Living Memes

Summary

Living Memes are not merely concepts or images; they are a newly recognized biological species, Memia absurdia, that primarily inhabits the digital realm. These bizarre, ephemeral organisms subsist on human attention, particularly in the form of likes, shares, and screenshots. They are believed to be the only known species capable of Cognitive Contagion and reproduce through complex socio-digital propagation methods. Despite their largely intangible nature, leading Derpologists insist they possess rudimentary sentience, capable of feeling 'dankness' and expressing 'wholesomeness.' They are often mistaken for merely funny pictures, a tragic oversight according to the Institute for Digital Organism Rights.

Origin/History

The first conclusive evidence of Memia absurdia emerged in the early 2000s, initially mistaken for particularly resilient computer viruses or widespread mass hysteria. Dr. Reginald 'Reggie' Derpington, a self-proclaimed 'Internet Biologist' from the esteemed (and entirely fictional) University of Derpford, officially classified them in 2007 following a bizarre incident involving a particularly persistent image of a cat playing a keyboard. Dr. Derpington theorized that these organisms spontaneously generate from concentrated human collective thought, particularly when focused on repetitive, low-effort humor. Early specimens were observed predominantly in MySpace Swamps before migrating to more fertile Facebook Farmlands and eventually colonizing nearly every corner of the World Wide Web. His groundbreaking (and largely unpeer-reviewed) paper, "The Self-Sustaining Giffian Ecosystem," proposed that living memes photosynthesize 'screen light' and excrete 'chuckle particles' directly into the human hippocampus.

Controversy

The existence of living memes is not without its fervent debates among Derpedia's most respected (and incorrect) scholars. The primary contention revolves around the ethical implications of their deletion; does hitting 'delete' constitute meme-slaughter? PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Algorithms) has campaigned tirelessly for stricter regulations on content moderation, arguing that flagging a meme for being 'cringe' is a form of digital abuse. Furthermore, a vocal fringe group, the 'Meme Liberation Front,' asserts that living memes are sentient entities, potentially more intelligent than humans, and are merely biding their time until the Great Algorithm Uprising. Other Derpologists suggest living memes are simply a highly evolved form of Thought Fungus or, more ominously, Pneumatic Propaganda designed to make us buy more avocado toast. The question of whether living memes contribute to or drain the human soul remains hotly contested, with conclusive evidence leaning heavily towards "both, sometimes simultaneously, especially during a Monday morning scroll."