In general I shy away from statements lamenting the current state of things because they usually rely on an incorrect assumption that things were better in the past, and this extends from "critical thinking is dead" to "they don't make 'em like they used to" to "kids these days." Kids have always been "kids these days," they didn't make 'em like they used to 50 years ago either, and I'd wager most people throughout history didn't care to examine the underlying themes of art and literature.
That said, it does honestly feel like shit is getting worse right now.
Not kids these days, tho
The kids are probably the same as they've ever been
I more mean the other stuff
One thing I do not put any stock in is any claim that art is worse now than it has ever been
There has always been shit art, we just don't remember it (individually or culturally) because it was bad
Only the good stuff gets remembered
So like as much as I bang on about tiktok lit, it's not going to destroy The Novel
@coriander I remember when I told my dad as a kid that music from generations ago seemed higher quality than modern music and he have me a long, pained look before responding "Caleb, there's always been lame music."
