Simpsons references alone are how I still make half my friendships today. I don't know how to communicate if not through shared media

Yeah it does feel kind of weird.

I mean thinking about it, Millennials had connections to Gen-Xers who made references and connections to Boomers who made references and connections to original Hollywood stuff from the 30s-50s in a pretty much unbroken line. Is that being broken with things like unscripted internet slop made by amateurs and AI instead of media lovers and people deeply steeped in written and screen classics and connections to that world which they deliberately weave with craftsmanship into their content? I worry what the AI slop in particular means though I feel like it was already a bit of a trend. That or we get stuck forever in the 90s/2000s in terms of shared references because what references there are become things like "biggest Simpsons moment clips compilations" and people just repeat the same stuff that was a thing back then before the end of a kind of shared media atmosphere with the rise of streaming and cable that was more than a couple channels of stuff.

It's weird because as a kid I loved it when my gen X or boomer elders shared their interests with me.

Young people however now seem to be in a bubble. I'm sad thinking they might be even more isolated then ever.