#image macros

First there were LOLcats. They kinda started before the 2010s but w/e. LOLcats were memes that had funny text over an image of a cat that was relevant to what was said. The text was intentionally mispelled for humour. Example: 

Then memes changed and became image macros. These were text put over an image and the image generally indicated how they were supposed to be taken. Look at Success Kid: 

Success Kid meant, well, you succeeded at something. Sure, some of them were funny... 

...but they generally followed the spirit of sharing a minor win. Contrast Success Kid with Bad Luck Brian... 

...whose whole schtick was having comically bad luck. Sometimes it was stuff form your life, or just stuff you thought was funny. Other memes included Bad Advice Duck, who deliberately gave bad advice... 

(the opposite was Actual Advice Duck) 

and Hipster Cat, who made fun of hipsters: 

At some point, memes changed again. Now memes are images or words that convey an emotion. Many of them take the form of pictuers without text. Take Surprised Pikachu: 

who typically indicates surprise at a completely expected outcome. Even modern memes that include text tend to convey a specific emotion, like the Let Me In guy: 

and I could write an entire essay on the emotion condensed into “ok boomer”.