Final answer:
A meme is an element of culture that is passed from one generation to the next, often humorously, via the internet. It represents shared experiences or societal opinions, contributing to cultural transmission and evolution.
Step-by-step explanation:
An element of culture that is transmitted from one generation to the next, often through imitation or replication, is known as a meme. The term meme was coined by British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in the 1970s as a unit of cultural transmission, analogous to a gene in biological evolution. It has come to refer to popular images, videos, and texts, typically humorous in nature, that are spread rapidly online, often with slight variations. Memes can be considered a part of cultural transmission as they convey shared values, beliefs, and social norms of a culture, becoming a method by which culture is preserved and evolves through innovation, discovery, and diffusion.
Culture itself is a complex system of knowledge, beliefs, art, laws, morals, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by individuals as members of society. Memes fit into this definition because they capture elements of human experience or behavior that are learned and shared. Memes use cultural reference points to convey their messages, and thus, they can be highly relatable, reflecting common human experiences or societal opinions. As such, they play an important role in shaping the cultural landscape and influencing how cultural elements are perceived and passed along through different mediums.