In the Demo Adam Pierno and Farrah Bostic

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 evolving trends shaping discourse around TikTok, influencers, and generational divides. Together, they explore how content creation, viral sensations, and the quest for fame and money online impact society in ways that often defy simplistic narratives. The conversation challenges listeners to question their assumptions and rethink the digital world around them.
Resources
"Romantic norms are in flux. No wonder everyone's obsessed with polyamory." by Rebecca Jennings: https://www.vox.com/culture/24078524/polyamory-open-marriage-anxiety"'Girl' trends and the repackaging of womanhood" by Rebecca Jennings: “Girl” trends and the repackaging of womanhood"Everyone's a sellout now" by Rebecca Jennings: Everyone’s a sellout now"Against trendbait" by Rebecca Jennings: Against trendbait"What is 'Cheugy'? You Know It When You See It" by Taylor Lorenz:  What Is ‘Cheugy’? You Know It When You See It. (Published 2021)"DIGITAL 2024: GLOBAL OVERVIEW REPORT": Digital 2024: Global Overview Report — DataReportal – Global Digital Insights
Our Guest
Rebecca Jennings is a senior correspondent covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on how social media is changing the nature of fame, fashion, money, and human relationships. Since joining Vox in 2018, she has reported extensively on the introduction of TikTok into the US, covered the rise and fall of hype houses and sexfluencers, and investigated young tech entrepreneurs, aesthetic trends, and the nature of beauty in the social media age.
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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 media to the enduring impact of the era's defining genres and artists. And they discuss how technology and cultural shifts of the past 30 years shaped the way listeners discover, consume, and connect with music, and what this tells us about the nostalgia and identity in the digital age.

Resources60 Songs that Explain the '90sNew York Times “Grunge: A Success Story”BandsplainThe Oregon TrailOur GuestRob Harvilla is the host of the podcast 60 Songs That Explain the '90s and a senior staff writer at The Ringer; he's been a professional rock critic for 20-plus years with stops at the Village Voice, SPIN, Deadspin, and other alt-weeklies.

Your HostsFarrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn.
Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn.

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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 traits of a generation that hasn't fully arrived becomes apparent.
Farrah and Adam discuss the cyclical nature of generational myths, the societal anxieties they reveal, and the problematic values emerging from Gen Alpha's parents. The episode uncovers the financial and economic drivers behind generational analysis, challenging assumptions and highlighting the importance of a more nuanced understanding of the forces shaping our youth.

Resources"The ABC of XYZ" by Mark McCrindle
Business Insider: The oldest Gen Alphas can almost drive: Here's how millennials' kids will shop, work, and live
Morning Consult: A Brand's Guide to Gen Alpha

Your HostsFarrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn.
Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn.

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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 - worried about not having enough enrolled students. Recently, concerns have shifted to plummeting birth rates in South Korea, China, and Canada. But throughout history, similar narratives have repeatedly stoked moral panic about changing demographics - from Gen X’s alleged lack of work ethic to Millennials' supposed disinterest in homeownership and parenthood. Cutting through the hype, Farrah and Adam expose who gains from pushing demographic doomsday myths and why resisting these misleading narratives matters.
Mentioned Resources:
Harry Dent's book "The Demographic Cliff": https://www.amazon.com/Demographic-Cliff-Survive-Prosper-Deflation/dp/1591847273New York Times article on China's demographic challenges: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/16/business/china-birth-rate.htmlWhy Pew Research Center is no longer reporting on generations: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/05/22/how-pew-research-center-will-report-on-generations-moving-forward/New York Times Op Ed on the population of school-aged children dropping: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/14/opinion/declining-enrollment.htmlNational Post article on the Canadian birth rate drop off: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/canadas-birth-rate-has-dropped-off-a-cliff-and-its-because-nobody-can-afford-housing
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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 are lumping Millennials and Gen Z together. 
Mentioned Resources:
Email-gated landing page: https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/issues/work/content/genzmillennialsurvey.html
Resultant PDF: https://app.box.com/s/cl1f3v6tabsudujm6ej1ois9svuaxtty
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Our website: https://inthedemopodcast.com/On X: https://twitter.com/IntheDemoPodOn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/in-the-demo-podcast/Our substack: https://inthedemo.substack.com/
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Apple PodcastsSpotifyYouTubeiHeartCohosted by Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno. Edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio, and produced by Ashley Derrington. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Our intro is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.
Why stories about groups matter.


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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 for marketers - but uses this as a cudgel against all segmentations, which we don't care for, frankly.
Also mentioned, Farrah's piece, "There's no such thing as insights".
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Apple PodcastsSpotifyYouTubeiHeart
Cohosted by Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno. Edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Our intro is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.
Why stories about groups matter.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.