INTERNET CULTURES
TREND RESEARCH
SOCIAL MEDIA
HUMOUR & SOCIAL STUDIES
VIDEO EDITING
TREND RESEARCH
SOCIAL MEDIA
HUMOUR & SOCIAL STUDIES
VIDEO EDITING
CONCEPT
Humour is an integral part of our daily lives, manifesting itself in various forms such as private conversations, advertisements and pop-cultural entertainment. With the rise of digitalisation, in recent years a new form of humour has emerged on social media, known as ‘internet humour’, which is frequently expressed through memes.
Humour is an integral part of our daily lives, manifesting itself in various forms such as private conversations, advertisements and pop-cultural entertainment. With the rise of digitalisation, in recent years a new form of humour has emerged on social media, known as ‘internet humour’, which is frequently expressed through memes.
Contrary to popular belief, these memes do not only serve as a source of entertainment but also as a social barometer that reflects the issues currently affecting our society. In addition to that, many memes serve as coping mechanisms for personal and social crises and as a result play a major role in the destigmatisation of very important topics such as mental health or sexuality.
That being said, memes have a significant influence on our communication, lifestyle and can even influence political beliefs. In "More Than Memes" I analyse, decode and question internet humour and memes, uncovering their meaning and motivations and contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the sociocultural impact of memes.
PROCESS
To gain more knowledge about the topic, I used a netnographic approach. I collected countless web articles, videos or memes and clicked through profiles, linked posts and similar content, especially on Instagram and Tiktok. In this initial research phase, I was able to crystallise different areas and interests, which were later reflected in the different chapters.
To gain more knowledge about the topic, I used a netnographic approach. I collected countless web articles, videos or memes and clicked through profiles, linked posts and similar content, especially on Instagram and Tiktok. In this initial research phase, I was able to crystallise different areas and interests, which were later reflected in the different chapters.
Because I wanted to add a personal touch to this project, I decided to arrange interviews with meme consumers. I chose to interview these protagonists because they have a lot of experience with memes and feel like memes have shaped their identities. Ida was already creating memes at the age of 13 and then slipped more and more into an anti-recovery mental health meme bubble, while Beni is, as he describes it himself, chronically online and knows a lot about current meme-trends. The incredibly personal stories and insights into private thoughts, stories and feelings contribute to the project's emotional depth and credibility.
Concerning the look & feel it was important to me that the design of the project reflects how More Than Memes deals with the humorous content of the memes on a serious level. That's why I opted for a simple and clear visual language, which also works well with the different found footage. In addition to this, because this project refers to a digital phenomenon, I chose a strong RGB colour to underline this.
check out my miro board, where collected all of my reserach and documented my process, here:
RESULT
More than Memes serves as a social media based trend research and meme archive. It's all about what memes mean for us as a society, how they influence us as a community but also as individuals. Many of the videos raise questions to evoke curiosity but also to communicate the power of memes. "Have memes changed the way we talk about therapy?", "How can memes be used to call out politics?" or "Are memes breaking taboos?" are just a few amongst these questions.
More than Memes serves as a social media based trend research and meme archive. It's all about what memes mean for us as a society, how they influence us as a community but also as individuals. Many of the videos raise questions to evoke curiosity but also to communicate the power of memes. "Have memes changed the way we talk about therapy?", "How can memes be used to call out politics?" or "Are memes breaking taboos?" are just a few amongst these questions.
The Instagram account encourages self-reflection and serves as a meeting point for people who are interested in the research on internet humour. In the first couple of days, the account reached over 10,000 people with its content and gained more than 500 new followers.