It wasn’t until the 2010s that memes became a cultural phenomenon in their own right, though.
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It was shared widely through email chains and showed up in popular TV shows like Ally McBeal. Sometimes referred to as “Baby Cha-Cha,” the short GIF of an animated baby dancing became a viral hit in 1996. Most would consider the first internet meme to be the dancing baby. He couldn’t know it at the time, but that term would later be used to describe an infinite number of permutations of different phrases, images, sounds, and videos, all spread via the internet in an effort to share ideas and thoughts quickly and succinctly. He described the idea of a meme in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene as a cultural entity or idea that replicates, evolves, and is passed from person to person.
Some researchers have traced the idea of a meme back hundreds of years, but its modern interpretation is considered by most to have been coined by British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. The images and videos that convey the message are often altered and built upon during this process, which often results in the evolution of the original idea into something else entirely, or are simply posted with a new caption to portray an altered form of it. That idea goes on to proliferate through social media, forums, instant messaging apps, and even news sites. While an outright definition of a meme is hard to nail down, the term is most often associated with an image or video that portrays a particular concept or idea that is then usually spread through online social platforms. And these are the key components of what makes a meme a meme. You found out about it through word of mouth, you understood it, you changed its context, and you appropriated it for your own usage. Whether you partook in the Ice Bucket Challenge, have a “Keep Calm” mug on your desk at work, or have ever used the words “Fail” or “Winning,” ironically or not, then you’ve participated in a meme.
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