Memes as the Phenomenon of Modern Digital Culture

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24234/wisdom.v15i2.361

Keywords:

Internet meme, digital culture, Web 2.0, Web 3.0, social media, intellectual practices, artistic practices, information product, communication

Abstract

The article analyzes an Internet meme as the newest information product of the society and a result of its intellectual and artistic practices. The analysis of the role of the Internet memes, created by means of the popular artistic images modification in the modern digital culture is made. Such methods as semiotic and hermeneutic analysis of the Internet memes are used in the research work. The authors seek to explore the reasons for the popularity of memes in the processes of symbolic production and exchange in contemporary society and the modern digital culture, which is the purpose of this study. We consider that Internet meme created by using and modifying artistic images is a new phenomenon in human public life and new type of communication. As a hypothesis, a distinctive feature of the Internet meme is the surprise and laughter it causes in the “man of the Internet”. The main result of this article is the analysis the role of Internet memes in the newest information space and their specific features as a special information product of the modern digital culture. The authors draw attention to the popularity of Internet memes caused by an increase in information chaos in the modern symbolic production and exchange and, therefore, a person’s confusion when meeting a large number of information.

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Author Biographies

Iryna VITIUK, Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University

(PhD in Philosophical sciences, Assoc. Prof.), Grand PhD applicant, Department of Philosophy and Politology, Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University, Zhytomyr, Ukraine. Her interests lay in the field of Religion, Eschatology, Global Problems, History of Religion, Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Christian Ethics. She's an author of a monograph and 20 articles. Main articles: ""Blessed be peacemakers": conceptual foundations of peacekeeping policy of Roman-Catholic church in decisions of the Second Vatican Council", "Pre-Christian Essence of Christian commandments: the first tablet", "Christian Ethics: pre-ethical essence of the Decalogue", "Fear of death as a precondition of eschatological visions", "War in the context of eschatological paradigm of the modern world", "The problem of determination of eschatological views: non-religious eschatology".

Olena POLISHCHUK , Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University

(Dr.) is Professor of the Department of Philosophy and Politology, Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University, Zhytomyr, Ukraine; Editor of Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University Journal. Philosophical Sciences: scientific journal. Her areas of interest includehistory of philosophy, epistemology, aesthetics and social philosophy.

Polishchuk is the author of 2 monographs and 61scientific articles. Recent publications: “Intuition: Nature, Essence and Heuristic Potential”, “Artistic Thinking: Aesthetic and Cultural discourse”, “Artistic Myth and its Interpretations of Cultural Heritage of the Eastern European Countries in the Popular Animated Films of the Post-Soviet Period”, “Simulacrum, Aesthetic Experience and Contemporery Artistic Practices in the Context of Principle "Incomplete Understanding of the Object"”.

Nataliia KOVTUN, Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University

(Doctor of Sciences (Philosophy), Associate Professor) is Professor of the Department of Philosophy and Politology, Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University, Zhytomyr, Ukraine; Executive Secretary of Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University Journal. Her interests lay in the field of History of Philosophy, Epistemology, Social Philosophy. She's an author of 3 monographs and 48 articles. Main articles: “Conceptual approaches towards correlation between rational and will compound parts of the social activity comprehension”, “The irrational within manipulating individual and social will practice”, “Will as the basis of the social activity in G. Gegel's interpretation”, “Conceptual approaches to the social and philosophical analysis of will”, “Levels and forms of social activity in communicative space of the globalized society”, “To the problem of the notion “social activity" definition”, “Transitional Society in Modificatory Conditions and Challenges of Fourth Industrial Revolution”.

Volodymyr FED, Donbass Pedagogical University, Slavyansk, Ukraine

(Dr. of Science in Philosophy) is Head of the Department of Philosophy, History and Social Sciences and Humanities of Donbass Pedagogical University, Slavyansk, Ukraine. His areas of interest include philosophy of culture, aesthetics and social philosophy. He is the author of 1 monograph, 46 scientific articles. Recent publications: “Rhizome and Simulacrum in Modern Cultural Processes”, “The Leap of Faith: The Transcendental Dialogue of the Religious Culture of the Middle Ages and Globalization”, “The Imperative Outlook of Hieronymus Bosch Arts  in the Context of Symbolic Production and Modern  Artistic Practices”.

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Published

2020-08-25

How to Cite

VITIUK, I., POLISHCHUK , O. ., KOVTUN, N., & FED, V. . (2020). Memes as the Phenomenon of Modern Digital Culture. WISDOM, 15(2), 45–55. https://doi.org/10.24234/wisdom.v15i2.361

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