Memes as Shortcut to Consumer Culture: A Methodological Approach to Covert Collective Ideologies

Abstract

Objective: the paper proposes the methodological use of memes as a shortcut to explore consumer culture. Memes as cultural texts can reveal collective circulating ideologies that may not be accessed through regular interviews. Context: memes are cultural texts that convey easy-to-understand messages, gaining strength within social networks. Cultural texts playfully present the social context and beliefs of societies. We analyzed circulating memes during the COVID-19 pandemic about elderly consumers in Brazil to outline a methodological protocol. Method: we analyzed memes adopting the discourse model to conduct qualitative research of memes as a shortcut to cultural discourses. We collected memes during March and May 2020 using social media networks. They were classified following thematic analysis. Result: the proposal is a methodological procedure for analyzing memes as a cultural text. The process starts with the outline of a data collection protocol, followed by data analysis guidelines, illustrated by the context of elderly consumers. Conclusion: the analysis of memes as cultural texts contributed to understanding of consumer behavior through current cultural content, revealing contrasting ideologies that emerge from consumers, as covert value-systems, circulating alongside institutional mass-mediated ideologies.

Introduction to the Special Issue Call for Qualitative Research Tutorials in Contemporary Administration Studies: An Editorial

“…This paper by Deus et al (2022) proposes the methodological use of memes as a shortcut to explore consumer culture. The authors argue that memes as cultural texts can reveal collective circulating ideologies that may not be accessed through regular interviews.…”

“…Our selected papers also reflect such willingness. Deus, Campos, and Rocha (2022) present a new method of collecting and then analyzing the recent social phenomenon of memes as a way of gaining alternative and original insights into cultural discourses. The papers by Behling, Lenzi, and Rossetto (2022) and Silva, Sauerbronn, and Thiollent (2022) explore how qualitative methods of interactive qualitative analysis (IQA) and participatory action research (PAR), used more commonly in other fields, might be applied to management, organization, and administrative studies; and Melo and Dourado (2022) offer a comprehensive review that scopes the range and nature of possible qualitative methods for investigating online social phenomena and interactions.…”

“…One such area is how social life and social interactions are emerging and evolving within the online sphere. While Deus et al (2022) examine one particular new form in detail -that of memes as new cultural texts, Melo and Dourado (2022) seek to discern and elaborate the particular nature of online social interactions and their implications for designing appropriate qualitative methods to examine them. Another area is a concern with social justice, and particularly how subaltern voices and experiences can not only be recognized and heard, but also enabled to challenge dominant voices, practices, and epistemologies.…”

“…One common question is how we might know better. All the papers are concerned, to some extent, with widening perspectives of any management, organizational, or social phenomenon: by seeking out and including subaltern voices (Melo & Dourado, 2022;Silva, Sauerbronn, & Thiollent, 2022) and marginalized ideologies (Deus, Campos, & Rocha, 2022), developing dialogues and collaborative approaches with research participants (Cheron et al, 2022;Melo & Dourado, 2022;Silva et al, 2022), uncovering and surfacing endogenous theories in use by participants themselves (Silva et al, 2022), reflecting multiple and diverse perspectives (Deus et al, 2022), or capturing and tracking social attitudes over time (Deus et al, 2022). A second question is what we might study better, or how we might expand topics of interest and relevance for management and organization studies.…”

High Impact, Low Mood: An Analysis of Graduate Student Attitudes and Perceptions Through PHD Memes

“…The many issues that arise in the graduate school experience for students have been well-documented, including high rates of mental health issues in the population, financial hardship, conflicts with advisors and professors, and the extreme pressures to compete for scarce post-graduate faculty and research positions (Hyun et al, 2006;Jones-White et al, 2020;Liu et al, 2019;Sverdlik et al, 2018; UC-Berkeley Graduate Assembly, 2014). However, these themes have not been explored within the setting of graduate student meme culture, which research has indicated is an important outlet for expression, protest, and support among many populations under stress (Ask & Abidin, 2018;de Deus et al, 2022;Newton et al, 2022;Ortiz et al, 2021;Zidani, 2021). This study will explore, via content analysis of seven months of original memes posted to the High-Impact PhD Memes Facebook page, what attitudes and experiences are conveyed and most highly resonate with a primarily graduate student social media audience.…”