Internet culture is difficult to explain to someone who has never experienced it. The whole premise of trying to explain memes to our parents’ generation is an experience so universal that it has become a meme in itself. Even the word “meme” is outdated. Merriam-Webster defines a meme as “a funny or interesting item (such as a photograph or video with a caption) or genre of items that is widely disseminated online, especially through social media,” but at this time in culture. Only half of the content we consume online can be categorized as such. Yes, we look at things that make us laugh, but we also look at things that make us feel sad, affirmed, hopeful, overwhelmed, connected, or angry. There is. Now, through the Internet, we can not only directly deliver humor, but also make it feel. Any Emotions.
Of course, as each generation becomes more and more immersed in the online world, the dilemma of explaining Internet culture to outsiders is rapidly becoming less relevant. When I was in elementary school, iPads had just been released, and now some elementary school students are lent individual iPads by their schools to do their homework. When I was in middle school, I was forced to listen to a (even outdated at the time) lecture on online safety. Middle school students today are encouraged to become YouTubers as a “side job.”
Even as I write this, I know I run the risk of sounding like a “boomer.” The term was once used to describe the neutral generation, but now, simply colloquially, it refers to people who have reached an age where they become estranged from society. It’s not cool to question the online realm that most of us exist in. And don’t get me wrong, I spend hours every day scrolling through recycled TikToks on my Instagram Reels, but every now and then I look around and wonder how we’re even alive. there is. It’s all here, and the even more worrying question is, what happens next?
A few years ago, an online debate began over the idea of ”iPad babies,” children who could only be made quiet by holding a glowing iPad in front of their faces. Our generation is now old enough to realize this. perhaps Having unlimited internet access at a young age wasn’t the best thing for us. Watching grown men talk about conspiracy theories and play video games was not content a 12-year-old should watch. People of our generation are now starting to worry about their future children. If you think that being constantly online changes our brains, what happens to impressionable toddlers who are already learning how to scroll through YouTube short videos?
