E! Has Not Heard of Young Celebrities

You know those super-relatable “_____ Moments That Made Us Feel Old” posts that all sorts of different websites do, allowing us to bask in the glory of shared cultural experiences for a moment, as a break from our boring jobs and lives? You know the ones we’re talking about…

Well, E! Online posted one to the Web today called “18 Moments From the 2015 Teen Choice Awards That Made Us Feel Super Old,” and it’s getting some serious flak on social media. Mainly because, rather than making readers feel all warm and fuzzy and nostalgic about the past, it reads more like throwing shade at any and all young and/or digital celebrities.

Did I use that right? “Throwing shade”? Man, we are so OLD, right? Doesn’t that just link you, the reader, and me, the content creator, in a close, intimate way that makes you want to share this with your friends and followers?

Here are some of the moments making the kids un-fleeked. (OK, that one I’m pretty sure I screwed up.)

6. There were entire categories in which we’d never heard of the nominees. Eva Gutowski? Lele Pans? Joey Graceffa? Felix Kjellberg? Are those even real people?

I mean, you could pick a slightly better example of “obscure celebrity” than the #1 most popular person on YouTube ever, right? You don’t have to be able to count your pubic hairs on one hand to know that “doing commentary on video games” is a popular genre of Internet videos. There were like 3 South Parks about this last season, and that’s a VERY relevant reference for people in their 30s.

Amanda Steele. She has 2.5 million YouTube subscribers. (E! has around 300,000 and they’re on TV promoting themselves 24 hours a day!)

Anyway, YouTubers and online personalities and their fans don’t have to take this kind of guff from a network that devotes 6+ hours daily to “Sex and the City” reruns, so the response on social media has been swift and furious.