Through the rise and fall of Tumblr to the current prominence of Twitter and TikTok, here is where memes have come from since 2010.

A new study from Know Your Meme shows the origins of memes and the top meme platforms from 2010 to 2022.

@MattNavarra recently shared a few pieces of data from the study on Twitter, which show the rise and fall of various platforms along with Twitter at its peak.

“Where Do Memes Come From?  

The Top Platforms From 2010 – 2022″

“Twitter position as king of memes peaked in 2019”

The study delves further into the world of memes, dating back to 2010, when internet meme culture was in its infancy. In 2010, Youtube and Tumblr ate up well over half of the meme market, with the former holding the crown.

“The lion’s share of meme origins recorded on the site in 2010 come from YouTube and 4chan. YouTube, launched in 2005, is one of the most iconic social sharing sites out there — it’s the site that arguably taught everyone what “viral” meant.”

Moving on to 2011, memes saw a wider platform distribution, with sites such as Reddit and Tumblr cutting into the margins of the previous year’s platforms.

“The biggest trend in 2011 seems to be the increased meme share distribution on Reddit and Tumblr. Reddit’s use of subreddits catering to niche interests bears some similarity to the various boards on 4chan.”

This trend continued up until 2013 when Tumblr finally surpassed Youtube in the beginning of what was known as, “peak Tumblr years.”

“In 2013, Tumblr supplanted YouTube as the biggest source of meme origins for the site, and anecdotally, this tracks. For many, the era of 2013-2015 was “peak Tumblr.” The vibe of Tumblr memes tends to be well-read, a little esoteric, artsy and good-natured. Like 4chan, Tumblr was defined by its loose and permissive norms.”

The next year, in 2014, Twitter saw its first year as the largest meme platform, while Tumblr began a slow but steady decline that would last for years to come.

This trend continued up until 2019, when Twitter saw its absolute peak of meme supremacy, with over 40% of memes originating on the platform.

From 2019 up until 2022, Twitter has been in a slow decline due to TikTok’s meteoric rise starting in 2020. Today, TikTok holds a tight grip over memes with over 45% of them originating on the platform. Twitter is still standing strong but with so many shares being held between only two platforms, a sort of meme duopoly has been formed. Only 25% of all memes have come from outside of TikTok or Twitter in 2022.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine