Fabian Garnier Analysis Post

The Power of the Internet

The internet has changed the way everything works in the modern world allowing people to obtain any kind of information within seconds of typing it in a web browser. It has become humanities reservoir for information and news. Despite having many positives, the internet has made people much more gullible and acceptance of information or news without any research or questioning. This has brought a trend of people creating fake or misguided advertisements, news stories, or even manhunts where many people fall into the mindset of “since many people believe it then it has to be true” which is one of the main problems when it comes to the internet.
Although these lies are usually harmless, there have been instances where people have been targeted by big internet forums for something that they did not do. The clearest example that I witnessed was when the tragedy of the Boston bombing occurred. People started to look for the culprit due to the images that the media had released of the possible suspect. When someone posted a picture of someone that looked similar to that of the video released by the media, the internet forum of reddit and 4chan went into full attack mode. People started to post personal information of the person that was thought to be the culprit and even sent death threats to his families. This put an incredible amount of stress on the person who was being targeted and drove him to commit suicide. The internet becomes a very dangerous tool when everyone feels that their actions have no repercussions because you don’t have to show your face or voice when you say something. This is one of the more severe instances where the crowd mentality and acceptance of false information has led to suffering.
In the case of the tragedy of the Boston Marathon Bombing, there was a single picture that was linked to a missing Brown student that was said to be one of the main suspects of the crime. There was only physical resemblance, but absolutely no evidence indicated that he was one of the criminals. After internet forums started to theorize that he was guilty, the media started to report on the "information" that was being posted online as fact and news. It even got to the point were people were saying that his  name was heard in the police radio when there is no evidence of such. The picture was a screenshot of a video and showed a man in a white cap carrying a backpack.
On the lighter side there is the instance was when someone spread misinformation by posting a picture with her head shaved and a poster stating “I support Justin Bieber” “#BaldforBieber”. This immediately started to spread through news sources and other internet forums and people started to shave their heads in order to support Bieber’s cancer when in reality he was in perfect health. Thousands of pictures were posted of fans with shaved heads even of movie stars such as Matt Damon. It only takes a couple of people to get something to go viral especially if those people  are able to spread that information to thousands of people like a media source or a YouTube sensation with thousands of subscribers.
In this cancer hoax, two users decided to shave their heads and hold a poster stating that they were shaving their heads to support bieber and his fight against cancer. Very quickly the pictures started to spread, and other people started to follow the trend in order to support bieber even though they had no idea if the information was true or not. They went with it just because two other people said it was true. The media even started to report on it as if it was fact and several movie stars also shaved their head in response to the misinformation that was being given.
This trend of believing anything that is posted on the internet will lead to no good and more circumstances were people will be hurt and will fear for their life. It is necessary for people to realize that anyone can post anything on the internet and everything should be questioned several times before it is accepted as a fact.

The Meme: The Internet's Instant Philosopher? - Group 1

Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” Philosophical phrases such as these often inspire people to think about life’s deeper meanings. Today, people can take pleasure in questioning things in a more light-hearted manner. One of the most common ways of doing so today is through the use of Internet memes. The slang word meme comes from the actual word meme, which, according to Merriam-Webster.com, is “an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture.” Internet memes are images, photos, videos, and other forms of media with text or captions added to them. They generally use the same base picture but with variations in the text and captions. People commonly use memes as simple sources for quick comic relief, as it only takes a few minutes at most to create a new version of the same meme. With the strong want for instant data nowadays, memes are a great way to spread bite-sized bits of humor instantaneously. However, certain memes can also bring up interesting points about society and other “serious” matters, giving them a use other than simply comic relief. Some casually question the world in a sarcastic way while others remain quite thought-provoking.

A common meme that often makes someone stop and think is Philosoraptor. The meme generally contains an image of a velociraptor with one of its claws touching its chin in a thought provoking pose. The caption around the picture usually is an intriguing “What If?” hypothesis that questions why something with a general understanding is the way it is rather than being another way. Take this Philosoraptor for instance: 

There is probably a scientific reasons as to why photos from cameras pictures come out rectangular despite the round lenses. However, an initial read of this caption would probably confuse someone unfamiliar with the detailed knowledge of how cameras work. As such, the meme has fulfilled its purpose by making someone really think about something that may or may not be trivial yet still addresses something not common knowledge.

Another common meme, especially about college students, is Sudden Clarity Clarence. The meme depicts a crazy college party setting, with one student standing out in the picture. The one student standing out at the center of the photo appears to be having some sort of fanatical revelation. As such, most variations of this meme have captions parodying common “revelations” college students would have when they are drunk, like this example:

 

While the likelihood of Simba actually wanting his dad dead just to be king is highly unlikely considering the G rating of the film, such a bizarre thought could be something a heavily intoxicated person could think of since their mind is not in the right place.  However, to someone who is also intoxicated, perhaps the idea does not seem quite as crazy, hence the reason the Sudden Clarity Clarence image is used for this caption instead of the image for similar memes.

Creating and sharing memes like Sudden Clarity Clarence and Philosoraptor has become a common trend for people wanting quick ways to make their minds think hard and for those who want to mess with their peer’s heads. Through social media like Facebook and Twitter as well as “meme specific” websites like 9gag, hundreds of thousands of memes spread across various parts of the Internet on a daily basis. They allow people to address thought-provoking, somewhat serious concepts in a more humorous way to attract younger audiences to more serious ideas. However, thought-provoking memes like Sudden Clarity Clarence and Philosoraptor often can sometimes contain explicit, suggestive, and sometimes racist ideals, which can often make them appear vulgar and immature to older crowds rather than entertaining ways of insightful questioning. 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meme

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/philosoraptor

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sudden-clarity-clarence