How much importance do memes hold in your life? If you wake up to memes you have been tagged in by friends and not sleep before sending the newest one you found to your friend, then you should, by all means, be officially known as a memer (new word). Although these memes mostly show terrible life situations, people simply love the pun, wit and humour that lightens the intensity of it. From celebrities, social media influencers to commoners, everyone loves memes and it has become a formal way to express feelings on the internet.

Memes have been a part of the internet since the 2000s but it saw a spike in the latter half of the decade. According to Google Trends, search interest in memes has been steadily increasing since 2009 and continues to be at its high. The interest grew largely post 2011 and kept on increasing through the years until now. Although people's key interests have been in memes, the image search changed drastically in the last four years. Best Memes of 2017 That Went Crazy Viral on WhatsApp and Twitter

A mix of the latest Johny Johny Yes Papa meme and Stars Wars meme

In 2015, Grumpy cat meme, Star Wars meme, John Cena meme and Deez nuts meme were the ones searched worldwide. But in 2016 as Donald Trump became the United States President, Trump memes replaced Grumpy cat's popularity. The augmented reality mobile game Pokemon Go that caught fancy of gamers and others alike also found its way into memes. Dat boi meme of a green unicycling poison dart frog that was shared widely became four of the top searched memes in 2016. New memes that found the way in the life of memes lovers in 2017 were Game of Thrones, Roll safe meme and Cash me outside meme. ‘Days without Sex’ Meme Trend Is Taking Over the Internet and It Will Make You ROFL So Hard

Did you know Grumpy Cat has a verified Twitter account with over 15 million followers?

In 2018, top searched image memes until now have been Kermit the frog meme, Kylo Ren meme and Change my mind meme. Donald Trump meme continues to maintain its popularity with a slight drip in the position. Donald Trump Sitting Cross-Armed Picture Has Turned Into a New Viral Meme, Check Funny Jokes!

If the pattern is to be analysed, any new happening that garners international attention will surely have a meme. Be it political, entertainment, sports event, technology or other topics of interest, memes of it will keep people hooked for months or maybe forever. While these are memes that are popular across countries, Twitter handles of memes customises things even on the regional basis. For example, a joke on the petrol price hike is not a meme; a meme is something which is already available and with every new happening the text is altered or a picture is inserted to match the situation.

Pokemon Go Meme

Lolcats were one of the earliest sites for viral images. Its popularity declined later and now it is Meme Generator that tops the chart. Big memes like the ones you find every day never die, they just become less searched. It also depends on the popularity of the person, event or thing. It any of these have been marred by controversies, naturally, any positive meme relating to them will diminish. Star Wars Day 2018 Quotes, Memes & GIFs Shared by Twitterati Along With 'May The Fourth Be With You' Message

Before the term meme came into being, two viral videos, Leeroy Jenkins and Rickrolling fed meme lovers. Since 2012, the searches for grumpy cat meme has been decreased substantially and has been replaced with the Doge meme.

There has been a close competition between the 'One does not simply become' Morpheus meme and 'What if I told you' Boromir meme since 2013. However, former continues to be more searched than the later. Some memes became less searched after some years but rise after any incident relating to it. Between Drake and Damn Daniel's meme, the later continues to garner more interest.

Morpheus meme

Boromir meme

Other memes that saw a lot of interest are 'Nothing but respect for MY Vice President, 'i'M tAkInG a SeLfIe At ThE sUpEr BoWl'. Search interest in Ken Bone is nowhere close to that of 'of Cash Me Outside How About That Girl, while the popular Salt Bae trails behind.

The love for memes simply continue and now we have memes about being meme addicted. Some memes go so massively viral that it is just raining in tonnes on every single social media account of yours. What do you think will be the next big meme that is going to take down the internet? Do let us know in the comment section below.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 31, 2018 12:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).