What do you meme?: An analysis of how college students use memes
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
Ellensburg
Event Website
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source
Start Date
16-5-2021
End Date
22-5-2021
Keywords
Memes, internet, communication
Abstract
This exploratory study provides insight into the behaviors of Central Washington University college students as it pertains to the discovering, sharing and creating of memes. Additionally, it explores meme use in inter-personal communication, the effects of meme interaction on personal interests and understanding of the digital and physical world, and opinions about memes being used in institutional and commercial contexts. Cultural anthropology methodology such as an online survey, long-form interviews, pile-sorting activities and analysis of current literature were used to collect and analyze the data for this study. A relevant finding from this study was student perception of memes in comparison with definitions made available in the current academic literature on memes. The results of this study are likely to be of interest to researchers who aim to understand memes and their use by this key population of meme users as well as institutional and corporate entities who seek to use memes to encourage interactions with themselves and this population.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Skyler, "What do you meme?: An analysis of how college students use memes" (2021). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 8.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2021/COTS/8
Department/Program
Anthropology and Museum Studies
Additional Mentoring Department
https://cwu.studentopportunitycenter.com/what-do-you-meme-an-analysis-of-how-college-students-use-memes/
What do you meme?: An analysis of how college students use memes
Ellensburg
This exploratory study provides insight into the behaviors of Central Washington University college students as it pertains to the discovering, sharing and creating of memes. Additionally, it explores meme use in inter-personal communication, the effects of meme interaction on personal interests and understanding of the digital and physical world, and opinions about memes being used in institutional and commercial contexts. Cultural anthropology methodology such as an online survey, long-form interviews, pile-sorting activities and analysis of current literature were used to collect and analyze the data for this study. A relevant finding from this study was student perception of memes in comparison with definitions made available in the current academic literature on memes. The results of this study are likely to be of interest to researchers who aim to understand memes and their use by this key population of meme users as well as institutional and corporate entities who seek to use memes to encourage interactions with themselves and this population.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2021/COTS/8
Faculty Mentor(s)
Rodrigo Renteria-Valencia