General Discussion

I think the "shared culture" of the past is kind of illusion. There were fewer choices and that meant that there was more of a sense of shared experience but from "Blackboard Jungle" (1955) onward producers learned how to make money servicing genre-preferences.

The culture of the 2000s to the present is fragmented as you point out. It is much more focused on individuals, more tribal. One of the more fascinating developments for me is to see kids pursuing health at all costs -- diet, gym-going, alcohol-free. That reverses some declines of the recent past. Cynicism is more embraced and I think, if not taken to excess, that is healthy also. Having that built-in BS detector will serve these kids well in the AI future.

Despite all the hand-wringing about how social media has given kids (and adults) the attention span of a gnat, we see a huge rise in long form interviews and podcasts. "60 Minutes" gave us 10 minutes with someone -- now podcasts give us 3 hours with the promise that by the third hour the guest will let their mask slip. They will run out of canned lines and facades and get real. That is big shift in media-driven culture.