Internet meme

Internet
An Opte Project visualization of routing paths through a portion of the Internet
General Access Activism Censorship Data activism Democracy Digital divide Digital rights Freedom Freedom of information Internet phenomena Net neutrality Privacy Right to Internet access Slacktivism Sociology Usage Vigilantism Virtual community Virtual volunteering
Governance IGF NRO IANA ICANN IETF ISOC
Information infrastructure Domain Name System Hypertext Transfer Protocol Internet exchange point Internet protocol suite Internet Protocol Transmission Control Protocol Internet service provider IP address Internet Message Access Protocol Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
Services Blogs Microblogging Email Fax File sharing File transfer Games Instant messaging Podcasts Shopping Television Voice over IP World Wide Web search
History History of the Internet Oldest domain names Pioneers Protocol Wars
Guides Index Outline
Internet portal
v t e

An Internet meme, or simply meme (/miːm/, MEEM), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behaviour, or style) that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. Internet memes can take various forms, such as images, videos, GIFs, and various other viral sensations. Characteristics of memes include their susceptibility to parody, their use of intertextuality, their propagation in a viral pattern, and their evolution over time. The name is from the concept of memes proposed by Richard Dawkins in 1972.

Mike Godwin coined the term Internet meme in 1993 when he discussed memes as spreading via messageboards, Usenet groups, and email. With the rise of social media platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, memes have become more diverse and can spread quickly. More recent genres include "dank" and surrealist memes, as well as short-form videos such as those uploaded on Vine and TikTok.

Memes are considered an important part of Internet culture, and have become a developed research area. They appear in a range of contexts, such as marketing, economics, finance, politics, social movements, religion, and healthcare. Although some argue memes deserve fair use protection, use of media from pre-existing works can sometimes lead to issues with copyright.