The pandemic and politics propel meme usage; Trump and Facebook's Oversight Board, private search, and Apple's podcast subscription

Social media memes have been around for over a decade, but the last twelve months have solidified their position as a staple of digital communication. January 29, 2021 [The pandemic and politics propel meme usage; Trump and Facebook's Oversight Board, private search, and Apple's podcast subscription](/unM000ALLp0D2k03OQ9SGD0)   Social media memes have been around for over a decade, but the last twelve months have solidified their position as a staple of digital communication. First came the World War III memes, in response to the possibility of a war between the US and Iran. Soon after, the pandemic led to an explosion in memetic content and consumption across social media. And then there was “Chairman Sanders,” a viral meme born out of a photo of Sen. Bernie Sanders at President Joe Biden’s swearing-in ceremony last week. While the topics themselves are no laughing matter, lighthearted humor about shared struggles has become a coping mechanism—or simply a much-needed distraction—for many. “It’s a form of escapism,” said Travis Hawley, vice president of social media at influencer marketing agency Viral Nation. “In catastrophes and crises, memes are used to help people cope.” [Editor’s Note: Hawley is now a social media advisor.] Data on the total number of meme consumers is sparse, however. One of the most recent stats is from a GlobalWebIndex survey conducted in late March 2020, which showed that 32% of US and UK internet users had looked at a meme on the day they took the poll. /unM000ALLp0D2k03OQ9SGD0 [Read the full article.](/unM000ALLp0D2k03OQ9SGD0) [[Webinar] How to Transform Customer Experiences]( To succeed in marketing, you must activate meaningful brand experiences, solve personalization challenges, and measure campaign performance by leveraging the right cloud environment. Watch eMarketer’s Tech-Talk Webinar, with sponsored content presented by Merkle, to learn how to implement a modern data strategy. [Watch Now]( [The Weekly Listen: Trump and Facebook's Oversight Board, private search, and Apple's podcast subscription](=/unM000ALLp0D2k03OQ9SGD0)   eMarketer principal analysts Mark Dolliver and Sara M. Watson, vice president of research Jennifer Pearson, and junior analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch discuss the pivotal decision of Facebook's Oversight Board to ban former President Donald Trump, private search engines making a push, whether social media damages teenagers' health, whether baby boomers will want to shop online post-pandemic, Apple's reported paywalled podcast platform, what happens to astronauts when they're in space, and more. [Listen in.](=/unM000ALLp0D2k03OQ9SGD0) [chart-image](=/unM000ALLp0D2k03OQ9SGD0) [More than one-third of SMS notifications sent in North America were promotional messages](   Sixty-eight percent of US adults said that reminders of important appointments were highly valuable, compared with just 14% who cited discount alerts. [Read the article.]( [chart-image]( ©2021 eMarketer, Inc. 11 Times Square, New York, NY 10036   eMarketer Daily is published by eMarketer, Inc. [Unsubscribe](/unM000ALLp0D2k03OQ9SGD0) | [Change email address](/unM000ALLp0D2k03OQ9SGD0) | [Update preferences](/unM000ALLp0D2k03OQ9SGD0) | [Advertise](=/unM000ALLp0D2k03OQ9SGD0) [Select "Research Submissions"](=/unM000ALLp0D2k03OQ9SGD0) for potential inclusion in the eMarketer Daily. If you cannot view the HTML newsletter, please [read it in your browser here](=/unM000ALLp0D2k03OQ9SGD0). =/unM000ALLp0D2k03OQ9SGD0   =/unM000ALLp0D2k03OQ9SGD0