In the last few years the usage of memes seem to have shot up.

I liked it at first, but it got old really quick.

Now it seems you can't go anywhere on the internet without seeing some (IMO) horrid use of memes.



Anyone in the same boat? I really don't want to start a flame war, so please keep it civil.



Edit: Nevermind, this was probably a bad idea for a thread. Don't suppose a mod could lock it if it gets out of hand or to spammy?

i dont usually complain about memes but when i do, its on BSGFCD. like that?

Of course. Memes come and go, and when their popularity fades they are hardly seen again.

Unless you mean the usage of memes as a whole, then probably not.

i dont see much of "look out we got a bad ass over here" anymore
how did that get passed censors lol

Memes come and go, but the use of them will last forever.

I know, but to me it just seems that they last way longer than they should. They're funny the first few times, but not when you get bombarded with them wherever you go.

I'm sad to say you're probably right; you'd have to chance the fundamental nature of the internet community to do that, and thats most likely never going to happen.

Not really. Memes have always being part of the human fabric. Its like a language within a language. The difference between the past and today is that in the past, more often than naught, it was the influential folks who asserted the "memes" more successfully. Now, with the internet era, even little kids are getting into the act and that brings a whole new level in the evolution of information, language and communication.

Memes have become a really unfortunate thing.

When a meme first starts, it's like an inside joke, and it's usually really funny if you're in on it. However, it's only a matter of time until it gets out of control and everyone is using it everywhere for no reason. At that point, hearing/seeing it is just awful. And that's how it is if you have an inside joke that everyone suddenly starts using, even though a good portion of them are never in on it.

I remember ten years ago, internet memes were awesome. But now...

I miss the old memes though (specifically the fourchan ones from around 6 years ago), I think they were more creative. A lot of the new ones just seem to be some random phrase repeated everywhere.

I use to tell arrow to the knee jokes, until I took an arrow to the knee. Memes will never go away, and they will always be overused.

If the situation fits the meme, then you will probably see it. "Cool story bro" tends to be my meme of choice for people who post completely stupid things.

art thou angry brethren?

They'll never go away. They existed long before the internet...the internet has just made them spread more quickly.

Memes won't ever go away; if you're talking about the real meaning of the word that is - "an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."

Never use them. Took me some thinking reading throughout this thread to realize what they meant. So basically phrases some people choose to use. Not much you can do about that, unless there was a forum censor for the memes.

Also, what Solid_moose said. I'm not a very culture oriented person.

Exactly. That's like wishing war would go away. Like most other things, memes are not new. The ancient Greeks, for example, had a whole set of their own memes preserved in text that we lack cultural context to understand. One more well-known example is their (tongue-in-cheek) saying that all Cretans are liars.

I love memes, but then I also have a special fondness for pop culture callbacks and reflexiveness. So memes are like catnip to me. Though I'm not a purist by any means. I'm always annoyed at people who rag on other people for using memes 'incorrectly'. Yeah, sorry, I missed the memo where "I can haz cheeseburger" is 'correct' sentence construction.

What's new is the awareness of memes. Five years ago it would have been hard to find someone who could even tell you what a meme was without opening a dictionary.

They ussually do, if they don't they therra chargin therr LAZORS!!

Personally I like memes, picard is a classic. Got the WTF thing going on and the Face palm, best 2 expressions for the marjoirty of the internet imo.

I don't know why people are so cynical against memes, I get a laugh out of them all the time. That Ermahgahd meme I feel horrible for that girl I wonder who she is but I can't help but laugh at it.

I always thought memes were things that helped you remember other things like:

Sheet music staff lines = EGBDF (Every Good Boy Does Fine). Spaces = FACE.
These are what I would call classic, long-standing memes.

Incidentally, I used to be able to read music "but then I took an _____ in the ____."
(I simply couldn't bear to spell it out).

Yes, memes will be around for a long time, is my guess.

...being totally unoriginal is the way to go.


Thought I'd finish that for you.

Like any silly trend they'll fade away, though any new ones will be [censored] and rehashes of old ones.

What I had most is the meme sent out across Facebook by those silly bloody groups and those "like if you remember [whatever]" - it was out only two [censored] years ago idiots! Oh and those pictures of soldiers and cancer patients, having a disease, being shot with radiation and going bald is what passes for beautiful these days and clicking the Like button passes as respect - [censored] me I've fell into a [censored] word with no ESC key...

- This shouldn't be taken as hostile as it sounds...Look a smiley face see

Some of them give me a good laugh every once in a while, but a lot of them aren't even funny.