10 Surprising Purposes of Memes That You've Never Thought Of
Memes. You've seen them everywhere, and you can't seem to get away from them. But what are they actually for? You might be surprised to learn that memes have a lot of different purposes - some of which you may have never even thought of before! This blog post will discuss ten surprising goals of memes that you've never thought of. So sit back, relax, and get ready to be entertained and informed!
1. To Identify
Memes are used as a form of identity, allowing people to express themselves through their memes and further develop who they are as an individual. It is common for teens living in the United States to make memes with friends for this purpose, especially after attending significant school events like football games or proms where everyone wants to post pictures of themselves on social media sites like Tumblr or Twitter.
2. To Entertain
Memes can be used as a form of entertainment both on an individual and public level. On an individual level, people find memes humorous and may upload them to their profiles or private blogs to express themselves. Publicly, websites such as Reddit allow users to post collections of memes that others will vote on and comment on to entertain themselves and other viewers. Users also use sites like this to make friends and share common interests, so they can discuss their shared observations on each meme with others who understand what they mean.
3. To Educate
Memes can be used as a form of education and peer pressure, allowing people to express themselves and learn from others. As mentioned in article one about how memes often reflect the culture they are created in, this is particularly true with educational memes due to their serious nature. People will post anti-drug information or explain concepts like evolution on sites like Tumblr to spread awareness for these issues. In addition, peers will use memes to educate each other on social norms they may not understand, such as inside jokes or internet slang.
4. Debate/Commentary
Some people use memes as commentary on topics that either interest them or upset them. Similar to how journalists will often comment on news stories by sharing them on social media sites, many people share memes that express their views or opinions on these topics.
5. To Teach Social Skills
Memes often become popular because they are relatable, allowing people to use them as examples of what not to do in certain situations (e.g., "Don't tase me bro" meme). This can be seen as a form of peer-to-peer learning where peers teach each other through the use of relatable content like memes. The more widely shared and used a meme is, the more effective it becomes at teaching others how to act in certain social settings. For example, one study found that after young Canadians watched an episode of South Park depicting characters using swear words, those individuals reported frequently using those exact swear words during a follow-up interview.
6. To Demonstrate World Views
Memes can often be used as a way to share one's worldview on specific topics, such as how they view their own life, the views of others, and society as a whole. People often use memes as a form of self-expression in order to share what is important to them with others who may have experienced similar circumstances.
7. To Foster Social Interaction
Many people create and use memes in order to engage socially with their family members or friends through social media sites like Instagram or Facebook. People will post photos of themselves creating memes for their family members or friends to comment on before sharing them publicly online. Everyone can see the content they made together.
8. To Develop Affiliation
Many people use memes in order to express a sense of community with others who share similar values or interests. Similar to how sports fans from rival teams will often make humorous memes about their opposition, many teens develop a sense of affiliation based on the common parodies they create for popular culture topics such as celebrities and television shows.
9. To Negotiate Intergroup Relations
As mentioned before, many people use memes in order to voice opinions on certain issues while also creating more awareness about these topics among their peers and family members who may not have had an opportunity to learn about them otherwise. Many individuals create and share memes that allow groups of people with shared identities (e.g., race, class, gender) to work together to promote change for issues that are important to them.
10. For Personal Expression
People often use memes as a way to express themselves through humor or sarcasm. Unlike more severe forms of self-expression, such as putting together a resumé, people may feel they can be less inhibited when sharing their views on certain topics because the context is supposed to be lighthearted and fun. Many teens who may not have developed a sense of identity yet turn to meme creation as a means for exploring their worldview and interactions with others during this time period.
Memes can be used for many purposes and serve as an effective way for people to express themselves online. It is commonly seen among teens who share memes with their friends using social media sites like Tumblr or Instagram. The more widely shared a meme becomes, the more effective it may become at changing the views of others on specific topics though this has yet to be studied.
