November 9, 2022
Aww yisss. Much inform. Very article. Memes might have given way to entirely new internet-based languages, but they embody different methods and notions of communication that have been around for centuries.
The word meme is derived from the Greek word mimema, meaning “to imitate.” Richard Dawkins first coined the contemporary term in The Selfish Gene, originally defining it as “something that jumped from brain to brain by being copied into different people’s minds.” We doubt that Dawkins had Shocked Pikachu Faces or Doge memes in mind—we find entertainment in these, laughing or sending to a friend with an “it me” text. However, his original definition still holds true. Memes are shared by individuals and are copied into the brains of others—most often to someone who can also relate and enjoy the humour (and knows what we mean by “it me”). Propagation of memes form interpersonal connections and even communities with other individuals sharing similar experiences expressed via this social medium.
Meme-Mining as a Meta-Analysis
At Throughline, we uncover the wealth of information and realize valuable insights hidden in social media. For example, a social intelligence analysis for a rare autoimmune disease might uncover sentiments, desires, and daily-life anecdotes of a person living with this illness. Often, however, the most interesting parts of meme analysis are the memes themselves and the motivations behind sharing them. The inherent humour and sarcasm tied to memes often uncover insights around the following areas:
Humour as a coping mechanism: The adage of “laughter is the best medicine” has been around for eons longer than the memes we know today and still holds true. Many individuals living with illness, especially chronic pain, use memes to process emotions and cope through very difficult stages of their disease—often hiding their true thoughts under a layer of humour. We can also peel back the surface layer of a joke to gain valuable insight into lived experiences that the sharer is hesitant to directly speak about.
Target audience of memes: The context in which memes are shared and traditional research methods can feel worlds apart. Common research processes are formal and structured; memes are crafted to be shared casually, publicly, and often behind the veil of anonymity that the internet offers. This extra layer of separation from researchers can afford greater honesty in what is shared and boost the sharer’s confidence to challenge limits of social desirability bias and mainstream cultural narratives about illness.
Additional audio-visual elements: It may seem obvious to call out these elements of memes; however, imagery, video, and audio cues provide additional glimpses into the mind of a respondent. While we often communicate through writing or speech with one another, visual thinkers can often better express themselves through graphics than words. Art and music can be incredible therapies for individuals living with illness, but they can also reveal real, raw sentiments of these individuals to include in our research.
Meme-Literacy Beyond Research
Several months ago, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the internet was awash in self-made memes about washing hands, social distancing, vaccinations, and countless other messages. These proved more memorable than many official sources of information, where the added layer of humour acted as a Trojan Horse for educational material (and misinformation) to sneak inside of our brains. How might we leverage memes as a tool to improve widespread health literacy? How might memes help combat the viral spreading of health misinformation?
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Jason Wang is Throughline's resident meme expert. His background in innovation management and genetics biology brings out his innate curiosity to unearth insights from patient data.
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Gonzalez-Polledo, E. (2016). Chronic Media Worlds: Social Media and the Problem of Pain Communication on Tumblr. Social Media + Society, 2(1), 2056305116628887. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305116628887
LitCharts. (n.d.). LitCharts. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-selfish-gene/terms/meme
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