Why Reposting Memes Isn't Considered Political Participation | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics

Why Reposting Memes Isn't Considered Political Participation

Or, RE: "Why The Bernie Vs. Hillary Memes Will Affect The Outcome Of The Democratic Nomination".

46
Why Reposting Memes Isn't Considered Political Participation
Crave

After reading Perlita Anzures-Flores' article, "Why The Bernie Vs. Hillary Memes Will Affect The Outcome Of The Democratic Nomination," it made me think about how much has changed regarding presidential candidate nominations from February to now. What started as a joke was soon being taken seriously, and the political opinions of the youth were molded by fallacies such as confirmation bias and false attribution. This happened in both the Democratic and Republican camps: those Republicans were sure that Donald Trump would be out of the running because his views didn't match what they believed the rest of the U.S. believed; likewise, many were convinced that Bernie Sanders was the only likely option for the Democratic nomination because of how vilified Hillary Clinton was on their Facebook timelines.

Unfortunately, opinions that are held by Facebook users don't necessarily match what the polls and state primary results say. Were your opinions validated by others on social media, but then contradicted by what your state primary's numbers revealed? Was your perception of candidates possibly warped by made-up data; political content only meant as satire or for entertainment?

You, then, may have been the victim of a meme. With many containing unreliable or falsified information, plenty still become viral and spread political ignorance. They are often no more than short-lived inside jokes within groups, that rarely become something tangible outside of their Internet format. A simple share, retweet or reblog does not constitute taking political action; in fact, it's more a form of "slacktivism," which Dictionary.com defines as "actionstakentobringaboutpoliticalorsocialchangebutrequiring onlyminimalcommitment,effort,orrisk".

Though it's fun for the moment, the joke often gets old really quickly and mutates into something else, no longer used for the purpose it was originally intended to serve. If your knowledge about your political party or another person's is shaped by a 600 x 600 JPEG picture that can easily be edited in Microsoft Paint, you might want to think about how seriously you take the future of your country.

Many could say that sharing memes is really just a form of unconventional political participation, much like protesting or petitions. This would be a solid argument, if not for the fact that memes can totally be used against themselves. Your support for a presidential candidate can literally be manipulated to make them a less serious choice. As you can see below,...

...you can even change the message in real life, but this real-world act will still only be meaningful based on many likes, shares, and retweets it gets online.

The two fallacies that hurt the effectiveness of a meme are, again, false attribution effect and confirmation bias. False attribution is due to the fact that the meme creators are often hoping seriously to gain or lose support for a candidate, but are using information that's completely made up and ends up never being taken seriously. The Bernie vs. Hillary memes that Anzures-Flores mentions are probably a real attempt to demonize Clinton, but end up as a joke that gets scrolled past and forgotten two seconds later on our newsfeed.

The second fallacy is confirmation bias. Many young people believe that since they're seeing these memes are widespread, we assume that this translates to us assuming everyone around us must be thinking like us. I've heard people who were shocked that Hillary Clinton was leading in so many polls earlier this year, and many went straight to conspiracy theories about rigged elections, which then brought up some actually productive conversations about the fairness of superdelegates; however, did they ever stop to think that Clinton's target demographic and largest voter base ISN'T in the same demographic as them? Are the older feminists and middle-aged adults who are out of touch with communication and memes actually supporting Clinton because they've never seen these Facebook posts that teens share?

If the meme doesn't reach an audience other than those who already are with the content (whether it's fictitious or not), it has no effect on the real world, it only affirms the status quo. If it never has a real life outside of the Internet, the original intent of it can get lost forever. Even if it does eventually get commercialized or commodified, such as the form of a "Make America Great Again!" hat or a #NeverTrump bumper sticker, it can easily lose its credibility if it was founded on something fictional, or be easily satirized by the opposition and weakened that way. Tina Fey's SNL impersonation of Sarah Palin almost made us forget what the vice presidential candidate ever said in real life!

But hey, this is just an opinion piece and my opinion may never end up on a bumper sticker or T-shirt either. If these memes really do have an effect on the political process, then I apologize for slandering them. That would be incredible if our generation was the one who was able to dictate the outcome of a presidential election by doing nothing other than sitting in front of a computer screen. As for me and what I see as reality, if you @ me on Twitter and tag me in a terrible and overly cliché meme, I will most likely reply "LMAO IM LITERALLY DYING RIGHT NOW [sic]," but will in fact, not at all be literally dying or LMAOing - I will most likely scroll past it two seconds later.
Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Adulting

18 Things I Want To Do Now That I'm 18

I'm technically an adult, so I'm legally required to live a little, right?

1139
Happy Birthday Cake

For the entirety of my high school career, I was always seen as the goody-two-shoes. I never got in trouble with a teacher, I kept stellar grades, and when I wasn't doing extracurricular activities, I was at home studying. Even when I did go out, it was usually with a bunch of fellow band geeks. The night would end before 11:00 PM and the only controversial activity would be a fight based on who unfairly won a round of Apples-to-Apples when someone else clearly had a better card (I promise I'm not still holding a grudge).

Now that I'm officially an adult, I want to pursue some new things. I want to experience life in a way that I never allowed myself to do prior to entering college. These are the years that I'm supposed to embark on a journey of self-discovery, so what better way to do that than to create a bucket list?

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

10 Life Lessons from Christmas Classics

The holiday classics that shaped my life

696
10 Life Lessons from Christmas Classics
Flickr

The holiday season is full of stress, debt, and forced conversation. While we rush through the month of December, it's important to take a step back and enjoy the moments before they're gone. Most families love to watch Christmas movies, but these beloved films provide more than entertainment. Here are 10 life lessons that I've learned from the holiday classics we watch every year.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

15 Mind-Bending Riddles

Hopefully they will make you laugh.

199814
 Ilistrated image of the planet and images of questions
StableDiffusion

I've been super busy lately with school work, studying, etc. Besides the fact that I do nothing but AP chemistry and AP economics, I constantly think of stupid questions that are almost impossible to answer. So, maybe you could answer them for me, and if not then we can both wonder what the answers to these 15 questions could be.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Most Epic Aurora Borealis Photos: October 2024

As if May wasn't enough, a truly spectacular Northern Lights show lit up the sky on Oct. 10, 2024

20639
stunning aurora borealis display over a forest of trees and lake
StableDiffusion

From sea to shining sea, the United States was uniquely positioned for an incredible Aurora Borealis display on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, going into Friday, Oct. 11.

It was the second time this year after an historic geomagnetic storm in May 2024. Those Northern Lights were visible in Europe and North America, just like this latest rendition.

Keep Reading...Show less
 silhouette of a woman on the beach at sunrise
StableDiffusion

Content warning: This article contains descriptions of suicide/suicidal thoughts.

When you are feeling down, please know that there are many reasons to keep living.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments