Internet memes in the dimension of mass culture

The purpose of the work is to study memes as objects of Internet creativity, which by genre typology and nature of distribution belong to mass culture and mass culture digital type of communication in the Internet network. The research methodology consists of the application of analytical, semiotic, and cultural methods in the study of visual-graphic and verbal types of Internet memes, which, thanks to their content-communicative characteristics, can form digital works belonging to mass culture. The scientific novelty of the work consists in the systematization of the typological characteristics of memes as a separate segment of Internet creativity and communication, which belong to mass culture and determine its content with new semantic codes and meanings. Conclusions. Memes as phenomena of mass culture and Internet creativity are both verbal and graphic-visual texts with genre and structure-forming potential in constructing other semiotically complicated texts of mass culture in the digital environment. Internet memes originate mainly in social networks, gradually spreading through other communication channels. The popularity and mass spread of memes are influenced by their ability to be used in many meanings and different communicative situations. According to their content, memes belong to precedent phenomena, which is a compressed form contain information about current events and phenomena of social reality, forming the appropriate context. In the process of communication, recognition, and "reading" of meme connotations, the expected result of achieving the text's main idea is ensured, which, in turn, can serve as a source for further creativity. Memes become sources of mass cultural creativity on the Internet and means of intercultural communication, with the help of which both a certain opinion is expressed and one's referentiality within the communicative environment is confirmed. Key words: memes, mass culture, Internet communication, Internet environment, social networks.