Reaching Beyond
Should the older generations accept that memes herod the communication of the future?
Older generations often regard memes as superfluous. “Just silly pictures.” But younger generations are using them to comment on more serious issues.
I first started thinking about this last summer. A prominent employer in Banff National Park (where I worked) hosted a meme contest for employees. Intended as a fun activity, it became a comment on the emotions that everyone working in the tourism industry in Banff was feeling. Supervisors noticed this and took action on some of the (smaller) issues addressed in the memes. This prompted me to ask whether memes were somehow becoming the most impactful way to deliver a message.
One of the featured memes was the flaming Elmo meme, dubbed “Hellmo.” This meme, and its persistence across time and platforms, illustrate the power of memes in today's chronically online world.
Up to 1 million memes are shared daily on Instagram. As they speed through the algorithms, fueled by likes, shares, and clicks, so do the ideas they promote.
Statista estimates that Instagram has 1.4 billion users. In contrast, popular news sources like the New York Times (10.2 million) and The Wall Street Journal (4.2 million) boast much lower viewership. Memes are a key commodity of social media. I know I’m more likely to pause on a meme than another doom-and-gloom headline. Older modes of communication just don’t ignite your interest the same way. And nothing pulls you out of mindless scrolling faster than a flaming cartoon character.
Algorithms like Instagram’s Discover Page, and TikTok’s For You page expose people to fresh content. Hellmo illustrates how the right memes can cross not only geographical barriers (an advantage of the Internet that has long been argued), but also subscriber and follower barriers. Memes spread through hashtags, For You pages, and workspace break rooms. Spreading their ideas beyond the long-form articles that only a subset of the population will dredge up the motivation to be a good citizen and read.
The Hellmo meme appeared on Tumblr in 2012. Since then, it has only grown in popularity.
In the following years, iterations of Hellmo amassed over 300,000 notes. While Hellmo was born on Tumblr, it didn’t see the decrease in popularity that Tumber did (sorry Tumblr lovers). Hellmo migrated. TikTok, the current social media star, has also seen its share of Hellmo memes. Not only that, but Hellmo escaped the confines of the digital world.
Hellmo blazed its way into the real world. Hellmo has been carved into pumpkins and recreated to comment on political events. Hellmo illustrates what every good meme should strive to be when it grows up: a versatile format that can be adapted to comment on everything from politics to workplace frustrations.
Whether they’re expressing frustrations or dissecting the latest online scandal, people want to feel heard. In today's online world, memes can provide this. It’s time for older and younger generations alike to reach beyond the dead pages of their newspapers and accept that sometimes the best way to get your message out there is to superimpose it onto a flaming cartoon character.
I really enjoyed reading your piece! Hellmo has definitely shown up in conversations i've had online and like you mention it does get the emotion and sentiment through. Just like the saying goes "a picture is worth a thousand words", I'd also consider it for memes. I usually use them when I dont know how to get the right words for how I feel, but with the meme I think the person im texting almost always understands the feeling... except my parents.