Within recent years the notorious “meme” has become increasingly popular, so much so that memes have begun to completely overtake media sites like  “Ifunny” or “9gag”.

According to an article written by Robert Coles in 2013, there are 25 memes that are most the most popular and well liked. However, some memes have fallen short and been replaced by newer ones or classics, like “Bad Luck Brian” and “Socially Awkward Penguin.” Most memes have a short period of popularity before they begin losing relevancy . Some stay at the peak of popularity, such as “ The Most interesting Man in the World” and the ever-popular pictures of cats.

When asked if she thought memes were taking over the internet, Cara Zinn(12) said,”They do exist on the internet, but people always pretend they aren’t popular.” Whether people think something is or isn’t popular, one look on an app such as Ifunny and the memes start to flood in.

Recently, the most common things taking over media sites, have either been featured on iFunny or given the most likes on Facebook have started to overtake older internet classics like Rage comics, Cyanide and Happiness comics, Tumblr posts, Years Apart pictures, selfies, and of course, cats.

According to Paul Gil, a writen for About.com , The bulk of internet memes continue to be humorous and created in order to shock viewers, as they grab people’s attention more quickly than deeper content with bright, notable colors and bold text. Most of theses memes require thought in order for them to be humorous. This is one reason why  selfies have overshadowed most internet memes- they don’t take time to understand.

Memes have lost internet popularity and other mediums have recently taken the spotlight online, but the meme isn’t dead, and many are still  able to maintain their popularity despite the changing times.