When Do Memes Stop Being Funny? by PBS Idea Channel

PBS Idea Channel host Mike Rugnetta attempts to explain why people start hating Internet memes, even if they previously liked them, and how seeing them online can be less like consuming them and more like being subjected to them.

Old meme is old. But why is this such a bad thing? Once the height of internetiness, the sight of a LOLCat now is unforgivable. Memes become passé crazy fast: after just months or even WEEKS of a new meme, we tire of the once hugely popular. Why does this happen, and happen so QUICKLY? Is it a reflection of the sheer volume of visual information we absorb from the internet? Or does it say something about this specific visual culture?

Rollin Bishop
Rollin Bishop