Are younger people less knowledgeable about pop culture history then before?

[Powerboy]

Old people are more out of touch with the current generation that vice versa.

I've never seen so many people in the same or older generational cohorts as me so ouch of touch with current trends.

There's a lot more reverence with younger cohorts now in regards to what comes before. And is easier to find.

I think the disconnect is with the old farts.

It's probably the same problem. For younger people, there is so much going on now compared to decades ago that they have just as much knowledge but less of it is about the past.

With older people, it's the same but in reverse. There is so much going on now that we don't keep up with it all and still have any time for the older stuff.

People tend also to be biased in favor of the stuff from their formative years.

[BeastieRunner]

It would be an interesting game show. Old guys vs young guys on pop culture.

Make. It. Happen!

It's probably the same problem. For younger people, there is so much going on now compared to decades ago that they have just as much knowledge but less of it is about the past.

With older people, it's the same but in reverse. There is so much going on now that we don't keep up with it all and still have any time for the older stuff.

People tend also to be biased in favor of the stuff from their formative years.

I think that is fair point.

[GOLGO 13]

I remember growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, but still having a lot of knowledge about shows from the 60’s and 70’s and even earlier. Today I feel young people only really know about stuff from their generation. This is in spite of the fact that they have the internet and can look up older stuff easily. I think part of it has to do with the fact that back in the day reruns of old shows use to run alongside new stuff creating kind of a continuity between old and new. Today you have to actually seek out old stuff, so most people don’t bother.

I envy their choices.

They have a TON of things to occupy their time & fight for their attention. Star Trek Original must look painful to them. I think my daughter knows that Darth Vader is a bad-guy. I personally think Disney star wars/trek are both crap & actively sabotage any interest they might show in it. Yeah, because reasons.

Even though I have thousands of silver/bronze age comics, my children have never held a single floppy in their hands. They show MUCH more interest in manga & we share many of them together.

I judiciously share some of my interests from my youth & I am getting positive feedback from areas such as games & music & foreign cinema.

[From The Shadows]

I'm the same. I was born in the 70s but I also knew 60 and 70's stuff and even 40s and 50's stuff and enjoyed watching shows from those eras and some films (but mostly TV); Catch phrases you name it. It was the same with music. I love trivia too. Comics count too, then some.

Old people are more out of touch with the current generation that vice versa.

I've never seen so many people in the same or older generational cohorts as me so ouch of touch with current trends.

There's a lot more reverence with younger cohorts now in regards to what comes before. And is easier to find.

I think the disconnect is with the old farts.

I know what you mean, but...I don't have kids yet I know what they like/are into mostly... probably because I've kept an interest in pop cultures latest. Out of habit, enjoyment? I don't know. Despite me not liking a lot of it anyway.

Also, I've discovered some young to be hair curlingly ignorant to the point that anyone alive around the 1600's would even be scratching their heads. Though, I rather believe this is indoctrination of some sort.

[PwrdOn]

I don't see why the current generation really needs to be all that well versed in pop culture history. The vast majority of popular media was written for a contemporary audience with little regard for how it would hold up decades down the line, and someone that's just getting into it now wouldn't be able to appreciate it within the proper cultural context anyway. Sure, some art is timeless and cuts across generational lines but I probably wouldn't put cheesy 60s and 70s sitcoms into that category, it's perfectly understandable why a modern teenager would think that they were boring. And while there will always be those film buffs that want to dig into the history of media to try and piece together the various story themes and cinematographic tricks that have influenced modern productions, most likely the average viewer won't care about all that stuff and just wants to have a good time, and making them sit through some three hour dialogue-heavy black and white snoozefest because "darn kids can't appreciate a good movie without explosions" is probably not the way to go about it.