Memes and GIFs are all over the internet and social media. We use them to comunicate, to express what we feel and what we think, to represent us. But, do we really know what they are? It is what we are going to explain.

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   In a general way, memes are captioned pictures whose intent is to be funny, often with the purpose of ridiculing some human behaviour. Memes can take the form of videos, GIFs and even texts. We use memes because they are internet’s inside jokes, using them creates a feeling of familiarity. This may be because some memes have their origin in famous TV shows, movies, songs and celebrities. Some really famous memes are, for instance, the Pikachu one (where he appears with his mouth open, giving the feeling of being shocked by something) and the one with Leonardo DiCaprio (a shot from The Great Gatsby of toasting, showing some agreement or congratulation). There is no official creator of this phenomenon, however, the word “meme” was introduced by the biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976. They are a really common thing among teenagers and young adults who use social media nowadays. Memes can also be called reaction pictures. (https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-meme-2483702, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme, https://www.wix.com/blog/2017/07/what-are-memes/, 16/12/2018).

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   GIF means Graphical Interchange Format, it is a format invented by Steve Wilhite. GIFs are animated images, created by combining several other images or frames into a single soundless video that will loop continuously and doesn’t require anyone to press play. Because they play repeatedly, they start feeling familiar after a while. The word “GIF” is a little debatable because most people don’t know how to pronounce it. The doubt is placed between “gif” or “jif”. Just like memes, GIFs are all over social media. In fact, in social networks, more and more there is an extension to GIFs in chats and comment spaces. GIFs are used to react to comments, texts, to entertain, to illustrate or to explain concepts. They are used by both teenagers and young adults, however, it is more achievable for a larger community because it is easier to use and understand. (https://www.wix.com/blog/2017/11/gifs-in-social-media/, https://smallbiztrends.com/2016/03/what-is-a-gif.html, 16/12/2018).

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   These two means of virtual expression are growing and evolving more and more and go hand in hand. They are everywhere and are used in everything and by everyone.

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GIF source: https://giphy.com/gifs/mrw-finals-YWf50NNii3r4k

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By: Catarina Soares