Who Are These People?
The daily newspaper I read had a column listing celebrity birthdays. A recent column had 28 people sharing that day. All of them were in the entertainment industry. I guess that’s typical.
As I read through it I recognized only one person under the age of 60! Is it just me? Am I really that out of touch? I gathered the newspapers from earlier in the week to check out that column. Same result. Got me to thinking. Why? One logical answer is that my taste in entertainment hasn’t changed as I aged.
I analyzed how I keep myself entertained. When watching TV, I usually tune into the reruns of my old favorites. Exceptions would be shows I’ve been watching for years that are still on. Wheel of Fortune for example. To me it seems like every other current show is ‘reality’ based. Cooking, home remodeling, Real Housewives (yeah, sure), Naked and Afraid (I know the feeling, I’m afraid to look in the mirror when I step out of the shower). Looks like it’s Hallmark to the rescue again, at least if you enjoy Christmas movies eight months out of the year,
In my car, the radio is preset to the stations that play ‘golden oldies’. Sorry. rap music, acid rock, punk rock, etc. You just don’t do it for me. Even prefer older country music, though it hasn’t changed over the years. I guess I just identify more with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton.
Movies??? They used to be…well, you know, family friendly. These days movies are targeted to a whole different audience. You have choices between cartoons, blood and guts or language even Marine drill sergeants wouldn’t use. Don’t forget the movie popcorn. Pound for pound, I suspect it’s more costly than crab legs. And no matter where you sit it’s always close to someone chatting on their phone.
So, back to about where I started. Is it just me?
I checked with other family members, both middle-aged and young adults (don’t really have any older family). They each pretty much have their own lifestyles. Social lives are spent with those who are most like themselves; age, financial position, marital situations, etc. We do get together for holidays, birthdays and anniversaries, but I think it’s just a feeling of being obligated. I call it generational segregation. It can be painful at times, like if your granddaughter quits Facebook because she sees that you ‘liked’ one of her posts.