Yet another paradox stemming from the fact that so many of us are almost permanently attached to our screens is that a lot of the population probably does more reading than we ever did before. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to put down our phones and pick up a book. That suits us just fine. Who needs complete literacy when the brevity of memes does the same job in a way that’s much more simple and dumb? 

Up to a point, memes are educational. As a communicative tool, they are very effective at getting across basic information. They’re also great at telling stories, in a broken up kind of way. As a result, we keep coming back to random lists like this. What they lack in a narrative, they make up for in multiple entertaining vignettes. It makes sense that we’re so enamored with coming back for more, even after all these years.