I simply do not understand how memes can free themselves away from us and evolve away on their own. Memes aren't living things. Yes I feel they can evolve, but in ways that we cause them to evolve. Without us, how would they even come into existence in the first place? So without us, memes are nothing. We were the ones who led to Despacito being the most watched video on YouTube. How could the meme of Despacito itself exist on its own without us?
The same concept goes for the tide pods. People tend to already eat things that aren't supposed to be eaten. Kids for example always eat things they shouldn't eat. We were the ones who turned the eating of tide pods into a thing. How would the meme of tide pods come into existence without some person starting it and then others copying them? Therefore I believe that we are using memes as a way to communicate. This is why memes go viral. It's because we are trying to use them to connect with others and communicate our ideas. The ideas came from our brains. The ideas did not just come into existence by itself. Successful mass communication is possible because memes tend to spread like diseases as stated in the Virality Prediction and Community Structure link. Memes share complex ideas in such short words without the use of scientific reasoning.
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