The Future of College Is Facebook Meme Groups

Interesting to see how large groups of college students are using Facebook, mostly as a forum for sharing memes. About four years ago I asked students in my “News Writing” class to make memes based on AP style / copy-editing principles, but I don’t think the students particularly cared for the assignment. I dropped the meme thing the next time I taught the class, but perhaps I should resurrect it. Maybe this time applying it to something more engaging, like identifying bias.

By eschewing anonymity, members of supergroups like UC Berkeley Memes for Edgy Teens prove their innate understanding of this false assumption. To borrow a quote from Bane: While others may have merely adopted the meme, this generation of students was born in it — molded by it. Memes and the internet culture from which they spawn have been present in these young adults’ lives for the majority of their formative years — and it shows. The distinction between the on- and offline self has disappeared, and in its place rests a refreshingly authentic reclamation of personhood. —NY Mag