[ww-picard-do]

> The "aesthetic" proliferation sounds fun and harmless.

The author's thesis is that these aesthetics have replaced subcultures and that has led to kids being lonely and sad. You can disagree with that, but it seems that you are just ignoring that.

> with a respectful interest and open-mindedness

How is the author being disrespectful to young people? The criticisms are entirely pointed at the content producing machine.

[dwb]

The author isn't blaming kids, but is falling into the same trap as previous "back in my day" types of focusing on cultural trappings rather than material conditions.

I didn't say the author was being disrespectful to anyone; I guess I should have added more caveats or something but I was just trying to describe my preference.

[orwin]

So if I understand, your (fair) response to a criticism of aesthetism replacing meaning, is that the critique is too cultural and not materialist enough (not evaluating either arguments here, just trying to rephrase it)

This is the most Marxist stuff I've seen in a while on a public forum, thank you HN.