Surely, every one of you has encountered a meme at least once while browsing the Internet.
What exactly is a meme? And what role does it play in the modern world? Or perhaps we should ask, “What would happen if memes didn’t exist?” And what does it have to do with archiving?
Let me start by saying that I often come across memes myself while browsing various websites. It’s also common for memes to inform me about a political, social, or cultural situation in the country or around the world first, and only then do I start searching the internet for information on a specific topic.
What exactly is a meme? It’s simply an image plus text—a commentary on the image, photo, or screenshot.
Perhaps the most important thing is that memes appear instantly and illustrate virtually every aspect of life. Politicians pass a law that evokes extreme emotions in society—and immediately, the internet is flooded with memes (clever, ironic, sometimes sad, but always spot-on).
Internet memes are undoubtedly a vast treasure trove of information, also in terms of archival records, as each meme reveals society’s perspective on various situations and their reactions to events that directly affect them. It’s easier for us to come to terms with something that upsets us by creating a meme. It’s also, to some extent, a reaction to our helplessness – something happens, for example, in politics, we don’t like it, and we have no control over it. What should we do then? As a form of “protest,” we create memes and release them onto the internet – let them hear our voices.
Memes, unlike ordinary information published in the media, stick in our minds for a long time. We exchange them with friends, talk about the meme we recently saw, and sometimes this sparks lengthy debates and discussions.
Memes have not only been a Polish phenomenon over the past decade or so, but also a global one.
One of the things that will remain after us are memes. That’s why, as an archivist, I emphasize their great importance and vital role in the age of the internet and mass media.
P.S. My first personal meme is attached to this post 😉
