2/20/12

Humor is top form of self-expression for kids these days

"In the Tastes of Young Men, Humor Is Most Prized, a Survey Finds" reports that comedy trumps music, sports, and style when it comes to how young men view themselves and others.

“We called them Comedy Natives,” said Tanya Giles, the executive vice president for research at Comedy Central’s parent, MTV Networks. “Comedy is so central to who they are, the way they connect with other people, the way they get ahead in the world. One big takeaway is that unlike previous generations, humor, and not music, is their No. 1 form of self-expression"...

Chanon Cook, the top research executive for Comedy Central, said the results also indicated that “irony has been replaced by absurdity.” That is one of many ways she said this generation had separated itself from Generation X, a more dour and cynical group in the Comedy Central analysis, shaped by things like battles over race and class, and growing up as latchkey kids.


Weird to think that humor is overtaking music like that. Though maybe that says more about the state of music today than it does about comedy.

1 comment:

Emerson said...

Comedy has exploded on the internet while musicians (particularly established musicians) still don't seem to know what to do with it. Maybe they're generally more comfortable with handlers, star treatment, and other such fast-fading luxuries.

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