Review of the Book by Aleksandra Klimkiewicz, Żanna Sładkiewicz, and Marcin Trendowicz Titled Creating Meaning in Online Communication: Meme, Stereotype, Myth [Klimkiewicz Aleksandra, Sładkiewicz Żanna, Trendowicz Marcin. Kreowanie sensów w komunikacji internetowej: mem, stereotyp, mit]. Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego, 2025, 180 pp., ISBN: 978-83-8206-705-7

Abstract

The concepts of meme, stereotype and myth were used to examine the problem of creating meaning in online communication, and then to explore their mutual relations and impact on collective consciousness and language. The structure of the work allows for a systematic and multifaceted presentation of the topic, combining theoretical considerations with practical examples, through to analyses and detailed case studies. The analysis of the corpus of internet memes, which are the result of the culture of resistance to the political mythologization of reality, allowed for an assessment of the role of this myth in shaping public opinion. Stereotypes and myths, as the cognitive foundations of memes, play a key role in both informal social discourse and political discourses, significantly influencing the way we perceive and interpret reality.