Many things shape teen culture these days, but few have as great an impact as the widespread phenomenon that touches adolescents worldwide: the meme. According to Webster’s Dictionary, a meme is a virtual piece of entertainment that is a great part of society. Memes have the power to peacefully connect people across continents through humor and happiness.

This year has been an astounding year for pop culture with many political and social events opening doors for all people to create, share, and appreciate a large and ever-changing arsenal of memes. Usually, the year can be split up into a meme calendar, with one iconic piece being the most popular for each month, but this year was different. There were just too many to decide a stand out meme for each month.“I feel like I love memes so much because there are just so many to laugh at all the time,” said sophomore and meme enthusiast Nida Ahmed. “It really allows for fun that never stops.”

The huge variety of memes produced this year allows for memes to be fresh and interesting constantly, which causes many students to be enveloped in memes daily.

“People who don’t look at memes should really change that because they are really entertaining,” said senior Liam Gardener. “My favorite meme by far is the guy who was touching his temple that was popular in February because it led to a lot of unique variations and laughs all around.”

With so many memes to pick from, we got curious as to which meme was the most popular at York. With over two hundred students surveyed, York got the most laughs from “Distracted Boyfriend”, which reached its peak popularity in the month of March. The full Top 10 list of memes at York for 2017 can be found below.

Although most students have a basic love and understanding for pop culture, some people have chosen to go great lengths in order to express their passion for the virtual art form.

Sophomores, and local meme legends, Sydney Krueger, Maddy McGreal, and Abby Moriarty each bought t-shirts featuring their favorite meme and showed them off around the halls of York.

“I get some funny looks in the hallway when I wear it,” said Krueger in her kazoo kid shirt. ”I love it though because I know it makes everyone else laugh too.”

Krueger and her friends printed out all sorts of memes and shared them with classmates throughout the day. They were able to generate a lot of laughs and smiles for both themselves and peers.
“Memes are very important to a society because when kids are feeling down they can just look up some memes and have a reason to laugh and smile,“ said Krueger.
That’s the true beauty of the influence memes have on us. Contrary to the extremely hostile environment our disagreeing opinions have created throughout society recently, memes have been able to create a friendly link between different varieties of people. Memes allow our generation to be tied together with one big inside joke. Even those with little meme exposure can still feel a part of a welcoming whole.

YHS’s Top 10 Memes of 2017

1. Distracted Boyfriend

2. Chicken  Spongebob

3. PSAT 2017

4. Dumb to Oracle

5. Guy Touching Temple

6. Not My Rodrick

7. Student Athletes

8. Floor is Lava Challenge

9. Wot in Tarnation

10. How to talk to short people