Yes, you read that right: Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco just announced their engagement. The couple is one of the most recognizable couples in American pop culture, and that only means one thing: There are already plenty of memes about the engagement spreading across social media.

But not everything is as rosy as it seems. The reaction to the news of Benny Blanco and Selena Gomez’s engagement has been harsh and a prime example of the ownership that many people have towards celebrities online.

Who are Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco?

Selena Gomez is a singer and actress. She began her career by performing at Barney & friendsbut it was her starring role in The Wizards of Waverly Place that made her famous.

Benny Blanco, on the other hand, is a record producer and songwriter who has worked with a number of artists including Ed Sheeran, Eminem and, yes, you guessed it, Selena Gomez.

How did the internet react to the news of Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s engagement?

The online world responded the only way possible: with a flood of memes. And many of them are anything but flattering.

This ugly tone runs through many engagement announcement posts.

Here’s an example where a popular Kevin James meme format is used to poke fun at the supposed wealth inequality between the two, even though Benny Blanco is undoubtedly wealthy, having written and produced a variety of popular songs.

There are also a number of posts and memes commenting negatively on Benny Blanco’s appearance:

Continuing this nastiness, Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s engagement is also being compared to that of Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber, especially because Gomez and Bieber were a couple:

While celebrities like Gordon Ramsey and Taylor Swift reacted positively to the news of Blanco and Gomez’s engagement, many reactions online seem to be darker and more cynical. Why does this seem to be the case?

Why is the Internet negative about Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s engagement?

The nature of social media makes it easy to believe that we know people we see online, even though by and large they don’t know us.

This trend is called forming a parasocial relationship. This is a one-sided friendship that many people have with celebrities. Because they engage with their posts and receive regular updates, it feels like people are actually online knowledge a public figure, although in reality this is not the case.

Selena Gomez in particular enjoys great fame on social media and has repeatedly become the woman with the most followers on Instagram.

This notoriety can make posters feel like they should have a say in Gomez’s life and offer their advice and views on her actions – something that has led to her withdrawing from online life.

Additionally, the reach of social media allows people in these parasocial relationships to spread their opinions far and wide.

Because extreme posts receive more likes on average than balanced posts, it creates an environment where people online feel like they can comment on someone else’s life and be rewarded with positive interaction for posting something negative.

Ultimately, Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s engagement is no one’s business but theirs, but the nature of the internet and the parasocial bonds many form with celebrities make people feel like they have license to be unkind, which is what we’re seeing right now watching in full time with the memes and reactions to the news.

Unfortunately, this is the reality of being a public figure on the Internet in the Internet age. Hopefully Blanco and Gomez know to avoid the comments section.