Internet memes seem to have infiltrated into our physical world, especially in the form of YouTube videos. I for one am all for someone or something becoming popular on the Internet, but the constant bombardment of something that is popular from the Internet into other forms of media, or even the real world, is getting ridiculous. It has gotten to the point where people are even dressing up as something popular from the Internet on Halloween! (I am actually guilt of this. My twin sister and I dressed up as a double rainbow for Halloween, which was awesome, especially when we got a reaction from people who immediately knew what we were).
Who knows why some videos on the Internet get so popular? I can take a guess. Most of the more famous Internet memes are videos in which a person is acting hysterically or is taking part in some sort of misfortune. These videos are seen as “hilarious” and it’s always fun to show your friends a video of someone doing something stupid. But are these types of videos harmful? It would depend on the situation. The boy who’s video of him practicing his light saber skills in a high school storage room gained popularity over the Internet instantly. However the boy felt so ridiculed by the video that he filed a lawsuit towards the school. His embarrassment does not seem worth a few cheap laughs at his expense. However, other Internet stars, such as the “sittin’ on the toilet” lady make embarrassing videos on purpose, but without the goal of become famous on the Internet.
Internet memes, especially in the care of popular YouTube videos seem to integrate themselves into pop culture. Antoine Dodson is definitely infused into popular culture after one of his interviews was remixed into a song, a video that received almost forty million views in about 3-4 months. His popularity has grown immensely. He has his own Halloween costumes (saw at least thirty Dodson’s walking around Santa Barbara each day I went out last weekend), he’s the spokesperson for an iPhone app that tracks sexual offenders, and he even performed his remixed interview on the BET awards. I’m sure that most people my age, or people who know people my age, have seen “The Bed Intruder Song” video on YouTube. The song is ridiculously catchy and I often have to stop myself from quoting it in everyday situations.
After reflecting on why things on the Internet become so popular, I began to wonder if this has a positive or negative effect on society. On one hand, it forever brands people with a label that they might not want to have for the rest of their life. Chris Crocker received some unwanted attention from “haters” after his “Leave Britney Alone” video. Internet popularity gives people fame that they might not want. On the other hand, Internet memes allow for anyone to have their fifteen minutes of fame. The little boy from the “David After Dentist” video was actually quoted on Glee.
I personally think that Internet memes are harmless as long as the people who create them and post them online are fully aware of what kind of repercussions what they post will have on their lives. I love things on the Internet that are popular for no reason. I would have had no idea what to be for Halloween if a friend hadn’t sent me the “Double Rainbow” video.
Let me just start off by saying that I absolutely adore the double rainbow video.. it never fails to put a smile on my face (even after watching it a bajillion times). I totally agree with what you're saying about how people do dumb things to get famous on the internet. If 15 minutes of fame means jumping up and down with no clothes on.. then we'd probably see thousands of videos of people doing exactly that. I have a lot of first-hand knowledge about youtube since I'm an active user and post random videos of things that I find humorous. I have a video of me having a telephone conversation with my F.O.B. korean mom that received close to 10,000 views. I could see how or why she would get mad at the fact that I posted the video for the whole world to view because in a sense she's gaining unwanted fame. Thankfully she was chill about it and appreciates the small comments she receives about how funny she is from youtubers. I think internet memes are harmless as well because everyone is in search for some type of stardom, even if it means embarrassing themselves.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I loved your halloween costume! Anyway i think that internet memes are just for fun. The internet allows people to have their small fame, or actual fame depending on what the video leads to, like Antoine Dodson. However, I feel like you have to be ready to either become famous or get made fun of. While the light saber kid got publicly ridiculed, he put that video up and should have been prepared. It's really a toss up on which videos will become popular or not, so as long as your ready for either outcome, then internet memes are all for fun and I enjoy watching people do the crazy stuff that they do.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I love the Double Rainbow guy! And my sister and I were always singing "sittin on the toilet" after that video was uploaded. Like others have said before, I see it as all in good fun as long as the people in the video are told that a video with them is going to be uploaded. Everyone wants some 15 minutes of fame, and I think that the YouTube culture has already been embedded into our society. People quote popular videos in everyday convos, there's some shows on TV that focus on Internet videos (like Tosh 2.0) and like you mentioned before- David after Dentist was quoted on Glee!
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