Meme society: Prevalent form of posts, function, and you will contribution

Our rooted data identified four main categories of meme quiddities one to joined era on exact same family relations: Object, certain character, common reputation, action, and you can words. Adopting the difference between real graphic quiddities and you can abstract textual of these (Lewis, 2012 ; Spitzberg, 2014 ), i created a dimension to possess quiddity concreteness. The first several groups-things (such as Mentos within the “Diet plan Mentos”) and you may particular characters (such as for example Bert inside “Bert is actually Evil”)-is actually very visible and tangible. Generic characters (like the individuals kitties when you look at the “LOLcats”) and you can strategies (including the moving moves during the “The fresh new Evolution of Moving”) are still apparent, but their expression you are going to change from you to like to a different. Ultimately, in the place of obvious things, phrases certainly are the least concrete or perhaps the really conceptual of all categories. After that office, we measured new percentage of hours when you look at the for each and every members of the family one contained provides regarding each of the groups. For each meme including for the children had to incorporate at least one kind of quiddity. The brand new quiddity concreteness level is gotten for each and every meme friends situated into weighted millions of the five-quiddity organizations: target and certain reputation (1), universal profile and you may strategies (0), and you may keywords (?1).

Quiddity designs

When you look at the RQ1 i requested exactly what are the prevailing form of quiddities one join meme families together. Our study revealed that action is among the most commonly used quiddity throughout the sample (42.2% out of meme circumstances), followed by keywords (38.5%). Certain profile (29%) and you can object (23%) were less common, with common character (15.7%) trailing behind. It is important to note that our very own conclusions reveal that the fresh new main quiddity is mostly distinctive from the fresh new universal features appearing from inside the the brand new codebook for almost all meme family. Indeed, inside the 90% of one’s meme families, the quiddity are certain meaning that wasn’t as part of the simple services. Such, on the “Superstar Conflicts Son” family unit members, the new act off attacking having laserlight swords is a very particular quiddity, which means could not become grabbed of the general popular features of the new codebook.

Into the RQ2 we requested hence templates, models, and you will involvement structures try commonplace (and you will marginal) inside modern web sites memes. I learned that popular people (twenty six.5%), dinner (19.1%) and the fresh new news (16.3%) was the most famous information; nationality (2.6%), current incidents (3.2%), and you can really works and you may a position (3.3%) was indeed minimum of common topics. In terms of intercourse, men players (59.4%) had been illustrated twice more frequently because the people professionals (twenty seven.3%). Young ones and young people (38.7%) featured very, while you are elderly people was indeed minimum of depicted (5.6%) regarding generation. Caucasian participants (49.5%) have been many represented cultural classification, whenever you are Hispanic otherwise Latino people minimum of (0.2%). Eventually, with regards to mode, really times was basically photo (56%) otherwise clips (42.6%) rather than pure textual memes (1%). Typically, these types of conclusions corroborate some of the findings produced in brand new qualitative education explained more than, where memetic industries try also known as ruled because of the young, white boys. In terms of layouts, media-mainly based playfulness seemingly have come alot more extreme than involvement that have politics. Thus according to descriptive statistics about, government is quite limited about memetic sphere. Yet ,, since the unfolded below, system research will inform you a more advanced tale.

The new cohesiveness off general features from inside the meme group

As the outlined a lot more than, among seeks associated with data was to look at the brand new the total amount regarding cohesiveness out of meme families with respect to its universal characteristics (RQ3). Shape dos reveals the newest community away from memes sharing equivalent articles services. To make the fresh new artwork research crisper, i show right here just five meme family one to show several or so much more qualities. The size of the new node means the network education, this means, what other meme instances they offers stuff features having. Like, the original meme off “Get-off Britney chatroulette odwiedzajÄ…cych By yourself” ‘s the prominent node, revealing at least one or two posts qualities which have 56 (away from 83) other meme times. “Graffiti” and “Birmingham” are both cases of brand new “Pepper Sprinkle Policeman” meme friends. These are the minuscule nodes on the circle, discussing a couple posts properties that have two other meme instances. New thickness of wrap is short for what number of mutual qualities. Such as for instance, the brand new connections between instances of the newest “Get off Britney Alone” are very heavy, for example he or she is much like each other when it comes from posts. The initial meme and its particular hours display up to nine (from sixteen) articles services along.