meme

In contemporary digital discourse, this term almost exclusively refers to internet-based content. It carries a playful, often ironic tone and is associated with rapid, ephemeral trends. While it can describe a simple joke, it often functions as a shorthand for a shared cultural experience or an inside joke among a specific online community.

In a sociological or evolutionary context, the term is used more formally to describe the transmission of cultural units. In this academic register, it is treated as a conceptual analogue to the gene, describing how ideas evolve and propagate through a population via imitation.