Popularity Spikes Hurt Future Chances For Viral Propagation of Protomemes

Abstract:

A meme is a concept introduced by Dawkins¹² as an equivalent in cultural studies of a gene in biology. A meme is a cultural unit, perhaps a joke, musical tune, or behavior, that can replicate in people's minds, spreading from person to person. During the replication process, memes can mutate and compete with each other for attention, because people's consciousness has finite capacity. Meme viral spreading causes behavioral change, for the better, as when, say, the "ALS Bucket Challenge" meme caused a cascade of humanitarian donations,^a and for the worse, as when researchers proved obesity⁷ and smoking⁸ are socially transmittable diseases. A better theory of meme spreading could help prevent an outbreak of bad behaviors and favor positive ones.

Publisher's Version