Growing older is an inevitable part of life, and with it comes the horrifying reality of losing touch with what the younger generation is up to. Just when I think I've caught up with the times, things change and I'm back to being left in the dust. I've accepted it.
However, some people and brands try too hard to be relatable to the youths and fail miserably at it.
If You Use The Term "Fellow Kids", You're Already Lost
There's no faster way to out yourself as a non-kid other than referring to yourself as a "fellow kid". You instantly age yourself by 15 years by merely speaking the words.
Oh No Sweetie That's Not How It Works
Brands on social media are really working hard to keep up with the internet culture and use memes, but a golden rule is to never try to use a meme that you don't fully understand or you'll end up looking like a fool.
Education, But Make It ~Trendy~
Educating kids by using the textbook and traditional curriculum has gone out of style, and now teachers are trying to make AP History "fun" by adding memes—as if AP History could ever be fun.
Jesus Only Had Like 12 Followers
I would like to pass a law that enforces that the church, state, and social media have to be separate in society. In other news, what kind of posts qualify as "not honoring Christ?"
At Least They're Becoming Self-Aware
Brands are the known serial killers of good internet memes, but at least they're starting to understand the role they play in the internet meme hierarchy. Ignorance is, in fact, not bliss.
The People Have Seen Your Pandering And Have Refused To Engage
There are few things more humiliating than paying to get your brand's post as much visibility as possible and not have a single one of the millions of people who see it vote on your poll.
... Suddenly, I Want To Be Illiterate
I can't believe that someone at the library thought, the best way to get more teenagers to read books is to condescendingly mock the way they type in text messages. That will definitely work.
It's Relatable But I'm Still Angry At This Company
Is this exactly what it was like for me when I trying to help my dad with manual tasks during childhood? 100%. Am I still upset that a wiper blade company is using a Keanu meme? 100%.
Straight Out Of The High School English Textbook
How... how do baby boomers and Generation X think that millennials and Gen-Z talk to each other? Is this really how they imagine our conversations to look like? Who decided one person's name was going to be "YOYO"?
Sometimes You Should Quit While You're Already Behind
You've heard of quitting while you're ahead, but sometimes it's even more valuable to quit while you have already lost before you try to dig yourself into a deeper, more embarrassing hole.
Even The U.S. Army Is Trying To Meme For The Youths
Traditional recruitment tactics have been thrown out the window and now the U.S. Army is trying to increase enlistment by using memes of a murderous clown offering financial support. We are living in a simulation.
If The Online Ads Don't Work, In Person Memes Will Have To Do
Joining the U.S. Army probably can benefit you in many ways and I'm sure they have their arguments, but do you think the increased risk of injury would work as mind-changing debate points?
If Skittles Tried To Use A Meme Advertisement, Would They Do A Good Job Or This?
There are good ways to use memes in advertisements—I won't deny it—but Skittles tried to be funny and relevant and ended up looking stupid. You really hate to see it.
...And That's On The Trojan War
The sad part is that the Trojan War, the whole "fighting the guy who stole my wife" thing, and the story of the Trojan horse is interesting enough without having to meme-ify it. Just make a regular slideshow.
I Would Like To Personally Sue YouTube For Doing This
The second a brand tries to steal "millennial" or trendy language and overuse it, it never comes off as anything other than contrived. Just tell me I have a new subscriber and go.
I Self-Identify As A "Striminal"
I emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and physically identify with the group of "Striminal" video pirates and I will wear this stupid sounding title with pride as long as boomers are unable to find a stream that doesn't give their computer a virus.
Nothing Like A 10-Year-Old Meme To Hype You Up For Spring Break!
Picture this: you're a starving college student amassing a large amount of debt trying to get an education. You open an email from the school. Downloading the attached image will use the tiny remnant of data you have left, but you do it because you think it might be important. It's this meme.
Dominos, Just Drop Your Promo Code And Leave
No one is ordering Domino's pizza because they care about the advertising memes. They're ordering it because it's two in the morning and they're using a promo code for free delivery to feel better about the purchase.
You Can Tell A Boomer Made This Ad
First baby boomers want to act like "Ok Boomer" was some sort of slur against them and then they have the audacity to appropriate the phrase in order to sell iced coffee?
Zeus Was The Original Unfaithful Man
Zeus would promise his wife that he was done messing around with random girls only to try to hit on the next woman he saw and then turn her into a cow after. Weak man.
Twilight, Just Pack Up And Go
Dear people who run the @Twilight twitter account, we understand that you had your moment from 2008-2013, but it's over now. Let it go. Move on to better things. You deserve to be free.
Not All Attention Is Good Attention, Netflix
Not only do I have no idea why Netflix would try to make this documentary sound like the title of a wiki-how article, but the meme depicting people wanting drugs is too far.
Leave Him Alone! He Is Tweeting To Stay Alive
I imagine that a 22-year-old recent hire is sitting at their desk in the GameStop corporate office rapidly trying to hit their 20-tweet a day quota while navigating a barrage of complaints. Keep hanging in there, pal.
If You Can't Join Them, Beat Them
It's futile to believe that branded Twitter will ever achieve the love and acceptance of the regular people using Twitter, so they might as well mock themselves before the masses even have the chance.
Maybe Check Out The Trending Hashtag Before Using It
The first rule to using hashtags is that you should always know exactly why it's trending before using it to avoid, I don't know, making a pizza joke on a sensitive topic.
PSA Posters Look Different Than They Did When I Was In School
The school principal sat down with the board representative to find a way to prevent teenagers from vaping and developing nicotine addictions and somehow came up with this as the solution.
Even The Dictionary Is Memeing
You know that things have gone too far when the objectively most boring book in the history of books is trying to get online attention using internet memes. This tweet is one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
Just Tell Me How Much Rent Is!
Do you know what people look for when trying to navigate the difficult real estate market? Jokes about crime documentaries! Not rental information, landlord checks, property tax rates, or asking prices!
Petition To Ban Politicians From Using Memes
In general, politicians' campaign advertisements and publicity stunts to gain the support of the masses are annoying to see, but meme use is a new level of despicable and they must be stopped.
That's It, We Need To Burn Down The Internet
All in all, rather than desperately trying to blend in with the kids on the internet, we should appreciate them and their chaotic memes and language use from a safe distance.
