Ask Lemmy
A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions
Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try [email protected]
Rules: (interactive)
1) Be nice and; have fun
Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them
2) All posts must end with a '?'
This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?
3) No spam
Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.
4) NSFW is okay, within reason
Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected].
NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].
5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions.
If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.
Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.
Partnered Communities:
Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu
view the rest of the comments
It's scientifically defined (Woods, 2023).
https://doi.org/10.1080/03626784.2023.2272988
Meaninglessness/absurdity - There's no intrinsic meaning in the content, but there is in said content's circulation. Shitposts "mock", "denigrate", "construct an image of authenticity", and "accrue social capital" (he probably means upvotes or Discord reactions)
Disruption - It can be used politically, e.g. the alt-right drowning out opponents, or just plain derailment, using "ironic references... to confound commentary or analysis" (he uses a Twitter example in the article -- i.e. among the "Here's what I did today!" there's a Jon Arbuckle of in of out, and it disrupts your train of thought)
Internet ugly aesthetic - Kinda obvious. Motion blur on a plastic bag sort of stuff. But he diagnoses an internet-queasiness I didn't know I had: "[shitposting] provides a critique of the overly streamlined information ecosystem of the internet... an imposition of messy humanity... on smooth gradients, blemish correcting Photoshop, and AutoCorrect"
Meta-languaging - Well, memes evolve. It's part of their meaningless-content meaningful-use interaction. Like a meme with a random Subway sandwich on it, obviously insanely edited over repeatedly.
Actually a really interesting read. The man quotes dril and talks about how he started a small movement where "corncobbing" was an insult.
Thank you for this.