Memes Abounded on a New "Real Time With Bill Maher"

"If you've been keeping up on the news in the last few weeks, you've probably encountered a very surreal wrinkle to some very unsettling events: namely, the presence of memes in several high-profile shootings. For those of us who are not extremely online - and even for some of us who are, just in different ways - it can be difficult to parse out what's happening and what a series of seemingly random words written on ammunition might mean."

"Walker provided one theory behind shooters' use of memes, calling it "a nihilistic attempt to draw attention to himself and also to call into question the entire world that older people live in." He went on to address how some people can become alienated from much of what's around them. "A lot of especially young people who don't see a future for themselves - they feel lonely, they feel alienated, and they congregate in these spaces outside of the mainstream, where they feel like that online world is more important than their real world," he explained."

Memes have appeared on ammunition and in other elements of several high-profile shootings, creating confusion about their meaning. A 26-year-old self-described meme researcher offered an explanation that such uses function as a nihilistic attempt to draw attention and to challenge the world older generations inhabit. Many young people who feel lonely, alienated, and without future prospects gravitate toward online spaces where ironic cultural practices can supplant real-world interaction. Frustration with job prospects and interpersonal relationships intersects with plentiful online possibilities and ironic identities. Public conversations have also referenced portrayals of meme culture in recent media and reactions to incel subcultures.

Read at InsideHook