23 December 2019

Dr Anastasia Denisova for DAZED on memes and how they became a coping mechanism

Dr Anastasia Denisova, Lecturer in Journalism, was quoted in an article by DAZED about the memes of this decade and how they became a coping mechanism for our chaotic times.

Anastasia Denisova

In the article, Dr Denisova says that the grammar and intentional misspellings in memes is the evolution of human expression. She said: “It’s the acceleration, not infantilism, which brings the constant shortening of words and names, to speed things up.”

She also discusses social media, and how the speed and reach of the internet has meant humour has adapted to the same fast-paced and extended scale of the internet. She said: “Twitter and other social networks constrain the amount of space we can use to express ourselves.

“This forces us to make jokes faster, sharper, shorter. We also live in the time of social acceleration – when we can buy things, order a meal and communicate 24/7, we also accelerate our humour.”

Read the full article on DAZED’s website.

Press and media enquiries

Contact us on:

[email protected]