Feeling old? Because you are.
By Michaela Krause
I’m turning 40 next year. 🎉 (Cue the confetti cannon that will probably trigger my back pain.)
This year, I pinched more nerves in my spine than I pinched budgets - though let’s be honest, those two are probably connected.
And the final piece of evidence that I am indeed old: I, part of the generation that invented the emoji, no longer understand emoji culture. Apparently, if I drop a 👍 I’m cancelling Gen Z? Okay. And don’t even get me started on the heart symbol. Millennials make a heart one way, boomers another, and Gen Z has their own TikTok-friendly hand gestures that look more like shadow puppets than affection. And Gen Alpha? Who knows - maybe they just beam their feelings straight into the metaverse.
So yes, I’m lost. But not a lost cause.
As a comms professional, my job is to help brands stay relevant - and to do that, I can’t afford to be a cultural fossil. So here’s how I try to overcome my generational blindness and keep a pulse on what’s happening out there in the wild worlds of media consumption, comms behavior, and youth culture.
1. Hire for generational diversity
At Laika, the youngest crew member is 19, the oldest is… let’s just say “seasoned.” (that’s me being too polite to say they are past the “pickled” point) We also have senior advisors who’ve seen trends come and go (and then come back again as “vintage”). Having multiple generations on the same team means we get real-life intel instead of secondhand stereotypes.
2. Foster exchange between generations
It’s not enough to just have different age groups in the same call or office. You need actual conversations. At Laika, we do this through Donut meetings, retrospectives, team events, and even our silly “Space Cafés,” where asking questions like “If you had to draw yourself as a cartoon character, what would your signature outfit or accessory be??” reveals A LOT. These exchanges are gold.
3. Fill the gaps with intel and data
I’ll admit it: I subscribed to a special youth culture newsletter just to keep up. (Shout-out to Casey Lewis at After School - follow her if you don’t already.) It’s like cultural vitamins: not a replacement for real-life interaction, but it keeps me from being completely out of touch. My tip for you to do the same: Follow niche newsletters, Discords, Reddit threads, and micro-influencers where trends actually start. Go out of your comfort zone and bubble. To do so, create burner accounts on TikTok/Instagram to see what younger audiences actually get fed by the algorithm (not your 40-year-old For You Page). Otherwise I would literally not see anything else than toddlers, dogs and food (the unhealthy kind) content.
4. Event hopping
At Laika we don’t just go to PR or tech conferences - we check out gaming expos, creator festivals, or even events where you meet seemingly “extinct” pop culture and relevance: Verona Pooth, Gregor Gysi… the mix matters, the curiosity needs to stay alive (like those guys).
Now, there are a few things we should still try out at Laika. I am pondering about:
Reverse mentoring: Pairing ourselves with the youngest and respectively oldest team member and letting them explain memes, social media trends, or why everyone is suddenly wearing cargo pants again.
Pop culture sprints: We may want to start dedicating 15 minutes in our weekly team sync meeting to “What’s trending?” (let the Gen Z crew educate the rest).
So, can an “old fart” like me still teach the next generation something?
Yes. Because while they might explain to me why 💀 now means “funny,” I can explain to them why “earned media” still matters.
Not quite enough? Here are other examples:
Crisis calm: How to keep a poker face (and a client) when the CEO sends an “URGENT” email at 11pm.
Email magic: How to write something that actually gets answered.
The art of a phone call (or in person convo): That thing called “real-life coffee meetings”. Yes, we grew up with that. Yes it matters now more than ever. And trust me: It closes deals.
Long-game thinking: Trends are cool, but brands need to live beyond them.
Pitch stamina: Why persistence beats one viral post every single time.
Budgets & boundaries: How to say no without burning bridges - and still keep the lights on. (This one seems super important to me as I experience Gen Z build up walls and boundaries faster than we ever did in SIMS - but we all remember that they end up in isolation and being stuck, right?)
Media literacy: How to spot the difference between an actual breaking story and hype that will be forgotten by next week.
At the end of the day, staying sharp isn’t about pretending you’re Forever21. It’s about knowing what tools you’ve got in your shed — and also when to borrow the power tools from the next generation.
And don’t forget: the younger crew still has a thing or two to learn about the world before they were even a twinkle in anyone’s eye. After all, a majority of the people buying their products aren’t 10 or 20 years old — they’re as old as you and me.