In recent years, internet memes have gained significant popularity when considering the ever-increasing popularity of social media platforms and online forums. Before the internet, Dawkins ( 1976) conceptualisation of memes encompassed ideas, behaviours, skills, verbal phrases, and fashion styles communicated either: visually verbally or electronically (Hernández-Cuevas and Cruz-Bermudez, 2021). Dawkins considered memes equivalent to biological genes, whereby both transfer information between individuals while also transmitting and spreading though derivatives. Furthermore, we set an agenda to address key methodological limitations of existing work while providing suggestions for future research.Įvolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins ( 1976) first introduced the term meme, based on the notion that individuals utilise creativity to conceptually manipulate an idea to the extent where it is mutated and subsequently spread through derivatives (Shifman, 2013). As such, to conclude, we discuss the role of contextual humour in facilitating cognitive reappraisal of negative thoughts and experiences. While mental health memes typically depict dark and negative humour, their proximal nature to those experiencing psychiatric symptoms may be considered contextually positive. More specifically, they are perceived to facilitate a humorous take on a negative experience and situation, and the perception of peer-support through social bonds with others experiencing similar symptoms. Here, evaluation of the literature indicates that most psychiatrically vulnerable individuals report positive experiences when engaging with such memes. Among individuals experiencing psychiatric difficulties, we explore whether interacting with mental health memes involves adverse consequences, or rather serve as a beneficial coping mechanism. While several psychiatrists and media outlets perceive internet memes related to mental health difficulties to be associated with adverse consequences, the empirical evidence fails to support this notion. Despite their popularity, the individual motivation for the observation and sharing of mental health memes remains poorly understood. Increasingly, many pages are dedicated to sharing memes related to the symptom experience of specific psychiatric disorders. Online interaction with internet memes has become a crucial psychosocial aspect of digital culture, which have recently become well established in popular media by consistently maintaining culturally topical and socially salient references. Typically, they are rapidly shared, with many variations of the original. Composed of an image and short caption, internet memes visually depict an element of a culture or behavioural system, in a humorous way that contextually relates to a particular demographic.
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