Analysis of the use of memes as an exponent of collective coping during COVID-19 in Puerto Rico

Abstract

During the emergence of the novel COVID-19, a proliferation of memes related to events discussed in Spanish-speaking social media was observed. This study analysed the four stages of collective coping to determine how memes became triggered social representations that gradually monopolized the mainstream media. The research was performed through an electronic survey of 351 participants from Puerto Rico, which was subsequently analysed through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The study’s results reflected psychological implications in the use of memes in terms of how they were used to mitigate the stressful circumstances of a social event. This study is a pioneer in the application of Collective Coping Theory in the context of the effects that memes produce as a link to mitigate stressors. It also discusses how, when a culture faces a problem, memes become a decisive means to reinterpret the situation.

Humor Styles, Perceived Threat, Funniness of COVID-19 Memes, and Affective Mood in the Early Stages of COVID-19 Lockdown

“…This association is consistent with the beneficial impacts of exposure to humor-related stimuli on wellbeing (e.g., Cheng et al, 2019 ). In general, this finding supports the notion that COVID-19 memes, by means of reproducing social experiences, symbolic values and feelings related to this crisis, represent a humor-based collective response that can mitigate emotional stressful circumstances related to the pandemic (Flecha-Ortiz et al, 2021 ; Páez & Pérez, 2020 ). Even though COVID-19-related humor has been generally categorized and judged as more aversive than non-COVID-19 humor (Bischetti et al, 2020 ), our study suggests that the ability to enjoy these stimuli seems to be related to higher self-reported happiness.…”

Activism and Social Media: Youth Participation and Communication

“…This has resulted in a linguistic adaptation to promote immediate and concrete communication systems in which new communication codes are established, accompanied by images, short and direct messages [39]. An example of this is memes, which are used as a coping strategy, helping to the reinterpretation of stressful situations that impact society [40]. In this same line, emojis have also been identified as an expression of emotions (positive, neutral, negative), meanings (behavioral and passive), and the content of the message.…”

Days of our ‘quarantined’ lives

“…Surveying Belgian adolescents to examine if social media are beneficial for them to cope with feelings of anxiety and loneliness during the COVID-19 quarantine, Cauberghe et al (2020) found that humorous coping (e.g., playing games, watching funny videos and viewing memes) was positively related with feelings of happiness, suggesting that social media can be as a constructive coping strategy and reduce the attention on negative feelings. Through a quantitative survey, Flecha Ortiz et al (2021) explored the possible relationship between COVID-19 risk messages presented by the traditional media in Puerto Rico and the use of memes as a means of humorous coping with the socio-psychological aspects of the COVID-19 crisis. The authors found that the pre-existing knowledge about the COVID-19 crisis converged at a statistically significant level with the majority of social interpretation in the form of humorous memes, thus creating collective identities and coping and helping individuals evaluate a stressful situation.…”