Now that you know what a meme is, let’s talk about the elephant in the room – just how imprecise this definition really is. Which makes understanding memes, in a variety of contexts, more challenging. Memes can take nearly an infinite number of shapes, and styles and capture an array of themes. 

You know this… last week you probably asked an unsuspecting coworker if they had seen what you thought was a viral meme, only to be shocked to find out that particular package of humour was curated just for you! 

The algorithm picked up on your very unique, very personalized, social capital. 

Social Capital, is what sociologists often describe as the “knowledge, skills, habits, values, and tastes that are acquired during socialization and which can be turned to one’s advantage in particular social settings” (Borer et al. l, 2016, p. 190). 

Let’s break that down. 

Your lived experience is vital in communicating effectively – In the case of memes they are highly symbolic, meaning there is no logical link between the meme and the intended effect or message. Memes are subjective and your social capital equates to your unique ability to “correctly” interpret these symbolically coded memes. 

Now let’s speak to the meme attached to this post… a meme I made for an undergraduate class… lol. If you’ve never seen the Power Rangers or live in a place where cannabis is illegal you’d probably have a tough time interpreting my meme the way I intended. 

It wouldn’t hit you the same way as a meme about your favourite TV show. 

But if you were a 20-30-something casually enjoying edibles, you’d have the social capital advantage of interpreting this meme exactly how I intended. Belly laugh included free of charge. 

This phenomenon can explain why memes sometimes feel random. This could come from a gap in social capital where you do not possess the necessary background information to understand the subtle and nuanced humour attached to the memes.

Or…  the randomness you’re perceiving is being employed by a creator in a satirical fashion to create an illusion of exclusiveness for their meme. A fake big brain flex if you will. 

Does this matter? A bit… if youre a nerd like us. But, unless you’re making memes, or wondering why people just don’t vibe with your meme style this is word salad. 

Wait! It can also a good way to think about appropriate content for youth… they are your kids but we think our colouring books are strictly adult content – we want to puzzle adults that have a fair chance of interpreting the content, not confuse children or misshape their reality with our satire and whimsy. 

But what do you think? Do you have the social capital for this meme? 

One might say that understanding memes is much like understanding literature – a cumulative understanding of a variety of works is needed to truely endulge in all the meaning up for offer.

And drop your favourite meme pages in the comments… we want test the scope of our meme-specific social capital!