You need something, yes. The purpose of a presentation is to be entertaining enough that your audience will not be bored to tears, and will actually still care

You need something, yes. The purpose of a presentation is to be entertaining enough that your audience will not be bored to tears, and will actually still care about the subject after you're done. Images work well, because they evoke a more emotional response. Memes are there for a different reason - they are a non-verbal way of saying "hey, we're all part of the same subculture. I'm one of you!". Yes, presentations are to some extent an exercise in psychology, at least when they're good. If you just want to convey info, a whitepaper/article is a better choice. Information density is much higher there.