Hey there and welcome to Life Noggin.
I know you’re probably thinking based off the title, how is Life Noggin gonna make a
video on memes?
Well buckle up, because while I don’t understand a lot of memes I look at, I do understand
why we share these funny little artifacts of society.
Most of you probably know what a meme is but for those of you who don’t know, a meme
is a cultural item often found in the form of an image, video, or something similar that
is typically altered and spread through the world.
While the internet has increased the rate at which memes are produced, you can find
examples of memes well before our digital age such as Killroy was here, That little
“S” drawing everyone did on their textbooks and even Darth Vader’s line “I am Father”
It seems that there are a few different reasons as to why we love sharing memes with one another.
In a comprehensive, three-phase study by the New York Times, researchers looked into the
psychology of why people share things online.
They found five primary motivations; to bring enlightening and entertaining content into
the lives of the people we care about, to define ourselves, to grow and nurture our
relationships, for self-fulfillment, and to spread the word for causes we believe in.
Some or all of these motivations might be what’s driving us to keep on sharing various
lowres images with ridiculous captions.
Sharing a screenshot of a cartoon character with a funny but relatable caption might seem
nonsensical and sometimes it is but you’re actually expressing yourself and other people
who see it feel connected to a shared experience.
More than just being good for a giggle, spending time on social media and looking at memes
might help to make you a better person!
In a recent psychological study, researchers found that spending more time on social networks
and engaging in instant message chats predicted more ability to have virtual empathy.
Going beyond our brightly lit screens, being better at dispensing virtual empathy was the
best indicated predictor in the study at being able to express /real-world/ empathy.
Furthering the benefits of our social media and meme obsession, another study found that
posting on a social media sites can help to decrease feelings of loneliness.
When the participants of the study were experimentally induced to increase their status update activity,
their loneliness was found to be reduced.
This decrease in loneliness was due to the participants feeling more connected to their
friends on a daily basis.
You're not just sharing a photo of a confused face, you're letting your friends or random
people on the internet know that they aren’t alone in their feelings.
That being said, some studies and researchers seem to come to the conclusion that too much
time on social media, looking at memes and oversharing might have the opposite effect,
making you feel more lonely and disconnected.
It’s best to take breaks from social media and sharing things so you don’t overload
yourself.
And that’s coming from me!
Did you know that Life Noggin is on twitter, instagram and facebook!?
Follow us for exclusive stuff you won’t find here and messages from yours truly!
All the links are down below!
I can’t wait to see you there!
Make sure you come back every Monday for a brand new video.
As always, I’m Blocko and this has been Life Noggin.
Don’t forget to keep on thinking!