In the Demo

We're taking a short break so we wanted to share this Best Of In the Demo podcast episode with you.

This episode first aired August 31, 2024.

The story about Millennials and dating is all about apps, sexting and ghosting - the habits of the toxically online. But it’s not all toxic - it can help people discover how to be intimate and confident in their romantic relationships. Still, real concerns about privacy and security abound....

We're taking a short break so we wanted to share this Best Of In the Demo podcast episode with you.

This episode first aired on April 18, 2024.

The nostalgia and ownership that younger generations feel toward the music and culture of the 90s is fascinating. In this episode of In The Demo, Farrah and her guest Rob Harvilla, host of the 60 Songs that Explain the '90s podcast, explore why the decade holds such a powerful allure for ...

We're taking a short break so we wanted to share this Best Of In the Demo podcast episode with you.

This episode first aired on May 16, 2024.

Millennials are reframing their generational identity as they enter homeownership and parenthood, but broken systems remain. Nostalgia for a pre-internet era offers an escape, and reflects a yearning for IRL experiences and human connection in an automated and mediated world.

Anne Helen ...

We're taking a short break so we wanted to share this Best Of In the Demo podcast episode with you.

This episode first aired on July 18, 2023.

BREAKING (kidding, sort of). In late May, Pew Research announced they would "only do generational analysis when we have historical data that allows us to compare generations at similar stages of life" after a year-long analysis of their own approach to reporting on differences by generatio...

We're taking a short break so we wanted to share this Best Of In the Demo podcast episode with you.

This episode first aired February 9, 2023.

In this episode, Farrah and Adam look more closely at the beginnings of the Millennial Myth, literally the opening quote of Millennials Rising. We discuss how much of the myth hangs on one short quote written in an essay by a (then) high school girl living in McLean, Virginia where the aut...

Generational stereotypes and the flaws in popular research on Millennials and Gen Z are dissected, revealing how cherry-picked data and misleading interpretations shape public perception.

In this episode of In The Demo, we continue our deep dive into the work of Jean Twenge, questioning some of her methods as well as biases in her research on generational traits. We analyze the structure and content of books like iGen and Gener...

Millennials Rising may have kicked off the race to define the Millennial generation, but one author in particular has become the singular thought leader among commentators, researchers, and others: Jean Twenge. Her books iGen and Generations helped her move from toiling in academic obscurity to shaping the discourse.

In this episode of In the Demo, hosts Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno critically examine Jean Twenge's work, parti...

Gen Z is far more complex and resourceful than popular stereotypes suggest — intimate conversations with young people show us how they're navigating an increasingly challenging world. Their attitudes towards work, creativity, and personal fulfillment tell us a lot about how this generation is forging its path. 

In this episode of In the Demo, host Adam Pierno speaks with filmmakers Branden Mayer and Max Goldstein about thei...

We've been having a great time for 30+ episodes complaining about bad research, reporting, and punditry (and book-writing) about generational narratives. Who doesn't love-to-hate a good "Millennials killed some industry" story? But there are real stakes here, for how companies hire employees, invest resources, and plan marketing campaigns; for politicians and policy makers about who they want to serve or punish, and how they want t...

Social media and smartphones are causing an epidemic of mental illness and anxiety among Gen Z, according to some prominent thinkers - but are these sweeping claims backed by evidence? Maybe the answer is: it's complicated, and jumping to simplistic conclusions is at best useless and at worst, dangerous.

In this episode, we talk about recent discussions about the work of psychologist Jonathan Haidt (often in collaboration with g...

Millennials are reframing their generational identity as they enter homeownership and parenthood, but broken systems remain. Nostalgia for a pre-internet era offers an escape, and reflects a yearning for IRL experiences and human connection in an automated and mediated world.

Anne Helen Petersen, author and cultural critic, joins host Farrah Bostic to discuss the evolving narratives surrounding millennials and Gen Z. They explor...

Preconceived notions and media narratives have warped perceptions of social media and internet culture, shaping misleading stories about generations. A critical look beyond the headlines reveals the complex realities of how people of all ages engage with online platforms in nuanced ways.

Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno welcome Rebecca Jennings, a reporter at Vox covering internet culture, to unpack the flawed assumptions and evolv...

The nostalgia and ownership that younger generations feel toward the music and culture of the 90s is fascinating. In this episode of In The Demo, Farrah and her guest Rob Harvilla, host of the 60 Songs that Explain the '90s podcast, explore why the decade holds such a powerful allure for those who never experienced it firsthand.

They discuss what accounts for this cross-generational appeal, from the mythologizing of the 90s in m...

Growing impatience with generational stereotyping has sparked a critical reexamination of how we categorize and analyze age cohorts. Despite Generation Alpha still being born, that won't stop consultants and pundits from making sweeping predictions about who they will be and laying out dubious prescriptions for how they should be raised. By scrutinizing the motives behind labeling Generation Alpha, the absurdity of predicting the t...

The demographic cliff - a controversial idea that declining population growth will trigger economic disaster. But is it real or just sensationalized clickbait pushed by those with an agenda?

Investment advisor Harry Dent popularized demographic cliff fears in the mid-2000s to sell his financial advice (and a book, of course). From there, it became a favored trope in education, where school administrators - from K-12 to college -...

When the Millennials came of age to enter the workforce (which took nearly 15 years) the media was awash in headlines about how to cater to this powerful new generation. Today, the headlines have turned to Gen Z. Farrah and Adam go deeper than the headlines to reveal that the story is still about Millennials. Reminiscent of the treatment of Gen X, Gen Z is constantly compared to their elders, but worse, many writers and researchers...

In this episode, Farrah and Adam discuss the role and effectiveness of strategy in advertising, including how connected it needs to be to cultural trends, consumer insights, and business realities. And then - they take a deep dive into an article by Richard Huntington in WARC, "The Future of Strategy 2023: Marketing is in desperate need of a reality check" in which he agrees with our premise that generational segments are astrology...

The best advertising reveals something you’ve thought for a long time about a product, service or its users (or yourself!) and presents in an unexpected way. Either for a laugh or some emotional response. Today, we’re seeing advertisers take broad stereotypes of generational segmentations and paste them directly into ads. The results are, um, not great. 

MENTIONED RESOURCES:

• 2024 Lamb: The Generation Gap
• Coinbase: Genera...

Adam and Farrah commence a new season, and in the spirit of the new year, take a look at recent Millennial headlines and found that... nothing has changed, and nothing ever will.

Links:

• Jodie Foster on Gen Z
• The ironic reason Gen Z are ageing faster than millennials — Metro
• The Plastic Surgery Trend Gen X, Millennials, & Gen Z All Agree On — The Zoe Report
• How you wear a scarf can reveal if you're Gen Z or Millennial — New Y...