Opinion | Whitney Phillips and Ryan Milner: The best internet memes make communication an art form. But there is a dark side. - NBCNewsTHINK
, who hide behind irony to make their bigotry seem more palatable, as if their attacks really were “just jokes” on “just the internet.”, we call it fetishization. It’s the tendency during online interactions to fixate on just the content you’re looking at — just the GIF, just the post, just the tweet — instead of the very real people affected by that content.
When everything is reduced to pixels on the screen, it’s easy to forget who may have been hurt to get you those pixels, and how your engagement may make that hurt worse.uses laughter, not to dehumanize outsiders, but to solidify an in-group, one that is frequently de-legitimized by broader internet culture.that doesn’t rely on fetishization. When Chinese citizens critique government oppression with protest memes, they are just as slapdash, quippy and Internet Ugly as their American counterparts.
As young people — and indeed, all of us — continue to navigate the internet, memes aren’t going anywhere. They will keep shaping politics and relationships. We must therefore recognize their traps and avoid stepping in them. We must reject the legacy of lulz, bigotry and fetishization that fuel so many memes. It’s not that we shouldn’t have fun. It’s that we should maximize humane, inclusive and empowering play.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Take this quiz to see if you know more U.S. history than President TrumpTake this quiz to see if you know more U.S. history than President Trump.
Read more »
Drone shootdown highlights history of U.S. incursions into Iran's airspaceThe U.S. military drone Iran shot down near the Persian Gulf June 20 likely didn’t stray into Iranian airspace, as the Iranians claimed it had, according to several former senior officials. But had it done so, it would not have been the first U.S. drone to fly into Iran, according to two of those officials
Read more »
Women’s World Cup final: U.S. and Netherlands coaches making historyFor the first time in the history of the Women's World Cup, the coaches in front of each bench will be women. The teams' similarities primarily end there.
Read more »
For The Wing, Culture And Inclusivity Is Paramount As It Flocks To New LocationsNow a model for inclusive workplaces, The Wing has grown up quite a bit on the culture front as it continues to grow and Senior Director of Community, Marianna Martinelli has played a large role in working out the kinks to set the tone for the brand’s culture today.
Read more »
What the Black Church Taught Me About Lipstick“Entire generations have enjoyed the small pleasure of looking better than what they’re going through, thanks in part to the Lipstick Effect”
Read more »
Schools still struggling with how to teach about slaveryAneka Burton still remembers the way her then 10-year-old son, Nikko, who is black, recounted his experience to his grandfather after school one day. It&39;s those memories that leave her shaking her head years later as reports about mock slave auctions continue to emerge, reminders that schools are
Read more »