Slate Daily Feed What Next: TBD | 2025: The Meme of the Year
Dec 28, 2025
Kate Lindsay, host of Slate’s ICYMI podcast and expert in digital culture, dives into the evolution of memes in the digital age. She discusses the significance of this year's standout meme, the Coldplay kiss-cam, and how it reshaped the concept of viral moments. Lindsay explores how internet sleuthing rapidly uncovered identities involved and reflects on the darker side of online shaming. She also touches on how memes like 'six, seven' serve as cultural snapshots, indicating that memes are shifting toward audio and niche communities for the future.
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Memes Have Evolved Beyond Images
- Memes no longer fit a strict, image-only definition and now often mean moments or videos.
- Kate Lindsay argues a meme can be anything that takes over the internet and becomes a shared moment.
Coldplay Kiss-Cam Became A Viral Investigation
- The Coldplay kiss-cam clip exploded into a full-blown internet story about a CEO and an HR exec allegedly having an affair.
- Within 24 hours the people were identified and both were out of the company amid intense online scrutiny.
Social Media Feels Like A Surveillance State
- The meme highlighted how social media functions as a modern surveillance state with little expectation of privacy.
- Lindsay says the incident shows people must live with the possibility they'll be filmed and exposed in public.