees parallels in the way ideas spread.
The biologist introduced the concept of meme to explain how people share and spread their ideas and culture, similar to how genes are passed from generation to generation. His theory, although it did not foresee the phenomenon of memes on the web, was a pioneer in the study of cultural evolution.
Today, memes are cultural manifestations that transcend Dawkins’ initial proposal. His ability to express humor, social criticism, and sharp observations in short visual formats makes them ubiquitous in the digital age.
Their massive dissemination on social networks such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, but especially on Reddit and forums such as 4chan, gives them fame and power to influence public opinion.
This is the idea proposed by the biologist Richard Dawkins when he coined the term meme to describe units of cultural information that replicate and evolve.
Their ability to condense messages into an easy-to-consume format has made memes a unique form of cultural expression today and into the future.
