Time magazine's latest cover made a meme out of VR

Palmer Luckey

If you've been online today, you have probably seen Time magazine's latest cover featuring Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey.

No one is impressed.

What's even supposed to be happening in that photo? The cover has managed to spark a massive response to that question with everyone taking to social media with a Photoshopped image, with some even naming the cover to be the reason VR tech will fail.

This may be taking it all a little too far, and at least most of us are laughing. The cover has undoubtedly become an instant meme (even Square Enix got in on the fun), though many are still happy to see the magazine covering the Oculus's creator.

And along with the rather odd cover, Time has also managed to perpetuate the stereotype of being a "nerd".

In opening the story, Time's Joel Stein says that though Palmer is "a nerd alright," he "isn't like other Silicon Valley nerds."

While he might just be trying to paint us a picture of who Palmer really is, and in fact the story itself is rather a positive one for VR, this description of Palmer also perpetuates an unrealistic stereotype of the kinds of people one should expect in the tech industry today.

"He doesn't look like a guy who played Dungeons & Dragons so much as a character in Dungeons & Dragons," the blurb continues.

We're not sure whether we should feel a little insulted on Palmer's behalf, but someone needs to show Time a picture of Vin Diesel, a happy and proud Dungeons & Dragons player.

We've contacted Oculus to see what it has to say about the cover, the story, and the internet's reaction.

Here's Time magazine's 2015 August cover, in all its glory:

Time magazine August 2015

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