anti-social media: how memes have changed the way people communicate
I am endlessly fascinated by the things that come out of the abysmal depths of the internet. I love the internet (if I ever said otherwise I would be lying, as I spent most of the past summer glued to my computer screen) and everything it has to offer. It is, essentially, limitless – and from that immeasurability stems its power. At the risk of sounding preachy, I have to assert that with great power comes great responsibility. And I feel like it would be irresponsible not to mention that the internet is best in moderation. Even though that’s a totally hypocritical statement coming from a self-proclaimed internet fiend, it doesn’t make it any less true.
Internet memes are an expression of people’s desire to connect with one and other. The internet acts as a filter through which people can communicate, and though memes can sometimes be tactless, they are still a form of communication. The mere existence of internet addiction suggests that people are hungry for social contact. Still, I can’t help but feel that memes are the cyber equivalent of beating a dead horse. Everybody wants to be in on the joke, but the joke can only be entertaining for so long. And thus, the fame that comes with being an internet celebrity is fleeting.
Though I don’t like the way memes reflect upon humanity’s usage of the internet, I do like the “OH MY DAYUM” song. The Gregory Brothers are brilliant. They have a special aptitude for recognizing autotune hits. Also, I love that they can so easily embrace autotune while still doing acoustic interpretations of their songs. And as for the original video, well, Daym Drops’s love for his burger and fries is definitely genuine. YouTubers have to maintain a certain level of self-awareness to be successful, but with that comes the problem of remaining sincere. Daym is honest in his enthusiasm, and I appreciate that. Interestingly enough, sincerity is also the reason why I thought Marilyn Hagerty’s review was amusing. And I’m fairly certain that sincerity why people liked Antoine Dodson, though I’m not exactly pleased by the events that followed his video going viral.
The Bed Intruder meme is an example of the internet taking things too far. The song was catchy, but it totally detracted from the situation at hand. Sexual assault is not a laughing matter. The problem with memes is that if and when they are offensive, racist, sexist, or just generally unethical, people write it off as particularly lewd humor. To ignore problematic memes is to perpetuate the problem at hand. Antoine Dodson’s threats may have seemed funny and over the top, but that wasn’t his intention; he was just trying to stand up for his sister. His articulation was unconventional, but his heart was in the right place. It perplexes me that people responded to his earnestness with mockery.
3 responses so far
I completely agree with your assertion that Antione Dodson’s earnestness was warped into yet another meaningless laugh for the internet society. While I do feel that the original interview has “all the makings” of a viral video, it’s the sad fact that so little attention was paid to the very real danger being presented. It makes me wonder just how far our society’s priorities have deteriorated where we’re at the point where we’d much rather laugh about a rape song rather than use the internet’s communicative powers to create some kind of search for the criminal.
I also concur with your point about Antoine Dodson trying to stand up for his sister – who was on the verge of being sexually assaulted -, but receiving mockery for his intended message. It is shocking that people could write off the underlying issues guiding such threats when people have been extremely serious about the Penn State sexual abuse scandal. Although the Penn State was of a greater scale than this local report of sexual assault, they still deal with the same core issue of crime, and are brought out into the limelight in an attempt to find a more appropriate solution to prevent future reoccurrences and help those who have already suffered at the hands of such devious criminals.
“The Bed Intruder meme is an example of the internet taking things too far. The song was catchy, but it totally detracted from the situation at hand. Sexual assault is not a laughing matter.”
^ I absolutely agree. Another such meme I saw was one of Rebecca Black saying “Which seat should I take?” with the perpetrator of the Aurora movie theater shooting saying “Any of these” and gesturing to the front seats of a movie theater. I laughed for a moment before realizing just how terrible the message of the meme is. It essentially says to Rebecca Black, “We don’t like your music, so die.” While I am far from a fan of auto-tune used for purposes other than style (i.e. Cher’s “Believe”), I hardly think that Rebecca Black deserves to die for her ‘transgressions’ against the music industry!