You All Made Dank Memes: Using Internet Memes to Promote Critical Thinking

ABSTRACT

In the time following the 2016 presidential election, much has been written about the spread of false information on social media websites. Given the potential influence false information has had on American politics, it is more important than ever for people to critically evaluate the content they view and share on social media. This article describes an activity that encourages students to develop evidence based arguments and think critically about content shared on social media. In the activity, students are asked to generate an internet meme related to U.S. politics and write a short essay defending the position they have taken in the meme. This article explains how the activity can promote critical thinking and includes suggestions for future implementation.

KEYWORDS:

• Critical thinking
• teaching
• undergraduate education

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dominic D. Wells

Dominic D. Wells is a PhD candidate in political science at Kent State University. He earned a Master of Public Administration from Bowling Green State University. His work has been published in the Journal of Public and Nonprofit Affairs and Teaching Statistics.