Memes, possibly one of the most prominent aspects of the 201Xs. Originating from rage comics, memes have grown in their complexity encompassing wide ranges of other media into their beings, such as tv shows, video games, and stock photos. Yet even though they have become more complex, memes have approached a global understanding where an entire thought can be communicated through an image with little to no words. Interestingly enough it may be because of their complexity that it is easier for people to understand. Memes are only growing more complex because more humans are interacting with them, more interactions mean more feedback and a greater variety in that feedback. Since this process is occurring in the realm of the internet it is moving much faster and instantaneously involving a large number of people in the process. This allows for complex, yet understandable and relatable memes.
Of course, using images to communicate isn’t a new idea. It’s been around for a long time, with the most famous historical example being Egyptian hieroglyphs. However, no one really uses hieroglyphs anymore and most languages use a letter-based alphabet, save Mandarin. So what was the driving force for making memes in the first place? Most likely, desire for belonging, being able to connect with others through a unique and relatable medium. Think of memes as the technological version of slang. While groups of people had their own languages and phrases to relate to each other, words are not actually the easiest ways of connecting. When you look back through time, people used a lot of visuals, from how they dress, to mascots, and even gang signs to develop a sense of community. The reason memes were not popular until now is because the technology to make them wasn’t as easily and readily accessible to the masses.
Well if you insist. Basically the most simple and desirable form of communication between humans is visuals. It is probably one of the reasons Mandarin Chinese has been around for 6,000 years. The argument is also backed up from an evolutionary standpoint when you consider that the human eye has more components than most animals to register information. Before modern computers and photoshop, communicating through image alone required a lot of effort. Nowadays, you can just google for a meme generator and instantly make and send whatever image you want. Technology is leading us to a potential future where people communicate through images alone, maybe not with memes as we know them, but definitely a descendant language based on them.
