Psychological Contagions

In 1976, biologist Richard Dawkins published a book on evolution titled The Selfish Gene. In the last chapter of the book, the word “meme” and the idea of what they are is introduced. Memes from the perspective of biology are styles, behaviors, and concepts that are spread between individuals. Think of the latest craze sweeping the campus, fashion trends, slang, or a popular single playing on the radio. These memes invariably spread throughout their culture, then go on to mutate into new variations, almost like a virus. To Dawkins, these cultural transmissions were the equivalent to a gene, passed down and altered from one generation to the next.

A couple decades later, the early internet would be introduced, allowing people from across the world to interact with one another virtually on message boards or email. In this context, the word meme was applied to internet discourse. Online groups and forums became conducive to propagating memes quickly as they had large and diverse user bases and encouraged communication. Videos, text, and images could be posted, and rapidly altered as they are shared across the web. This virtual phenomenon would only continue escalate as search engines and social networks allowed for even more ways to spread information. Even if these memes spread on a micro scale, their impact can be observed on the macro, molding ideologies and social norms.