Is the idea then that group signaling mechanisms are always bad? I'm not convinced of that. They can be an efficient way to communicate a shared context which would otherwise have to be built up from nothing with every interaction.
Discussion
If they're used mainly for the purpose of exclusion, sure. I don't see that happening with funny memes though.
Not it’s not *always* bad. It’s a well-known, evolutionarily selective survival trait. And pretty good one when you consider the landscape of human experiences 20,000+ years ago. I think in the context of a technologically advanced, organized society, it starts to have destabilizing effects that when coupled with our capacity for self-destruction, is a deeply concerning thing.
