These aren’t radically new forms of celebrity so much as new methods of circulating a fad. Thirty years ago we had Pewdiepie and Mr. Beast, they were just Talk Radio shock jocks and daytime TV game show hosts. The names and faces change, but the gimmicks are all the same.

“Oh, you don’t know who Octomom is? Oh, you haven’t heard about the Macarena? You don’t know all the call-lines to Rocky Horror Picture Show? I guess you’re not cool.” shrug These things come and go. You can follow them or not. But pretending the height of socialization is knowing the current crop of Mouseketeers-turned-pop-idols isn’t going to make you less of a Boomer than your great-grandparents.