Memes in the time of corona: an autoethnographic visual essay on memes as relational resources during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

More than just humorous online content, memes fulfill significant affective, sociocultural and political functions at both the individual and collective level. By analysing personally significant COVID-19 memes within their larger vernacular communication contexts, this autoethnographic visual essay illuminates these digital artefacts as vibrant relational resources that facilitate sense-making and social connection in uncertain times. Examining these dynamics at different levels of inquiry (micro, meso and macro) and across various contexts (personal, professional, and mixes thereof), this essay therefore illustrates how, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, these memetic articulations – and the conversations they engendered – helped this researcher look within, relate, and ultimately pull through.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ioana Literat

Ioana Literat is Assistant Professor in the Communication, Media & Learning Technologies Design program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research examines creative participation in online contexts, with a particular focus on youth. Her work has been published in the Journal of Communication, New Media & Society, Communication Theory, the International Journal of Communication, and Information, Communication & Society, among others. She obtained her PhD from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California.

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.