I had a mandatory staff meeting out of the office today and it was very interesting. Radio is evolving as technology grows, and with it, the behavior of people, our listeners. What does this have to do with Tyler? Well, part of my job is to have a finger on the pulse of pop culture, social trends and music. It's my job as a Creative Services Director for Channel 955, to be sure my station relates to our listeners, and creates a bond with them, hopefully allowing us to be a part of their lifestyle.
Today, I saw a presentation about the social pendulum and it was so interesting and articulate. Roy H Williams, who is a genius, summed up life in general in such an inspirational and articulate way, that it made me think of the life that Tyler will be living in. Roy accurately predicted the future of social behavior and outlined the two types of "generations" that we go through.
So, I used his model to predict what Tyler will see when he looks at the world as he grows up. (Considering that I'll never see his full life, I find this very interesting.)
1. We are in a Civic generation right now, where people feel empowered to help each other. There is a sense of community, of doing your part for the greater good. I see that a lot in the presidential race. It's all about coming together for reform. Bono's RED and ONE campaigns to help eliminate extreme poverty and AIDS in the world is a personal example.
2. Everything is about desire for the truth no matter how ugly it is. Tyler will spend the first 20 years of his life with this social behavior around him. Today's heroes are flawed, broken and vulnerable. James Bond has been replaced by Jason Bourne. Plastic, perfection and hype are all irrelevant and unbelievable.
3. When he's in his 30's new music that has been on the fringe, will become mainstream and popular, and trends will start to focus on human freedoms and the desire to be different.
4. In his 40s, he should be in the Idealism Generation, which is the 80s all over again. Hype, plastic, and surface. People will be wanting to look good and feel good and do things on their own, be individuals and different than the norm. Heroes of no weakness will start to appear, and music will become about hype and flash.
5. In his 50's this will be full fledged. I expect that he, or his kids, will experience huge pop icons during this time. The next Michael Jackson will emerge. Big names, and big people, fashion and appearances.
6. 60s & 70's, this will change again, moving towards the civic generation again. A sense of humbleness will come over those who change with the times. Those who don't will be lost from pop culture. Music and movies will start to focus on reality again and new music styles will appear.
7. It makes me happy to believe that when he's in his 80s til his death (he lives long in my fantasy), he'll live in the same world we will live in during 2020. People working together, everything needing to be real.
You may agree or disagree, but it warms my heart to think about this. I wonder who he will be in each place of the swinging pendulum. I wonder if he'll follow the trends or break them, or even make them. I wonder about a lot of things, sometimes in a morbid way, but I wonder about his life, and the life I'll never see after I've gone.
That, I can't predict. That, I won't know until it happens. I look forward to swinging on this pendulum with him for as long as I can, and seeing what the world looks like together.
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Listening to: U2 - Kite
via FoxyTunes
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