I am unsatisfied with the impact that memes have on society. A high percentage of memes are shared around the web through social media to many users that are interested in the creation of photos with subtitles that explain current trends.
According to staff reporter Cason Zehnter in his article “How Are Memes Affecting Society,” published by The Bronc Writer, memes could leave a negative impact on people due to its major influence on potentially life-threatening decisions.
“While it may seem like memes are just cute pictures and nothing else, they could have negative impacts on people and just life in general. One of the most recent cases is that of Tide Pods. In just 2018, there have been 37 cases of people eating detergent pods, with about half of them being intentional,” Zehnter said.
There are other ways in which memes negatively impact day-to-day life. While memes may seem like harmless entertainment, they can be a source of major procrastination. There’s also the fact that memes normalize dangerous behavior, such as suicide and self-harm. Meg Thoma introduces some of these issues in her article “Negative Impact of Memes,” published by The Harbinger.
“Though many might get a laugh out of these kinds of tweets while they’re looking for a reason to procrastinate on that long-term English assignment – yes I fall victim to this – the reason behind this laugh is a bi-product of joking about suicide, death and other serious topics – all which have been completely normalized by today’s society,” Thoma said.
Society has started to lose their appeal to the sensitive side of things. Empathy has practically disappeared on social media, leading to less empathy off the screen.