Fidelity, Fecundity and Longevity

In The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins (1979) identifies three characteristics of memes as: fidelity, fecundity and longevity. Despite his work being written in 1979 and focused on human interaction from a biological perspective, Dawkins’s ideas can be applied to measure the evolution of particular internet memes.

Fidelity refers to the recognisability of the meme. That is, while variations are vital aspects to the evolution of a meme, the core idea of the meme usually remains intact. The majority of memes rely on the recognisability of the image, video or caption and if audiences can not connect the resemblance of the meme and the source text, then the meme will likely be unsuccessful.

For example, the “bitch please” meme uses the face of former NBA star Yao Ming to convey a dismissive or sarcastic attitude to one's ideas or input. The image is easily recognised by basketball fans but those who are not familiar with the sport likely would not understand the humour of it.

 

Through spreadability on the internet, the image macro has since become popular on meme templates and used as a vehicle to convey messages beyond the sport of basketball.

 

 

Fecundity refers to how rapidly a meme can be replicated and spread. Obviously, the more imitations that are spawned from a particular meme measures the success of the meme. When Anthony Davis was hyped as the future of basketball, images and videos of him in action saturated the online basketball fan community. However, fans quickly became more interested in his facial features rather then his basketball talents. Memes which made fun of his eyebrows and teeth began surfacing throughout the internet where thousands of replications have spawned as a result.

 

 

 
 



Longevity measures how long a particular meme can survive and evolve. For example memes concerning Lebron James's unsuccessful attempts at winning a NBA championship ring has been the topic of meme creations throughout his career. Now that he has won a NBA championship ring, memes regarding his inability to win more then one championship have become the norm.

 

 

The sharing of information on the internet promotes independence and autonomous creativity by lowering the barrier of entry for creative production where individuals are encouraged to participate in this cultural process and express themselves. Internet memes seem to tip-toe the very fine lines between creative innovation and tasteless kitsch, as well as profound wit and unsympathetic vulgarity. Regardless, whether users are producing successful memes or not, internet memes also have the power to significantly influence social beliefs, ideas, perceptions and values.

From an industrial standpoint, whether it is overwhelmingly supporting the underdog or profusely rejecting the superstar, internet memes through imitation, replication and spreadability, has the potential to build popular consensus that can translate into the real-world, creating a situation that goes against the commercial imperatives of sports advertisers and corporations.