您的当前位置:首页 > 行业动态 > Here's why polling memes are the best memes 正文
时间:2024-09-22 09:43:51 来源:网络整理 编辑:行业动态
Polling memes are great.Don't believe me? There is cultural theory to back it up. Wait, where are yo
Polling memes are great.
Don't believe me? There is cultural theory to back it up. Wait, where are you going...
Seriously though, as Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist and ethologist who coined the word "meme" said, "memes are to culture what genes are to life. Just as biological evolution is driven by survival of the fittest genes in the gene pool, cultural evolution may be driven out by the most successful memes."
SEE ALSO:Who needs to labels when we have 'I am straight/gay/bi' memes?In his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, Dawkins theorizes that cultural evolution is a lot like natural selection: much like human genes, a meme is a concept that spreads from person to person and adapts over time, always changing. Like with DNA, a random mutation, such as adding your own take on a meme, can change the course of its evolution.
Reflecting on how the term was appropriated by the internet, Dawkins said in a 2018 interview that anything could become a meme, "simply by becoming more frequent in the population, in the meme pool, in the same way the gene becomes more frequent in the gene pool."
Which brings us back to polling memes -- arguably one of the best examples of Dawkins' theory. They offer the standard options you'd find in questionnaires, whether you're creating a dating portfolio or checking off concerns at a doctor's office. There's something beautifully conflicting about creating a situation where you're simultaneously boxing yourself into categories and subverting binaries by making those categories super specific.
Tweet may have been deleted
Polling memes have been dominating Twitter in the last year, blessing timelines with button emoji and hot takes. They aren't particularly funny or clever, but they're easily recreated, easily modified, and easily shared -- everything a meme needs to survive in this bleak wasteland of the internet.
For some reason, people just relateto polling memes. This tweet, for example, just wouldn't have the same punch to it if it just said, "Should I read a fic, write a fic, or think of possible scenarios and plots I'd like to write but I know I'll never do it?"
Tweet may have been deleted
And this tweet about dealing with emotions is somehow more relatable than simply writing, "I don't want to deal with my feelings."
Tweet may have been deleted
The polling meme has stuck around longer than most memes -- while dozens of formats are born and die within the same week, the wonderful polling meme has been able to adapt to different moods and can be appropriated to include any cheesy '80s pop song.
In other words, the fact that the polling meme is still thriving months later fits in perfectly with Dawkins' survival of the fittest meme theory.
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
So why are polling memes so relatable? Because they play into what the internet already loves: taking sides. No matter what context the polling meme is used in, the meme creator is setting up their audience with a series of options, and then only picking one.
Tweet may have been deleted
The solidarity in polling memes is what makes it such a relatable meme -- no matter what option you choose, there will always be other people who would choose that option, too. Whether it's poking fun at tired sexuality labels or bypassing frustrating tropes for what people reallywant on dating apps, polling memes will always have mass appeal.
And that is why polling memes are great.
Our galaxy might crash into Andromeda. What would happen to Earth?2024-09-22 09:38
R.I.P. ‘Tax Cuts Pay For Themselves’2024-09-22 09:28
Chrissy Teigen calls out Donald Trump Jr.'s suspiciously amazing book sales2024-09-22 08:30
Porto prepares as Portugal steps into UCL breach once again2024-09-22 08:17
Why Kamala Harris triggers Donald Trump so intensely.2024-09-22 07:58
North Korea fires two short2024-09-22 07:52
阅读党报 学习十九大精神2024-09-22 07:35
Virginia recount ends in tie, to be determined by drawing lots.2024-09-22 07:26
Ruling bloc divided on foreign nannies' pay2024-09-22 07:10
阅读党报 学习十九大精神2024-09-22 07:09
Gastro Obscura's Guide to Where to Eat in Nashville2024-09-22 09:29
Moon pledges support for southeastern region's megacity project2024-09-22 09:16
Posting your kid's photo to Facebook? Maybe think twice.2024-09-22 08:46
4834名贫困家庭劳动者享受了政策红利2024-09-22 08:38
2016's $400 GPU vs. 2019's $400 GPUs2024-09-22 07:56
Seoul’s population falls below 10 million for first time in 32 years2024-09-22 07:43
Who will challenge for Man City's PL crown next season?2024-09-22 07:39
Moon pledges support for southeastern region's megacity project2024-09-22 07:26
Alcaraz vs. Van de Zandschulp 2024 livestream: Watch US Open for free2024-09-22 07:25
Verizon's Stream TV can't stream Netflix2024-09-22 07:08