Why did America age backwards the last 20 years?

[Reaganfan]

PLEASE DON'T FLAME ME


I was thinking about reasons why the U.S. was so mature in the 1980s...and it dawned on me...America was an older country. The median age of a U.S. citizen at times in the 80s was their mid-30s. We had television shows like Dynasty with Linda Evans and sitcoms about a 1950s M.A.S.H. unit in Korea or a bunch of 30/40-somethings in a tavern. People on the charts from Rod Stewart to Bruce Springsteen to Eddie Money ranged from their 30s to 50s. America elected an old conservative President twice, and then followed with an old-style Republican to lead into the early 1990s.

Things were also very adult-oriented. You had women as young as their early-20s in pantyhose and blouses...lacy underwear and really mature and erotic. Now everything is so youthful, it takes away the serious eroticism you had. Young women wear silk, padded bras with rainbow colors, whereas 15-20 years ago they wore lacy, sheer bras and blouses. It just seems like youth has taken over so much...that in many ways what is considered sexy has changed.

For example...look at these advertisement comparisons...

1987:


Today:


Clearly, the clothing worn in the first ad is more sensual, lacy, sheer and the woman is older. In the second ad, the undergarments are silky, padded and the girl is much younger.

Notice how mature and striking the first ad is as compared to the second one.

But it's not just styles. It's intelligence too.

25 years ago, almost every teenager knew what the Soviet Union was. How many kids today know the details of the war on terror?

I'm sure folks like JSojourner would agree with me on this a bit...but it makes for interesting discussion. When and why did America turn so youthful?

What I find fascinating is that around 1992 to 1994...everything described above ended. Johnny Carson was replaced with Jay Leno. Cheers was replaced with the much more 90s spin-off Frasier. Shows like Friends came on and showed 20-somethings in a much more youthful light. George Bush was replaced by Bill Clinton. On the charts, Michael Jackson was replaced with Snoop Dawg. Why around that time? Any ideas?

[Reaganfan]

*sigh*

Naso, the median age now is much higher. That's because the Baby Boomers and Gen Xers are aging. If you bothered to look at the census you would see that the country is aging even with the high amount of people born in the 1980s. If it seems that the media focuses more on young people it's because those are the biggest consumers, although if you look at commercials lately you'll notice that a lot of the products are obviously geared towards middle aged people.

paradoxically, I think that's why society has begun to idolize youth so much more.

It's just...I have been trying to figure out. It's universally known that Obama has done some things that Americans strongly disagree with. Even at my college, the majority of people were critical of him. Yet, polls show most Americans approve. Who are they?

Reality television is universally hated by people, but millions and millions continue to watch. Who are those people watching if it is so universally hated?

I can't understand...if all we see and hear is negativity about this stuff, but it keeps getting approved of and watched....what is the reason behind it? The answer to me, is young people, who may not be as thick into opinions as older people.

[Reaganfan]

I'd like to keep this discussion going...are some actually suggesting things are more youthful because of the large amount of older people?