Doge

Social Context of Memes

Memes have always been popular ways to express a variety of thoughts. They have been considered a universal form of communication, using images and language to create new meanings. Meme's are a way to connect to others, share cultural thoughts and ideas. They are replicated and modified like a joke, or song and still retain meaning to those that use them. Meme culture is continuously evolving and changing. Memes are essential to the concept of visual literacy.

Visual literacy

According to the ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education:

Visual literacy is a set of abilities that enables an individual to effectively find, interpret, evaluate, use, and create images and visual media. Visual literacy skills equip a learner to understand and analyze the contextual, cultural, ethical, aesthetic, intellectual, and technical components involved in the production and use of visual materials. A visually literate individual is both a critical consumer of visual media and a competent contributor to a body of shared knowledge and culture.

Memes are perfect for practicing your visual literacy skills! You can find or create memes that fit your particular communication need. This communication has elements of context and culture. You are expressing an idea or thought through an image with text, or a GIF, or video . You interpret the meme again based on the culture and context, evaluate it for it's meaning, and use it to expression a thought or identify within a community. If you can't find a meme that fits, you can create your own!

Interested in some additional information? Check out these videos!

Meme Revolution- discusses Doge Coin and NFT

More than just a meme mental health and memes

Dark Side of memes Artificial Intelligence and dark memes

“About Doge.” About Doge | Doge, Know Your Meme, very.auction/doge-history. Accessed 30 Jan. 2024.

"ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education", American Library Association, October 27, 2011. http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/visualliteracy (Accessed January 30, 2024)