**Warning: If you are under the age of 30, you may not be able to relate, or even understand this post**
Lately I have been feeling old.
I am 32 and I feel like I am worlds apart from the teenagers today.
While getting my skates sharpened the other day, I engaged in a conversation involving cosmetic surgery and the teenager helping me made a comment about Meghan Fox and how she looks amazing post-surgery. So, I said ‘what happens later on in life though, after the surgery goes wrong or needs updating, do you really want to look like Joan Rivers?’ The kid looked at me like I was an alien!
Am I that old?
Do I have to live in secret with my love affair with Lenny Kravitz?
How does a teenager with access to an unlimited amount of technology really not know who Joan Rivers is? The truth is, most Teens have no clue who people like Rod Stewart, Audry Hepburn, or The Bee Gees are, all they know are the celebs that are in the know in the present. This is mind boggling to me because, I grew up in the 80’s but I can still easily sing every verse from any Temptations song without thinking twice. It seems the only celebrities from the past that seem to live on into the future are those that have been mentioned by today’s elite youth. for the sole purpose of having some sort of mentor. For example, teens today probably would not even know who Micheal Jackson was if it wasn’t for Justin Bieber’s reference to him…makes me wonder if JB even knew who he was before becoming a star.
Is it a matter of ‘teaching’ our children who the greats were, or is it just a lack of interest on their part? Perhaps it is the constant rapid turnaround of new talent that has made it almost impossible to keep up. Whatever is happening, really makes me feel old…
My kids are now 6 and almost 4 and they have a pretty strong foundation on past singers, actors and artists….is this all because of what I have taught them? Maybe it is the ‘artiste’ in me, but I think this knowledge shapes who and what children will be. I mean, an appreciation for the past gives so much insight to the future doesn’t it?
What is wrong with this generation?