TL;DR Version

The generation gap is nothing new. Podcasts are nothing new. But…there isn’t a single decent podcast where older and younger generations come together to discuss differences or seek common ground outside of the boring ones led by academics.
Many common notions about age and youth are just plain fucking stupid! For example:
- Older generations are not tech illiterate.
- The belief that “children are the future” as shortsighted AF.
- Older generations did not destroy the planet.
- Younger generations are no more lost or worthless today than were previous generations.
The Goat Pen Generations Podcast is not an academic discussion facilitated by psychologists or (worse yet) sociologists.
We expect some discussions to be “spirited” and landing somewhere to the right of Jerry Springer and Celebrity Deathmatch.
We expect some discussions to be heart warming and hopefully bring friends, family, and generations closer.
In addition to generational discussions, we’ll discuss issues that affect all generations and inject elements of futurism, covering topics such as declining birth rates, aging populations and advances in life extension.
We also intend to dovetail with other Goat Pen branded podcasts including Dudeus Ex Machina, Bro-Mods and The Goat Pen Podcast.
On a final note, generational podcasts are an outstanding genre for our community members to consider as a Pen-Pod (Goat Pen Community Generated Content).

Generations and Tech

Technology is Nothing New

Tech has been around since the dawn of man. Every generation has had technological advances and most certainly there have been times when younger generations adopted new technology at a greater rate or easier than older generations. There is a common misconception that younger gens are better tech users than older gens. The reason this happens is because older gens have to be socialized to and “learn” about new technology. Younger gens are born with it and they probably don’t remember not knowing it. For them, there was no real learning curve. For older gens, new technology presents some challenges to overcome. There is usually some awkward phase where they have to learn not only the tech part, but the social part as well. This is why many celebrities struggle with social media, often appearing awkward and cringy on it.

.

The Typical Idiot Microphone Effect

I bet you’re guilty

There is a rather famous Tik Tok of Sir Anthony Hopkins experimenting with Tik Tok and it’s cringy AF. Silence of the Lambs? How about STFU you sheep? I call it the “typical idiot microphone effect”. If you’ve never used a microphone before, and then you speak into one hearing your voice for the first time, you will almost certainly begin to behave like a typical idiot. It’s not at all uncommon to find yourself uttering childish gibberish, like Hopkins, or declaring to Luke that you are his father. New Nextel users (if you remember that) would invariably use the walkie talkie feature while in the same room or vehicle with people they were communicating with, and thinking they were being clever, that somehow they were the first people to do this. New Facebook users often go through a regrettable posting phase treating it like their blog. The awkward phase is part of growing up and even full grown adults seem to go through it when learning to mature with a new technology. The reality is that the awkwardness is salient enough to seem permanent, but it’s nothing more than a transitional period. It’s happened before, and it will happen again. And you probably went through it.

The Proximity Effect

Another Microphone Analogy

Another contributing factor is that younger gens often feel like they own the tech…that they created it. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Using another microphone analogy, this is nothing more than a “proximity effect”. The proximity effect with microphones is the increased bass frequency when you move the microphone closer to your mouth. It’s the proximity effect that releases your inner Darth Vader to declare your fatherhood to Luke. Similarly, younger gen’s youth is in close proximity to the technology’s youth, and that amplifies the selfish frequency. Even Zuckerberg was nothing more than an innovator, using tools and technology created by older gens. Many people think social media started with Facebook. But of course there was Myspace before it. And before Myspace, there were discussion forums and chat rooms. WTF ever happened to chat rooms? I suppose they’ve been replaced with messaging apps and feeds. But, I can see an opportunity to breathe new life into that old tech. Perhaps apps like Clubhouse have done just that? If chat rooms do have a renaissance, no doubt it will be the current younger gen thinking they invented it.

Why is Nobody Doing This?

There’s definitely an opportunity here to create some great content. I’m genuinely surprised that it hasn’t already been done. There are some podcasts that feature generational content, but they either have some kind of left wing woke agenda or they’re an extension of some academic’s pet project, or both.

It’s not just the content that offers opportunity, it’s the fact that there’s a HUGE emerging market for older adults who are tech savvy. I’m talking grandparent aged or great grandparent aged folks who have outgrown their awkward phase and are tech fluent now. This “new media’ has just become media. For Goat Pen community members looking to start podcasting, opportunities abound to serve older generations or to partner with them as content creators.

Podcasts, virtual events, self-paced online courses. Older Americans will be ripe as content consumers. And, aging adults have a shit ton to offer as content creators, employees and contractors. This notion that “Children are the Future” made for a good song lyric for George Benson and Whitney Houston, but…it’s one of those things that mostly only “rings true”. Well, of course there’s some truth to it. But, as my “philosofather” told me, “many things actually conceal more than they reveal”. In attempting to make the fucking obvious point that children today will be adults in the future, what this phrase also does is suggest that these future leaders are somehow more important today than are older people and that older people are pretty much done and washed up. Bullshit!

Although today’s youth may have more future ahead of them, many of them have thus far contributed so little that they aren’t even the fucking present. Their impact on the future is yet to be seen. An older adult approaching retirement may in fact have decades ahead of them. Why not state that they are the future? It’s just as accurate if you shorten the timeline some. And, as life extension technology improves, it is not at all outside the realm of possibility that aging can be reversed. Like King Arthur’s Merlin, who according to legend “youthened”.

There’s Nothing Wrong with Today’s Youth

It’s all been done before

Every few years, as a rising older generation starts adulting, they claim that the younger generation has something wrong with them. Set aside the fact the previous older generation said the exact same thing about them…this time it’s different. This new generation is legit all screwed up. And…they’re right. Except that they were all screwed up too. Every new generation is screwed up. In fact, I’ll argue that every generation is at all times all screwed up. Anyone who thinks that they’ve finally figured shit out will invariably be proven wrong. Older generations may indeed have acquired some wisdom that the younger generation lacks. It’s true that the older generation has a more mature brain that is able to process the concept of consequences, which apparently doesn’t happen until the late 20’s. But, it’s a really rare individual that truly understands how to be an adult. These people are usually boring and nobody likes them. Even people who appear to have it together, if they’re being honest, would have to admit that they really have no idea what they’re doing. They somehow fell into this adult role and are genuinely surprised they’ve made it this far. The video of a young Corey Feldman, having clearly matured to the point of earning the right to be worried about “the youth of today” while the older, wiser Howard Stern presides over the cringe fest is gold.

Today, many in my generation are convinced that today’s youth are all messed up and that social media and Tik Tok are to blame. Many of today’s youth are convinced that older generations and corporate greed have destroyed the planet. And yet, these youngsters are waiting in the wings to take credit for all the advancements developed on a continuum that will likely usher in a new golden age for humanity. Technology that started with some cave dude named Dag who accidentally stood up. Dag was a show off. The older cave dudes didn’t like Dag. There was something wrong with him.