Digital Folklore Project announces Memes of the Year

The Digital Folklore Project, started by the English department and folklore program in 2014, announced its picks for the 2018 digital trends of the year. Rising to the top was the hashtag
#WhyIDidn’tReport, and the Tide Pod Challenge.

#WhyIDidn’tReport trended during the hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh during Sept. 2018 in support of Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony.

In Jan. 2018, the Tide Pod challenge went viral, in which participants recorded themselves eating the laundry pods.

“Memes aren’t just for millennials,” said Jeannie Thomas, the co-director of the Digital Folklore Project.

“Despite the sometimes silly and problematic world of social media, there’s no getting around the fact that it is a major cultural force,” Thomas said. “It can make fortunes for people and possibly even influence election results.”

The selection process for Digital Trend of the Year is thorough. Students, faculty and staff in the USU Folklore Program track digital trends monthly, collaborating with the Merrill-Cazier Library to archive the trends from each year.

The memes, defined as an idea or behavior spreading from person-to-person within a culture, are chosen based on cultural and folkloric significance and intrigue, Thomas said.

At the end of the year, students meet to nominate eight to 10 trends to be included on an official ballot which is then sent to a panel of judges across the country. The judges, experts in digital trends, include scholars from major institutions including the Library of Congress, Thomas said.

“Memes reveal the things we care about, the things we laugh about and the things we worry about,” Thomas said. “They cover the whole gamut of human experience ranging from social justice issues like educating people about sexual assault, to fun, like the baby shark song, that provides with needed release from the stress of everyday life.”

Other nominations in the social justice category included: Black Hogwarts, the Presidential alert hashtag, the Momo challenge and parodies of the Nike ad featuring Colin Kaepernick.

Other nominations in the “serious fun” category included: the baby shark song, Marxist Gritty, Elon Musk mocking and American Chopper.

– naomiyokoward@aggiemail.usu.edu

@naomiyokoward