The term meme is a shortening (modeled on gene) of mimeme, which comes from Ancient Greek mīmēma ( μίμημα; pronounced [míːmɛːma]), meaning 'imitated thing', itself from mimeisthai ( μιμεῖσθαι, 'to imitate'), from mimos ( μῖμος, 'mime'). [17] [18] [19] Dawkins emphasizes that the process of evolution naturally occurs whenever these conditions co-exist, and that evolution does not apply only to organic elements such as genes. He regards memes as also having the properties necessary for evolution, and thus sees meme evolution as not simply analogous to genetic evolution, but as a real phenomenon subject to the laws of natural selection. Dawkins noted that as various ideas pass from one generation to the next, they may either enhance or detract from the survival of the people who obtain those ideas, or influence the survival of the ideas themselves. For example, a certain culture may develop unique designs and methods of tool-making that give it a competitive advantage over another culture. Each tool-design thus acts somewhat similarly to a biological gene in that some populations have it and others do not, and the meme's function directly affects the presence of the design in future generations. In keeping with the thesis that in evolution one can regard organisms simply as suitable "hosts" for reproducing genes, Dawkins argues that one can view people as "hosts" for replicating memes. Consequently, a successful meme may or may not need to provide any benefit to its host. [48]

Moritz, Elan (1995). Heylighen, F.; Joslyn, C.; Turchin, V. (eds.). "Metasystems, Memes and Cybernetic Immortality". World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution. New York: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers. 45 (Specia Issue: The Quantum of Evolution: Toward a Theory of Metasystem Transitions): 155–171. doi: 10.1080/02604027.1995.9972558.Miltner, Kate M. (2018). "Internet Memes". The Sage Handbook of Social Media. Sage Publications. pp.412–428. doi: 10.4135/9781473984066.n23. ISBN 9781412962292. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022 . Retrieved 20 June 2022. See also: Diffusion of innovations Imitating the famous cover of the Beatles album Abbey Road (1969), on which the band members cross the road in front of the Abbey Road Studios in a row, has become popular with fans and London visitors. The four actresses of the Japanese Manga/ media franchise Milky Holmes reenact the Beatles cover in 2010, extending the original Beatles meme by their film costumes. In 2011, four cosplayers imitate the above meme during the Manga convention Paris Manga 2012 at a zebra crossing in Paris, thus further separating the meme from the root situation of 1969 tied to the Abbey Road zebra crossing.

a b c Dawkins 1989, p. 192 "We need a name for the new replicator, a noun that conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation. 'Mimeme' comes from a suitable Greek root, but I want a monosyllable that sounds a bit like 'gene'. I hope my classicist friends will forgive me if I abbreviate mimeme to meme. If it is any consolation, it could alternatively be thought of as being related to 'memory', or to the French word même. It should be pronounced to rhyme with 'cream'." Heylighen, Francis (1992). "Selfish Memes and the Evolution of Cooperation". Journal of Ideas. 2 (4): 77–84. Cognitive: ideas perceived as cogent by most in the population who encounter them. Cognitively transmitted memes depend heavily on a cluster of other ideas and cognitive traits already widely held in the population, and thus usually spread more passively than other forms of meme transmission. Memes spread in cognitive transmission do not count as self-replicating. A meme is a cultural phenomenon that is spread through social media or other platforms. A person creates an image or video with a humorous or relatable message, which is then shared with others. Often, many iterations of the same meme will be created, extending its popularity. How is a meme structured? Robertson, Lloyd Hawkeye (2007). "Reflections on the use of spirituality to privilege religion in scientific discourse: Incorporating considerations of self". Journal of Religion and Health. 46 (3): 449–461. doi: 10.1007/s10943-006-9105-y. S2CID 39449795. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021 . Retrieved 1 July 2019.Now, you might be wondering how to pronounce the word meme. The correct pronunciation is meem (rhymes with dream) . The modern-day definition of a meme is a humorous image, video, piece of text, or GIF that is spread across the internet, typically on social media, and often with slight variations. Memes can be created by anyone and can be about anything, from current events, to mundane tasks, to pop culture references. The fun thing about memes is that you can make them your own! Here are three examples from Grammarly’s social media. 1 Name a better trio, I’ll wait 2 Thoughts I have . . . 3 Little Miss . . . Meme FAQs What is a meme? Some commentators have likened the transmission of memes to the spread of contagions. [38] Social contagions such as fads, hysteria, copycat crime, and copycat suicide exemplify memes seen as the contagious imitation of ideas. Observers distinguish the contagious imitation of memes from instinctively contagious phenomena such as yawning and laughing, which they consider innate (rather than socially learned) behaviors. [39] Principal criticisms of memetics include the claim that memetics ignores established advances in other fields of cultural study, such as sociology, cultural anthropology, cognitive psychology, and social psychology. Questions remain whether or not the meme concept counts as a validly disprovable scientific theory. This view regards memetics as a theory in its infancy: a protoscience to proponents, or a pseudoscience to some detractors. [54] Criticism of meme theory meme noun". Oxford Learner's Dictionaries. 2019. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019 . Retrieved 30 December 2017.

Often, memes go through small alterations like the game of telephone. Sometimes, memes even beget new memes. What's fascinating is that the nature of online memes means we can trace their origins, evolution, and changes in popularity. Pike, Kenneth (1967) [1954]. Language in Relation to a Unified Theory of the Structure of Human Behavior (Reviseded.).Denisova, Anastasia (2019). Internet Memes and Society: Social, Cultural and Political Contexts. New York: Routledge. pp.13–26. ISBN 9780429469404. Millikan 2004, p. 16. "Richard Dawkins invented the term 'memes' to stand for items that are reproduced by imitation rather than reproduced genetically."