WHAT THE MEME! - HAALAAT APNE APNE

We have thought this for a while, but recent events have us thinking this is just the tip of the iceberg. Internet discussion (and by extension almost all discussion) has been completely "memeified" there are incredibly complicated issues that are debated in 1 sentence long talking points that can fit on an image. There is no nuance, by design. We feel like we've got an entire generation growing up now who are taking their cues on politics and social issues from memes. This, in and of itself, isn't new exactly. It's been going on in cable news, and before that in newspapers, we think the difference is the weird culture that has sprung up around memes. You can completely dominate the debate, and have people get their ego all wrapped up in a particular viewpoint, not by having the best ideas, but by having the most easily digestible soundbite, which, again, is not new, but it is so insanely ubiquitous now, instead of only seeing hyper-partisan and "gotcha" political tactics when you turn on cable news or open a newspaper, it's in every single facet of our lives, every time we open our phone, our social media account, get on our computer, this low brow form of discourse, which has always been around, and has always been a tool to foment outrage, is not the primary way in which a lot of people discuss and form their opinion about a particular issue. We find the whole thing deeply troubling.