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"The Internet meme is a force to be reckoned with. Whether it takes the form of a dancing cat or a college protest, the Internet meme is capable of changing the world. Until now, the meme has largely been derided as a procrastination tool for slacker college kids, but those very college students are working hard to challenge such unfounded stereotypes. Internet memes can take the form of videos, pictures, hashtags, or even simple words and phrases. Memes have been a part of society for a long time, but their influence has only increased with the rise of the Internet. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr allow users to share all kinds of content. Sometimes, a video or a picture will catch on with a small group of young Internet users. These users, often enrolled in college, recommend the content to others. Once in a while, this will spiral out of control, at which point the content officially reaches meme status. Memes range from silly to spectacular, but all share one thing in common: a remarkable impact on the culture of students in high school and college. The attitudes and behaviors of many students have been shaped by prominent Internet memes. Memes are typically humorous or satirical but there are many examples of more serious Internet memes."

Video of a police officer dousing Occupy protesters with pepper spray was one of the top three news-related memes of 2011, according to the analysts who follow this sort of thing at Know Your Meme. Also in the group: a photo of President Obama and his top advisers awaiting word of Osama bin Laden's death and the news that Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs had died. They fit perfectly into the somewhat loose definition of a meme. All three started as one thing - in the case of "pepper spray cop" it was video of a University of California, Davis, officer casually walking down a line of seated protesters as he shot the stinging spray into their faces - and became something else entirely as people used digital tools to add their own interpretations and comments.

"In New York, I snapped a photo - and tweeted it - every time I spotted a kid with a meme-inspired sign. The unfaithful boyfriend meme recast with Trump staring at the NRA and ignoring "students lives." A Mocking Sponge with a "Make America Great Again" hat. Several Krusty Krab versus Chum Bucket riffs. "I don't get her sign," I overheard a woman in front of me saying to the man next to her, while we were waiting to march. "Hi, I can explain that," I said, breaking meme-rule No. 1: Never talk about a meme IRL. "It's a good versus bad comparison. The Krusty Krab is 'good,' and the Chum Bucket is 'bad.' So the NRA is bad here." "Oh, I guess I probably could have figured that out," the woman replied. "That makes sense." By the end of the day, I'd tweeted photos of a half-dozen meme signs I'd seen in New York City. Other protesters started sending me DMs and replying to my tweets with pictures of their signs from different cities. Twitter created an entire moment dedicated to SpongeBob signs alone. But for every like and fave - just look at the impressive shading on this Chum Bucket - Twitter, and my mentions, quickly filled with people barking about how stupid these kids were. About how cartoon-covered poster board is a terrible way to get people - voters, government representatives, "adults" - to pay attention."

"Tell me, what do these two memes at right have in common? Answer: Both are false. Someone somewhere sat down at a computer, pulled up photo of Hillary Clinton, and concocted an overt lie. The same is true with regard to whoever falsely attributed the above statement about Republican stupidity to Donald Trump. I've seen both of these memes make a few appearances on my Facebook feed this election season. At times I wonder about the mindset of those who purposefully craft lies. Perhaps they are nihilists. Perhaps they are rigid ideologues bent on winning the war of ideas by defaming the other side at all costs. Who cares about the truth? Right? Wrong. Truth matters. Truth is not the property of any individual. It is the property of us all, worthy of our ardent protection."

"It was around the time when Jill Stein acknowledged the existence of the "Jill Stein Dank Meme Stash" that this surreal election tipped into a new dimension of weirdness for me."

"Adbusters magazine and its editor Kalle Lasn have been at the forefront of the global resistance to capitalism exemplified by the Occupy movement. Their new book, Meme Wars: the Creative Destruction of Neoclassical Economies, uses startling images to back up its hard-hitting points. Here are a selection of some of the best."

"Project Look Sharp is a media literacy initiative of Ithaca College that develops and provides lesson plans, media materials, training, and support for the effective integration of media literacy with critical thinking into classroom curricula at all education levels."

"The floss is everywhere. Ted Danson did it. Mark Ingram did it. A 96-year old World War II veteran did it. And it's in Fortnite, where a wide range of emotes, or character actions, are sold by developer Epic Games. Fortnite characters can also dance using the "fresh" emote, which directly cribs from the "Carlton dance" Alfonso Ribeiro made famous on the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, or "swipe it," a copy of 2 Milly's Milly Rock dance. None of the creators of these dances see a cent from the game's in-app purchases, which, in aggregate, reportedly led Epic to $1 billion in revenue midway through last year. So, naturally, the creators sued. And quickly hit a brick wall."

"How the new graphic iconography of memes, placards and posters is changing the way we communicate and protest"

Every once in a while, a meme rises up from the wondrous bog of entertaining nonsense that is the Internet. To achieve mainstream recognition, the meme and its creators must pass through a ceremonial rite of passage called "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," where past luminaries like Alex from Target, Rebecca Black and Lydia Lee (the Adele-singing student) have gathered to extend their 15 minutes of fame. That would also be true for the creators of "Damn, Daniel," the latest Internet sensation. The video was shared hundreds of thousands of times as it leapfrogged from Snapchat to YouTube, Twitter and basically every other social platform. Take a look."

"Regardless of what you think about his latest feat If You're Reading This It's Too Late, (EDIT: now Views From The 6) it's hard to deny that since his first appearance, Drake has been subverting stereotypes about masculinity without even trying. Drake has made himself a successful real-life meme with a loyal fan base by rapping about his feelings.He raps like he finally worked up the nerve to challenge his Forest Hill bully to a freestyle battle, but he drops bangers. Aside from the rare critic who claims that Drake is too "soft," the hyper-masculine culture of hip-hop has welcomed his r&b/hip-hop hybridity."

"AirDrop is a file-sharing feature on Apple devices that lets users send photos, videos, contacts, links, and more via a combination of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Phones with AirDrop enabled can exchange files from up to 30 feet away, whether or not they're in each other's contact lists. Many adults use AirDrop to share files one-on-one, but teens have embraced mass image sharing via AirDrop for years. As more teens get their own iPhones and a rising number of schools crack down on social media, AirDrop culture has gone mainstream-and more adults are getting caught in the crossfire."

"Nike's web site allows visitors to create custom shoes bearing a word or slogan -- a service Nike trumpets as being about freedom to choose and freedom to express who you are. Confronted with Nike's celebration of freedom, I could not help but think of the people in crowded factories who actually build Nike shoes. As a challenge to Nike, I ordered a pair of shoes customized with the word "sweatshop." Nike refused my order. A contentious email exchange ensued which was subsequently distributed widely on the Internet as an email forward. Eventually, news of the dispute was reported in major newspapers, magazines, and on television. You can read a detailed account of "My Nike Media Adventure" in the April 9th issue of The Nation."

"It's harder and harder to have an honest debate on the internet. Social-media platforms like Twitter, Reddit, and Facebook Groups are rife with trolls; forums are plagued by archaic layouts and spambots. Teenagers who are looking to talk about big issues face additional frustrations, like the fact that most adults on these platforms don't take them seriously. Naturally, they've turned to Instagram. Specifically, they've turned to "flop" accounts-pages that are collectively managed by several teens, many of them devoted to discussions of hot-button topics: gun control, abortion, immigration, President Donald Trump, LGBTQ issues, YouTubers, breaking news, viral memes."

"Gen Z's impulse to congregate online and post constantly-which older adults often mock-is serving them well in self-quarantine."