Today's youth. And social media.

Do you know that while we old fogies love to be deprecating, patronising, and condescending to the younger folks and their choices, very few of us have actually taken a look at how they are adapting and making things happen in the 21st century?

Of course, there are the doctors and engineers and scientists and farmers and astronauts and entrepreneurs and leaders that the youth has been throwing up in plenty, some doing cutting edge work in their fields, and some even across their fields in something connected but seemingly distant. We have more generalists than specialists now, but more of those generalists are far more specialised in the areas of their generalisation than we were in our times 20 or 30 years ago.

But this post is not about them. This is about someone I discovered recently on social media, and quite by accident (thanks, serendipity). If I told you he is American, 23, comments on popular culture, and has his own media channels on various platforms (Karthik Natarajan and I were just discussing how the content creators have become more powerful than the platforms and we seem to seamlessly switch between the channel and follow the content; not that this wasn't known earlier because, tv, but still), you'd think I am kidding, right? Some kid from the USA talking of Khloe (is that how you spell it?) Kardashian is impressing me, a 50-year-old socially left-liberal (though not in the category of wanting to eat the rich, just yet) engineer-entrepreneur from India.

I know. I didn't believe it at first too. But I watched D'Angelo Wallace's 4 videos back-to-back without getting bored or even realising I am listening to someone speak about stuff I cannot relate to even if I tried!

Do you know how tough it is to be commenting on pop culture from the inside, but yourself being part of it, without getting cancelled? I cannot imagine the effort (and intelligence) it must take to reach, and stay, where this kid is. Articulate, balanced, with research and data to back himself, and with a pleasant voice, calm demeanour, and maturity belying his years, this young man is making waves online. And I am impressed that he manages to do it day in and day out, earning his livelihood AND doing something he clearly loves, without one cancelling the other out.

Times are tough, tech is volatile, customer tastes change every day. It's hard to stay topical and still relevant AND make money legally. And one wrong move, wrong tweet, wrong word, wrong opinion, and you are toast, roasted by your own community. It's a bloody tightrope walk. And people like D'Angello manage to do it every single time they put themselves out there. Bravo!

So, ladies & gentlemen, the next time I write about how this generation is wasting its time, has no ambition, or is uneducated, or inarticulate, or vacuous, or superficial, or lacks passion, or whatever the fuck it is that oldies speak about when they speak disparaging about the younger lot, please feel free to give me a swift kick up my rear.

Thank you.

P.S: To those who think I have grown soft in my dotage and have given up commenting or writing on more burning issues like what is happening across the world today, getting carried away with the Kardashians or Logan Pauls of this world, let me state that both of these are needed, for even if we dismiss pop culture as, well, pop culture, it is at the end of the day, art, and to create, disseminate, consume, share, comment, and discuss it is as important as politics or the economy or the environment. For why do we want a better world if not to make (and enjoy) better art? :-)