Since the advancement of technology and the advent of the internet into our lives, we have been indulging in digital socializing so much as we have never done before especially in remote areas like Arunachal Pradesh where geographical disparities of the regions often pose a hindrance to communication among the people.

What is a meme?

A meme is generally an image, video, piece of text, etc. that is copied and spread rapidly by internet users. These creations are basically humorous in nature and it has some resource using which it passes the message the creator or as they like to address themselves, the memers want to send. It carries some twisted captions with striking images or videos etc. that ridicules an issue in a most humorous way. Internet memes are very popular among youngsters especially image macros which are a type of internet meme where a picture or an artwork is presented with some texts superimposed.  To be honest, some memes don’t even make any sense but the smart use of resources and the relevancy of it to a sensationalised topic make it go viral, and that is how an internet meme survives in the virtual world.

Is it all fun?

Yes, memes are fun and they are popular for a reason. Instead of writing or reading a joke with plenty of words to devour, you can make someone laugh with just a picture, gif, etc. But there is a darker side to the meme culture. Very often the memes shared carry some contents which can easily tarnish someone’s image. Sometimes memes are maliciously motivated and are intended to normalise body shaming, mock gender identities, and glorify tragic events. Yes, harsh as it may sound but some memers do use images or videos to create memes that might tarnish the reputation of a person or hurt the sentiment of individuals or a group of people. They simply call it “the dark humour” where they feel free to ridicule the subject matter which is considered very serious or painful to discuss. One of the most viral and popular social media platforms, memes based on genders is one of the controversial contents that often lead to the hot debate between the keyboard warriors. These kinds of memes often target one gender and taking reference to one striking line or an incident, categorise all people belonging to the targeted gender to appear as the maligned ones. Some memes even use resources like pictures and videos that are private to the people featured. These leaked contents pose a great threat to the mental health of the targeted people as they continue to face people pointing fingers at them and their families.