Memes and Participatory Culture 2

## Cultural Singularity

Memes may also be creating a cultural shift in which we may call a cultural or digital singularity. Given the idea that culture creates culture, in this case we are looking at how we the users are growing and creating newer renditions of media. As users we can be seen as "computers" for we are using technology to further push the limits of our devices. As technology increases, so is the community in which the user is a part of. Because the community grows, as does its ability to create and process the new information and media.

### Law of Accelerating Returns

This term was coined by Ray Kurzweil simply meaning as "an analysis of the history of technology shows that technological change is exponential, contrary to the common-sense “intuitive linear” view" (Kurzweil). What this shows is that as time and technology continue to progress, there will soon be an unlimited amount media, but in this case and unlimited amount of memes. As a simple example one can search sport memes that occurred from the year 2007, noticing that there will only be a select few images of a few select sports used constantly; not to mention of not great quality either. Then one can search for sport memes that were taken from 2015, noticing there will be nearly an unlimited supply of different images ranging from all types of sports and being of superior quality. Media is not only being compounded by its users, but it is being utilized and further spread out.

### People Behaving as an Automated Process/Web Mixers

Because memes are generated at an unbelievable rate, it can be said that users are considered to be robotic or computer like. "Yet what drives processes of cultural diffusion is not the “mysterious” power of memes but the webs of meanings and structures people build around them" (Jenkins). We see this idea that users are creating different meanings and are creating new language for their communities. Culture is being molded by the dispersion of these newer remediated medias and memes, having users actively participating to create more media. Users are becoming less human like and further pushing the limits in order to keep media flowing and more accessible. Aimee Knight writes that, "Reading and writing practices are changing dramatically and point to a shift where being literate has less to do with the written letter and more to do with being knowledgeable in textual, visual, interactive, and web-based contexts." The times have changed and Knight is making sure we know it for studies have shown that the average American is watching an exponential amount of television a day as the years go on and reading scores have dropped in our younger generations.

#### References

Jenkins, Henry. "A Meme Is a Terrible Thing to Waste: An Interview with Limor Shifman (Part One)." *Confessions of an AcaFan*. N.p., 17 Feb. 2014. Web. 03 July 2015.

Knight, Aimee. "Reclaiming Experience: The Aesthetic and Multimodal Composition." *Science Direct*. Computers and Composition, 2013. Web.

Kurzweil, Ray. "KurzweilAI | Accelerating Intelligence." *KurzweilAI The Law of Accelerating Returns Comments*. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 July 2015.