This prompt points to a general perception that the youth is on the frontline of contemporary culture. Indeed, young people are the creative and energetic part of the society, which makes it inevitable to analyze the younger generation for understanding modern culture. However, I will argue that we should not overlook the older generation.

We cannot be negligent of how much the youth can tell about today’s culture. Because of their age, they become the most creative and energetic people, and their requirements partly determine the consumption of their parents, the major labor of the society. What they like and how they behave largely orient future streams. For example, contemporary internet-famous culture is raised and supported firstly by young people. But now it’s becoming more and more popular among the middle-aged. So does Hip-hop. It’s originated from movements formed by African-American and Latino youths, and then became popular outside of the African-American community. From these cases, the study of the trends of youths can offer a sneak peek into the orientation of contemporary cultural development.

However, culture is highly affected by the constitution of the population. It will be reductionist to argue that the study of youths is sufficient to capture the contemporary culture, since a diverse range of cultures among other ages speaks volumes about the society’s atmosphere, especially in an aging society. In addition, it’s middle-aged adults who occupy the major positions in the working market have enough money, resources and forces to influence the mainstream culture in the whole society. In a nutshell, we should incorporate the study of ages besides youths, to better and more fully appreciate a society’s culture.

For example, “Cuihun” which means the older generation pushing young people into marriage, is becoming a new routine during Chines New Year. This new trend apparently relates to people around parents’ ages rather than the youths’. It’s people aged 50-70 make young men and women feel anxious and pressured about matrimony. Their ideas form the backdrop to the society. It seems if you’re not married, you’re doing something wrong. A careful study of “Cuihun culture” will contribute to our understanding of contemporary Chinese culture.

If we were to embark on an endeavor to explore and understand a society’s culture, we could start from gathering knowledge about its youth. But it’s not necessarily the most efficient way of understanding a society’s contemporary culture.