What did you do during your childhood and teen years to kill time?
That was the question that led off a lively panel in Dr. Julie O’Reilly’s Popular Culture Studies class of Gen Z ‘Berg students on Friday. Julie invited faculty and staff from different generations to share their popular culture memories -- toys, fashion, slang, movies, TV and games, and other generational perspectives.
Panelists included Bob Youngblood from the Alumni Engagement Office and retired Psychology Professor Neil Sass representing Baby Boomers, Communication Professor Dr. Robin Heaton and English Professor Dr. Barry Devine representing Gen X, and Athletic Training and Health Sciences Professor Dr. Jena Suffel and Advancement Services Coordinator Melissa Nye-Prenzlin representing Millennials.
“Hearing different generations talk about their experiences gave my students context for the concepts and theories we have been covering in class. It also helps them expand their perception of what popular culture is - that it's more than just media. It's also toys, fashion, food, slang, etc.,” Julie said.
“The panel emphasized how experiences with popular culture shape people's memories. Popular culture milestones become the framework for our personal memories; remembering fashions or games, for example, from our childhood and adolescence brings back a flood of related memories. It was fun to see the panelists become more and more animated when student questions sparked memories.”
The panelists and their Gen Z audience shared a common experience: generation gaps or “growing pains” – the idea that each new generation faces criticism and has friction with the generation that preceded it.
“So, while Gen Z (the generational label most of our students fall under) is facing the bulk of that criticism now, the panelists described their own experiences when they were the ‘young’ generation. For instance, the Boomers saw Gen Xers as slackers, and Gen Xers saw Millennials as entitled. Gen Z is already following that tradition by critiquing Gen Alpha slang,” Julie noted.
A flood of memories
Pondering their response to Julie’s kickoff question, the panelists agreed that much of their youth was spent outdoors, albeit in different settings.
“I’m country so we had bonfires every weekend,” Jena said. Neil, who grew up in the Bronx, New York, remembers “playing schoolyard, but my refuge was the library.” For Bob, it was one-on-one baseball with the kids down the road, climbing trees and spearfishing. Barry, who hails from a small town in Utah, added, “In addition to being called Gen X, we were called the feral generation. We lived on our bikes and skateboards. We’d leave the house and be gone until 10 or 11 at night, but we were always safe.”
As teens, the panelists spent time at the mall – if there was one. They frequented record and music stores, according to Melissa, and Bath & Body Works, Claire’s and Hot Topics, according to Jena. For Barry and friends, video game arcades were the preferred destination to take on Centipede and Space Invaders. For Bob, “downtown” was where the action was. “That was where you shopped,” he said. Neil didn’t have the luxury of shopping malls. “There were none when I was growing up,” he said.
The panelists were asked, “Who would survive if Gen Z was born in your generation or you were born in Gen Z’s?”
For Robin, that was an easy one. “Gen X would outlast everyone,” she predicted. Parents worked and “there were no after-school programs, so we came home and took care of ourselves until our parents got home,” she said.
The Millennials – Melissa and Jena – experienced a world both without and with technology, which led Jena to add, “I saw it all. I have the most adaptable generation.”
Fun food, toys and TV
The panelists were quick to share some of their favorite childhood foods: tomato soup and grilled cheese, Lunchables, Little Debbies, fruit roll-ups, Jell-O pudding pops, fish sticks and mac and cheese and spaghetti-O’s.
Many of these are still kids’ – and even grown-ups’ – go-to’s today. “I still keep Lunchables in my office for those days when I miss lunch,” Jena revealed.
For Neil, the memories are sweet: “Italian ice from the ice cream truck and going to the soda fountain across the street” were favorite activities.
The panelists still remember with fondness their beloved toys such as Cabbage Patch Kids, Barbies, Polly Pockets and rubber balls, as well as TV shows including Looney Tunes, TGIF, MTV when it actually played music, and the Ed Sullivan Show were among them.
Best advice
The Boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials had plenty of advice for the Gen Z students.
Bob’s Sigma Tau Nu advisees and other students have heard it many times: “Study, study, study. Use what you’re learning.”
Jena offered, “Learn to problem-solve before you ask for help.”
Barry and Robin were on the same page, encouraging today’s Gen Z-ers to discover other cultures. “Find opportunities to get yourself out of our culture and experience another culture. It will change you in amazing ways.”
“Yes, travel,” Robin said. “It teaches you resilience and independence.”
Neil was a bit more philosophical. “Find what makes your heart sing,” he said. “You are going to spend more time at work than probably any other area, so find out what connects with you.”