Memes And The Growing Human Apathy!
Meme: an image, video, piece of text, etc. typically humorous in nature, that is copied and spread rapidly by internet users, often with slight variations.
A meme is an inevitable part of the internet and pop culture. Most of them are downright hilarious, leaves you in splits every time you see them. It is a great tool for brands to trend jack and ride on the virality! Memes have helped and amplified many individual creators getting them a lot of followers/subscribers etc. and everyone is making or trying to make a meme because with smartphones in hand and lust for validation & followers everyone has become a content creator now.
But think of it a little deeper and it will disturb you a bit. Maybe?
What?
Probably memes are making people apathetic. Or maybe people are too busy or sad or struggling with their problems that they come over the Internet just to show the happy side of their lives or to react ( laugh off) to anything they see.
I mean enjoying and laughing is a great exercise but being mindful about what you are enjoying or laughing on or making fun of — is also equally important.
Our world will not die as the result of the bomb, as the papers say, it will die of laughter, of banality, or making a joke of everything, and a lousy joke at that.” -Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Coming back to memes — Every week we have something or someone going viral and then becoming a meme. Be it the “Ye humari Pawri ho rahi hai” girl, poor “Shweta Your Mic is On” girl or the latest “Baghpath Chat Stall Brawl” where the chhat shop owners fought for just one customer.
Now that stall owner Harendra is going viral and is a part of pop culture. people are making memes out of the whole incident.
But little did anyone think about why the fight happened in the first place? it was for survival. For that one customer who would have had a plate of chhat from either of the shops. Such is the state of our country.
“Shweta your mic is on” trended on the internet for days brands joined the bandwagon, girls named Shweta across the globe found something to talk and post on their social media but people rarely talked about what would have happened with the Original Shweta who’s call went viral.
Something similar happened with the ragpicker Kamlesh back in 2017 who was extremely addicted to the thinner solution (that comes with a whitener sold in a stationery shop) that he vomits blood if he goes a few days without them. And he was a social media sensation for months!
For one genuinely funny meme there are a plethora of memes shared, enjoyed, replicated by people that clearly shows the lack of apathy in the humans of the Internet making it look cool and happening.
Oh, and not to forget the dark side of the meme communication that spreads untruth about almost everything.
And the irony is that no one can really do anything about it other than the people themselves. They can start being sensitive on what content they share, memes they laugh on. Probably it’s practically not possible but one can at least try!
P.S — I am guilty of sharing and laughing my ass off on such memes but most definitely I’ll now be mindful before sharing such stuff!
