Ever notice how young Vine stars look and sound like clones of each other? Sure, they cover a wide variety of topics—like troubles with school, parents, and of course “bae.” But watch enough Vine stars in a row and you might have trouble remembering who was who.
To wit, this brilliant mystery Viner created the perfect parody of the platform’s homogenized youth culture.
https://vine.co/v/edQtttqIl19
Young James could be anyone: The account’s vines consist of simple, digitally altered animations and a portrait of a young, white, teen-ish boy wearing a single gold chain and a vaguely menacing scowl.
But don’t be fooled by the low production value. This account is packed to the gills with satire. The star is voiced by a robotic, low-affect text-to-speech voice and his comedic observations underscore an awareness that all those clever vines you’re watching are actually basic as fuck.
Young James covers it all.
From when your crush doesn’t follow you back on Twitter.
https://vine.co/v/eIQJWbDI6Hq
To when the teacher calls on you and you don’t know the answer.
https://vine.co/v/eIgHwVriei1
To thinking that your crush is waving at you.
https://vine.co/v/ejTxrjtVuYE
To that moment when you get exiled to the friend zone.
https://vine.co/v/eT6Xtnm7iba
And, of course, discovering bae has a thing for minions.
https://vine.co/v/edQtttqIl19
Young James is—for better or worse—the (robotic) voice of a generation.
Screengrabs via Young James/Vine
