In the Demo
A show about the stories that get told about groups, how those stories got made, what we think those stories get wrong. And why it matters. Your hosts, Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno look at the data behind the narrative. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Generational stereotypes and the flaws in popular research on Millennials and Gen Z are dissected, revealing how cherry-picked data and misleading interpretations shape public perception.
In this episode of In The Demo, we continue our deep dive into the work of Jean Twenge, questioning some of her methods as well as biases in her research on generational traits. We analyze the structure and content of books like iGen and Gener...
Millennials Rising may have kicked off the race to define the Millennial generation, but one author in particular has become the singular thought leader among commentators, researchers, and others: Jean Twenge. Her books iGen and Generations helped her move from toiling in academic obscurity to shaping the discourse.
In this episode of In the Demo, hosts Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno critically examine Jean Twenge's work, parti...
Gen Z is far more complex and resourceful than popular stereotypes suggest — intimate conversations with young people show us how they're navigating an increasingly challenging world. Their attitudes towards work, creativity, and personal fulfillment tell us a lot about how this generation is forging its path.
In this episode of In the Demo, host Adam Pierno speaks with filmmakers Branden Mayer and Max Goldstein about thei...
We've been having a great time for 30+ episodes complaining about bad research, reporting, and punditry (and book-writing) about generational narratives. Who doesn't love-to-hate a good "Millennials killed some industry" story? But there are real stakes here, for how companies hire employees, invest resources, and plan marketing campaigns; for politicians and policy makers about who they want to serve or punish, and how they want t...
Social media and smartphones are causing an epidemic of mental illness and anxiety among Gen Z, according to some prominent thinkers - but are these sweeping claims backed by evidence? Maybe the answer is: it's complicated, and jumping to simplistic conclusions is at best useless and at worst, dangerous.
In this episode, we talk about recent discussions about the work of psychologist Jonathan Haidt (often in collaboration with g...
Millennials are reframing their generational identity as they enter homeownership and parenthood, but broken systems remain. Nostalgia for a pre-internet era offers an escape, and reflects a yearning for IRL experiences and human connection in an automated and mediated world.
Anne Helen Petersen, author and cultural critic, joins host Farrah Bostic to discuss the evolving narratives surrounding millennials and Gen Z. They explor...
Preconceived notions and media narratives have warped perceptions of social media and internet culture, shaping misleading stories about generations. A critical look beyond the headlines reveals the complex realities of how people of all ages engage with online platforms in nuanced ways.
Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno welcome Rebecca Jennings, a reporter at Vox covering internet culture, to unpack the flawed assumptions and evolv...
The nostalgia and ownership that younger generations feel toward the music and culture of the 90s is fascinating. In this episode of In The Demo, Farrah and her guest Rob Harvilla, host of the 60 Songs that Explain the '90s podcast, explore why the decade holds such a powerful allure for those who never experienced it firsthand.
They discuss what accounts for this cross-generational appeal, from the mythologizing of the 90s in m...
Growing impatience with generational stereotyping has sparked a critical reexamination of how we categorize and analyze age cohorts. Despite Generation Alpha still being born, that won't stop consultants and pundits from making sweeping predictions about who they will be and laying out dubious prescriptions for how they should be raised. By scrutinizing the motives behind labeling Generation Alpha, the absurdity of predicting the t...
The demographic cliff - a controversial idea that declining population growth will trigger economic disaster. But is it real or just sensationalized clickbait pushed by those with an agenda?
Investment advisor Harry Dent popularized demographic cliff fears in the mid-2000s to sell his financial advice (and a book, of course). From there, it became a favored trope in education, where school administrators - from K-12 to college -...
When the Millennials came of age to enter the workforce (which took nearly 15 years) the media was awash in headlines about how to cater to this powerful new generation. Today, the headlines have turned to Gen Z. Farrah and Adam go deeper than the headlines to reveal that the story is still about Millennials. Reminiscent of the treatment of Gen X, Gen Z is constantly compared to their elders, but worse, many writers and researchers...
In this episode, Farrah and Adam discuss the role and effectiveness of strategy in advertising, including how connected it needs to be to cultural trends, consumer insights, and business realities. And then - they take a deep dive into an article by Richard Huntington in WARC, "The Future of Strategy 2023: Marketing is in desperate need of a reality check" in which he agrees with our premise that generational segments are astrology...
The best advertising reveals something you’ve thought for a long time about a product, service or its users (or yourself!) and presents in an unexpected way. Either for a laugh or some emotional response. Today, we’re seeing advertisers take broad stereotypes of generational segmentations and paste them directly into ads. The results are, um, not great.
MENTIONED RESOURCES:
Adam and Farrah commence a new season, and in the spirit of the new year, take a look at recent Millennial headlines and found that... nothing has changed, and nothing ever will.
Links:
A special drop in our feed - the inaugural episode of Farrah's new show Cross Tabs, released on Iowa's GOP Caucus day, January 15, 2024.
Host Farrah Bostic (In the Demo Podcast, The Difference Engine) and pal Paul Soldera (Equation Research), set the table for what Cross Tabs is all about: demystifying what polls are and how they work.
Mentioned links:
- Jill Lepore's "Politics and the New Machine" [The New Yorker]
- Jill Lepore's ...
Our special guest for our final episode of the year is our good friend Faris Yakob. He and his wife Rosie are the force behind the consultancy Genius Steals, a nomadic strategic and creative consultancy. Faris is also the author of a book about how advertising works through the lens of the concept of attention. It's called, Paid Attention which is now in its 2nd edition. He has been at a variety of media and advertising agencies th...
We are taking this Thursday off for Thanksgiving, sorry to our non-American listeners! We will be back with one more episode in December before pausing to work on Season 2, which is already under way. Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or your podcast app of choice. You can email us with questions or thoughts - adam@inthedemopodcast and farrah@inthedemopodcast.
In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are cre...
Is your generation your identity? What happens when your actual life starts to veer away from the story of your life? In this episode, we take a look at the way some members of the Millennial generation are starting to experience a mid-life identity crisis as they realize that they did in fact become married, home-owning, parenting adults with retirement savings. We examine these "getting older" Millennial narratives and what the ...
Adam and Farrah regroup to discuss what they've learned from past episodes featuring Cindy Gallop, Katy Coduto PhD, and Cristen Dalessandro PhD (find them in the feed!!) about Millennial sex, dating, and intimacy. You know, the stuff you have to deal with before you even get to worrying about whether they're getting married on time and having enough kids!
- Intimacy, relationships, and generational differences. 0:00
- Gender...
Our third installment in a series of episodes exploring the part in between hookup culture on college campuses, and "failure to launch" narratives about Millennials living at home instead of getting married and starting families: those years when you're an adult, working, and figuring out what you want in a relationship (if you even want one).
In previous episodes we looked at the "social sex revolution" championed by Cindy Gal...
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