Similarities: The Meme Logic Stays the Same
In some ways, the logic behind early memes like Dancing Baby and “All Your Base” looks very familiar. They are small, repeatable pieces of media that invite imitation and remixing. Viewers recognize the template and enjoy seeing how different people twist or reframe it. A TikTok sound that users attach to thousands of different videos is doing something very similar.
Scholars like Limor Shifman describe internet memes as groups of digital items that share content and form, are created with awareness of each other, and are circulated, imitated, and transformed by many users. That definition fits both a 3D baby animation passed around by email and a modern dance challenge on TikTok. In both cases, participation matters as much as passive viewing.
What Changed: Speed, Scale, and Algorithms
The differences come from changes in infrastructure and platform design. Today, a meme can reach millions of people in hours because platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X automatically recommend content to users based on engagement data. The labor of copying and distributing is largely invisible. Creators upload once, and the system takes care of pushing it out to an audience.
In the 1990s, there was no equivalent to a “For You Page.” Whether a meme spread or fizzled out depended on chains of individuals and small communities deciding to repost it. This made early meme culture feel more fragmented and local, but also more personal. You usually encountered memes because someone you knew chose to share them, not because a black-box recommendation engine calculated that you might like them.
From Niche Communities to Global Mainstream
Dancing Baby and “All Your Base” crossed over into mainstream culture when television programs, newspapers, and later social media posts began treating them as symbols of “internet culture.” Today, the boundary between niche and mainstream is much thinner. A joke that starts in a Discord server or subreddit can appear in brand marketing campaigns within days.
At the same time, the meaning of memes has become more layered. Modern memes carry political commentary, identity work, and social critique, not just absurdist humor. But we can still see the roots of this in the 1990s, when memes like “All Your Base” acted as signals of belonging to a tech-savvy, slightly nerdy subculture.
What We Learn by Looking Back
Studying early internet memes makes it easier to see that meme culture is not just a side effect of social media; it is a long-running way that people use digital tools to communicate, play, and build community. The 1990s examples remind us that virality has always relied on people actively interpreting and reshaping media, not just passively consuming whatever the algorithm serves.