Byte-Sized Beliefs: Memes as Social Mirror
Memes may seem simple, they are anything but. They play a key role in our digital societies and cultures.
Emile was on the edge of his seat, his leg bouncing up and down with anticipation. He was sure this pick would be a good one, and if he judged the peak right, he’d make a few hundred bucks. He distracted himself for a few minutes, checked the data again and figured now was the time to sell. A click. Done. Yes! He’d sold a meme for $400 and that put him over $3K for this month!
That is part of the meme economy. Where people can buy and sell memes, turning some into NFTs on platforms such as NASDANQ, a play on NASDAQ or MemeInvestor among others. The meme economy as it’s called is an example of how memes have become firmly embedded in our digital culture.
Memes can impact the real world of trading as well. It was a meme that kicked off the GameStop trading debacle in 2021. It had huge financial implications for hedge funds and losses for short sellers. Then there was the whole NFT craze where fortunes were made and lost.
Today, memes have come to play an important role in the historical record of modern societies, with implications to not just our digital lives, but our real world lives. In a way, memes create an augmented…
