Keeping Up With The Times

Is It Possible?

B. N. Dent

IN MY MIND, THE CONCEPT OF “KEEPING UP WITH THE TIMES” refers to being in tune with the present climate of popular culture and possessing a certain fluency in the language that accompanies this mainstream ethos. In recent history, it can be observed that it is more often than not the younger or emerging generations who drive this culture, determining what is acceptable, and more potently, what is no longer acceptable. When I say “younger and emerging”, I’m referring to those of aged 30 and below. These emerging generations’ tendency to hold this dominance stems from a variety of reasons, including a greater openness to the adoption of new trends, enhanced desire for authenticity, and increased creativity – all factors that typically contrast with traditional values held by older generations.

So, now that we have established that the younger generations are responsible for setting trends in mainstream culture, we can draw some conclusions. To set up the topic of discussion for the rest of this article, let’s unpack the most straightforward conclusion one can draw. The idea that, as emerging generations have the greatest involvement in dictating current trends, they will therefore be the most in tune and accustomed to the cultural setting. As can be perceived in the world of innovation, most commonly the creator will have the greatest understanding of their creation and seamlessness in using it. On the other side of the spectrum, older generations, generally, are not as habituated to these trends and will consequently have more difficulty in relating or keeping up to date with them. But there is nothing wrong with this. There is absolutely nothing wrong with these generations abstaining from emerging trends and sticking to the ones that they have fostered. In fact, I encourage this because it creates a great diversity in taste among differing age demographics, which ultimately leads to a more colourful society overall. 

Opposingly, I believe that some serious issues can arise when ‘ineligible’ people try to adopt the trends of younger generations. To showcase the problematic nature of this matter, it is imperative to first understand why ‘keeping with the times’ is practically impossible. The justification behind this task’s impossibility stems from the fact that you need to be living in, and encompassed by, the ‘times’ in order to keep with them. One cannot simply overhear some new phrases from a couple of random kids, research what they mean on The Urban Dictionary, and then try to employ them going forward. All aspects of the trends of younger generations are extremely dynamic and hold a certain interdependence with one another. That is why one must be constantly immersed in them (i.e. surrounded by those creating the trends) in order to stay up to date. Trying to adopt the culture from the outside is impossible, no matter how hard you try.

Now, recognising that ‘keeping with the times’ is impossible for individuals not within younger generations, envisioning the problems that arise when such people try to affiliate themselves with these trends should become far more lucid. These problems most commonly materialise when individuals misconstrue the central ideas of a phrase, for example, manufactured and popularised by the emerging generations. Evidently, such an occurrence was the origin of my inspiration to write this article. Specifically, this occurred in my English class last week, where our class was learning about the techniques and frameworks for writing a discursive piece. Logically, our teacher provided us with an article that demonstrated a solid implementation of the discursive framework and the typical language devices associated with the style of writing. However, whilst it may have been well written, the content of the article itself was abysmal. I’m getting upset just thinking about it. The excuse for journalism was centred around the concept of a ‘Karen’ – a term that I assume many reading this are familiar with – and the author’s problems with it. However, as not properly attuned to the culture of the younger generation, the journalist missed the mark (by a grand margin) and drew a silly term into a very political realm where it simply does not belong. She ties the term to issues of gender equality and many others, which may just be problems in her own life that she is looking to pin the blame on. If you want to give yourself a headache, the article is called “Thanks for noticing us Gen Z, but we need to talk about ‘Karen’”. Or, instead of reading this, you could just repeatedly smash your head against a wall. Both are equally as painful.

In summary, I think that attempting to “keep up with the times” when it does not seem fit is a nonsensical and potentially damaging endeavour. Much more joy will be found by engaging with what comes naturally.