So many national conferences of nonprofit cultural professionals are consumed with ‘attracting younger audiences’. From multimedia additions to symphonic performances, to ‘singles night’ activities, to superimposed trendy amenities on the same old visual art exhibitions, these responses so often seem to miss a more basic point. Younger audiences think with different brains, and from a different perspective than older ones.
A great case in point is the Beloit College Mindset List, a list of facts about the world as experienced by the incoming freshman class. Most incoming students were born in 1985. The list reminds us that many of our formative experiences are only history lessons to them. A few choice items from this year’s list.
Garrison Keillor has always been live on public radio and Lawrence Welk has always been dead on public television.
There has always been some association between fried eggs and your brain.
Computers have always fit in their backpacks.
They have never gotten excited over a telegram, a long distance call, or a fax.
Test tube babies are now having their own babies.
Stores have always had scanners at the checkout.
They have always had a PIN number.
Granted, the Beloit list is highly biased toward middle-class, native-born American youth. Just imagine if the list also shared the life-experience of the increasingly diverse faces and minds of the ‘young audiences’ we all seem to be struggling after (just look at these U.S. Census reports on children, for examples).
