Every generation thinks kids are too distracted

Thomas Jefferson once warned that novels were rotting young minds. He called them a “poison” that made kids reject reason and facts. Sounds dramatic, right? But it’s the same story every generation tells about whatever new thing shows up.

Marketing analysis

This old letter reminds us: every “distraction” eventually becomes mainstream culture. The same thing happens with marketing channels. Yesterday’s “garbage medium” is today’s goldmine. Think about how people mocked email, social media, and even TikTok ads before they became billion-dollar tools.

Why it works

• New tech always feels unfamiliar and threatening
• Early adopters get outsized results
• People repeat the “kids are distracted” moral panic every 20 years
• Smart marketers look where others roll their eyes

Examples

• 1990s: “Email? Nobody will read ads in their inbox.” → $10B email marketing industry
• 2007: “Facebook is for college kids.” → Now drives 20% of online ad spend
• 2017: “TikTok is for teens dancing.” → UGC ads crush it with 3x ROAS
• 2020s: “AI copywriters won’t work.” → Thousands of marketers now use them daily