Virus of the Mind: Social Media Memes, Cultural Virality, and Cognitive Transmission among Generation Z in Bangladesh

Internet memes function as compact, emotionally charged units of cultural transmission that spread rapidly through digital networks. Drawing on memetics, complex contagion theory, and socio‑semiotics, this study examines how Generation Z in Bangladesh produces, localizes, and circulates memes as ‘cultural viruses’ that shape cognition, identity, and social norms. Using a mixed‑methods design combining qualitative content analysis of publicly available memes, semi‑structured interviews with Gen Z users, and secondary network‑diffusion insights from prior computational research, the study maps meme life cycles, transmission pathways, and psychosocial effects. Findings indicate that Bangladeshi Gen Z adapts global meme templates through Bangla language, local political references, and youth subcultural humor, increasing in‑group resonance while relying on bridge actors and algorithmic amplification for large‑scale virality. Memes operate simultaneously as social bonding mechanisms and accelerants of polarization and misinformation, particularly when high emotional arousal and irony obscure factual evaluation. The paper proposes an integrated theoretical model—the Gen Z Memetic Transmission Model—highlighting interactions among template ecology, network structure, semiotic context, psychological drivers, and platform affordances. Policy recommendations emphasize culturally grounded digital literacy, platform‑level friction for high‑risk content, and memetic forms of fact‑checking. By centering Bangladesh, this article contributes a Global South perspective to global debates on memes, youth culture, and digital governance.