In the Demo

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 generational researcher Jean Twenge), who argue tech is wreaking havoc on young people. We talk about flaws in the arguments, discuss other factors that contribute to these trends, and try to reckon with the reality that in fact all of us have a lot to be anxious and depressed about. It's the phones; but also, it's really not.

• The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt
• "The great rewiring: is social media really behind an epidemic of teenage mental illness?" in Nature by Candice Odgers
• "Inside the debate over The Anxious Generation" in Platformer by Zoë Schiffer
• The Ideas Industry by Dan Drezner
• Don't Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff

Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn.

Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn.

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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 explore how the optimism of the 90s and early 2000s has given way to disillusionment, the impact of political polarization on younger generations, and the collective burnout experienced by a society that glorifies productivity over rest.

Resources

The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt

"How the Stanley Cup Went Viral" by Kyle Chayka in The New Yorker

"It's Just a Water Bottle" by Amanda Mull in The Atlantic

Vox's "Today, Explained" episode, "The kids are all home"

Our Guest

A former senior culture writer for BuzzFeed, Anne Helen Petersen now writes her newsletter, Culture Study, as a full-time venture on Substack. Petersen received her PhD at the University of Texas at Austin, where she focused on the history of celebrity gossip. Her previous books, Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud and Scandals of Classic Hollywood, were featured in NPR, Elle, and the Atlantic. She lives in Missoula, Montana.

Your Hosts

Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions.

Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University, and founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies.

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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 evolving trends shaping discourse around TikTok, influencers, and generational divides. Together, they explore how content creation, viral sensations, and the quest for fame and money online impact society in ways that often defy simplistic narratives. The conversation challenges listeners to question their assumptions and rethink the digital world around them.

Resources

• "Romantic norms are in flux. No wonder everyone's obsessed with polyamory." by Rebecca Jennings: https://www.vox.com/culture/24078524/polyamory-open-marriage-anxiety
• "'Girl' trends and the repackaging of womanhood" by Rebecca Jennings: “Girl” trends and the repackaging of womanhood
• "Everyone's a sellout now" by Rebecca Jennings: Everyone’s a sellout now
• "Against trendbait" by Rebecca Jennings: Against trendbait
• "What is 'Cheugy'? You Know It When You See It" by Taylor Lorenz:  What Is ‘Cheugy’? You Know It When You See It. (Published 2021)
• "DIGITAL 2024: GLOBAL OVERVIEW REPORT": Digital 2024: Global Overview Report — DataReportal – Global Digital Insights

Our Guest

Rebecca Jennings is a senior correspondent covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on how social media is changing the nature of fame, fashion, money, and human relationships. Since joining Vox in 2018, she has reported extensively on the introduction of TikTok into the US, covered the rise and fall of hype houses and sexfluencers, and investigated young tech entrepreneurs, aesthetic trends, and the nature of beauty in the social media age.

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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 media to the enduring impact of the era's defining genres and artists. And they discuss how technology and cultural shifts of the past 30 years shaped the way listeners discover, consume, and connect with music, and what this tells us about the nostalgia and identity in the digital age.

• 60 Songs that Explain the '90s
• New York Times “Grunge: A Success Story”
• Bandsplain
• The Oregon Trail

Rob Harvilla is the host of the podcast 60 Songs That Explain the '90s and a senior staff writer at The Ringer; he's been a professional rock critic for 20-plus years with stops at the Village Voice, SPIN, Deadspin, and other alt-weeklies.

Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn.

Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn.

• Website: inthedemopodcast.com
• LinkedIn: In the Demo Podcast
• Newsletter: inthedemo.substack.com

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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 traits of a generation that hasn't fully arrived becomes apparent.

Farrah and Adam discuss the cyclical nature of generational myths, the societal anxieties they reveal, and the problematic values emerging from Gen Alpha's parents. The episode uncovers the financial and economic drivers behind generational analysis, challenging assumptions and highlighting the importance of a more nuanced understanding of the forces shaping our youth.

"The ABC of XYZ" by Mark McCrindle

Business Insider: The oldest Gen Alphas can almost drive: Here's how millennials' kids will shop, work, and live

Morning Consult: A Brand's Guide to Gen Alpha

Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn.

Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn.

• Website: inthedemopodcast.com
• LinkedIn: In the Demo Podcast
• Newsletter: inthedemo.substack.com

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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 - worried about not having enough enrolled students. Recently, concerns have shifted to plummeting birth rates in South Korea, China, and Canada. But throughout history, similar narratives have repeatedly stoked moral panic about changing demographics - from Gen X’s alleged lack of work ethic to Millennials' supposed disinterest in homeownership and parenthood. Cutting through the hype, Farrah and Adam expose who gains from pushing demographic doomsday myths and why resisting these misleading narratives matters.

Mentioned Resources:

• Harry Dent's book "The Demographic Cliff": https://www.amazon.com/Demographic-Cliff-Survive-Prosper-Deflation/dp/1591847273
• New York Times article on China's demographic challenges: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/16/business/china-birth-rate.html
• Why Pew Research Center is no longer reporting on generations: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/05/22/how-pew-research-center-will-report-on-generations-moving-forward/
• New York Times Op Ed on the population of school-aged children dropping: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/14/opinion/declining-enrollment.html
• National Post article on the Canadian birth rate drop off: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/canadas-birth-rate-has-dropped-off-a-cliff-and-its-because-nobody-can-afford-housing

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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 are lumping Millennials and Gen Z together. 

Mentioned Resources:

Email-gated landing page: https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/issues/work/content/genzmillennialsurvey.html

Resultant PDF: https://app.box.com/s/cl1f3v6tabsudujm6ej1ois9svuaxtty

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Cohosted by Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno. Edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio, and produced by Ashley Derrington. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Our intro is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.

Why stories about groups matter.

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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 for marketers - but uses this as a cudgel against all segmentations, which we don't care for, frankly.

Also mentioned, Farrah's piece, "There's no such thing as insights".

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Cohosted by Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno. Edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Our intro is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.

Why stories about groups matter.

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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: Generations
• JP Morgan Chase: Meet the Jennifers
• Tide - quiet time
• The Musings of an Opinionated Sod - Sorry, dear Rob Campbell, Farrah misattributed your blog title to Dave Trott!!! For shame!

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Cohosted by Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno. Edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio, and produced by Ashley Derrington. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Our intro is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.

Why stories about groups matter.

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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 York Post
• Gen Z's throwback ‘chunky highlights’ hair trend makes millennials cringe: 'Don't do it!' — New York Post
• Millennials are ditching 'sad beige' interior design — Business Insider
• Gen Z Loves Watching TV With Closed Captions On, & Gen X Is Bewildered — Scary Mommy
• 7 Bills Millennials and Gen Z Have That Boomers Didn't — GOBankingRates
• These 2 generations visit libraries at higher rates than any other generation — Deseret News
• Gen Z workers say this emoji is the most NSFW — but boomers and millennials disagree — New York Post
• How Gen Z and millennials want to work in 2024: ‘Lazy girl jobs,’ 'bare minimum Mondays' — and less — Fox Business
• Millennials have found a way to buy houses: Living with mom and dad — The Washington Post
• Gen X is being ignored. Gen Xers say they like it that way. — Business Insider
• OK Soda: The '90s Soft Drink for Gen X That Fell Flat — Mental Floss
• The Year the Millennial Internet Died — WIRED

Cohosted by Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno. Edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio, and produced by Ashley Derrington. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Our intro is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai. Learn more and find supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com

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