Modern Business And Youth Culture
The generation gap is something that many cultural pundits consider to be a relatively recent occurrence in the long view of human history
. Yes, younger people have rebelled against their parents since time immemorial, but the generation gap in its present form appears to have been born during the Industrial Revolution. One might say that the idea truly came into its full flower sometime in the 20th century. The idea of the young as a very different, separate entity and the privileging of this entity called The Youth can be said to be only a few decades old.Contemporary business particularly mass media and mass advertising has both promoted and been promoted by this cultural shift. Selling things to young people can be very lucrative, considering that young people tend to be more suggestible, and that they often have a lot of disposable time and money. Add this to the fact that young people demographically make up a huge chunk of the world population, and you have a very attractive target for marketing.
The sheer force of marketing and business directed at the young has contributed to the idea of young people as a very important if not the most importantcultural force. For instance, take a look at the fact that popular culture is, to a large extent, synonymous with mainstream youth culture. As a result, older people can be somewhat marginalized, even though they often make the money that fuels youth culture. Famous novelist Joyce Carol Oates was not completely exaggerating when she had one of her characters in her book Broke Heart Blues remark, "After high school in America, everything is posthumous."
The above quotation is a somewhat melodramatic expression of the widespread attitude that old age is the enemy. People have to delay growing old, or at least camouflage the fact that it is happening. Thus, we have a boom in anti-aging products, which are now part of the mainstream. For instance, in the 1950's and 1960's, it was considered somewhat odd and embarrassing for a woman to use dye to hide gray hair. Women who did so often colored their hair secretly. However, nowadays, coloring one's hair is considered quite ordinary, and one need not hide the fact that one does it. Thus, the very cultural attitudes pushed by youth-oriented advertising can be milked for even more business, as people sell youth-oriented products.
However, we need not necessarily be suspicious of all business and advertising that aims to help us age better. Yes, there are some products that only function to make you look younger so you can fit in with the mainstream attitude that old age is ugly and embarrassing. Then again, there are some products that are oriented more towards aging gracefully and healthily. For instance, vitamins and exercise programs that help older people remain active can actually be based on the opposite attitude. This type of business is not about marginalizing older people, but helping them keep an active place in society. Hopefully, by thinking critically, people will be able to analyze advertising and general cultural attitudes in a deeper way, and make more sense of what big business is telling all of us about aging.
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