Memes as Cultural Genes: The Philosophy of Virality

Dawkins’ original meme concept described cultural units that replicate, mutate, and compete for survival — just like genes. Every good internet meme follows this pattern. A format emerges. It spreads. Users remix it, and successful mutations survive while weaker versions die. Eventually the original context is forgotten and only the most viral variant remains.

This Darwinian view explains why most memes die in hours while rare ones persist for years. Rickrolling survived because it has a simple replicable structure: bait + song. LOLcats died because the format became saturated. Memes that adapt — like Wojak spawning Doomer, Bloomer, and NPC variants — last longer than those that don’t. Culture evolves the same way biology does: through remix, selection, and luck.