I don't know why people say monoculture is dead or weak in the 10s and especially the late 10s. Late 10s was filled with large followings towards cultural products and events.

- Pokemon Go
- Fidget Spinners
- Avengers
- Fortnite
- Game of thrones
- Mumble rap
- Billie Eilish
- Despacito reaching over 3 billion views on youtube

Social media didn't destroy monoculture. It gave it even more power. It's only now in the 20s that monoculture has became a lot weaker because of covid.

I don't know why people say monoculture is dead or weak in the 10s and especially the late 10s. Late 10s was filled with large followings towards cultural products and events.

- Pokemon Go
- Fidget Spinners
- Avengers
- Fortnite
- Game of thrones
- Mumble rap
- Billie Eilish
- Despacito reaching over 3 billion views on youtube

Social media didn't destroy monoculture. It gave it even more power. It's only now in the 20s that monoculture has became a lot weaker because of covid.


Nah. Monoculture reached it's dizzying ZENITH in the 80s with MTV. Billie Eilish? Seriously? Not even in the same ballpark as to what MTV did with Michael Jackson (to use just one example). Not even CLOSE. In the monoculture days everybody knew everything. Doesn't mean they had to like it, but they KNEW it. Doesn't mean they were necessary KNOWLEDGEABLE about it, but they KNEW it. Everybody knew Michael Jackson. Everybody knew The Beatles. Most people my age never even heard of this Eilish. THAT'S the difference.

Things you mention like Fidgit Spinners were fads that came and went. Reminds me of "pet rocks" from the 70s. And  Despacito was a novelty song. Sorry, but this contention just doesn't wash. 

It's not just Billie Eilish.  That's just one example.

Remember when everyone was catching virtual pocket monsters back in 2016? Or when everyone was spinning discs back in '17? And I vividly remember how big avengers was as well. Which is the most sold movie in box office history. Late 10s and the 10s in general was filled with mega followings and events that everyone knew about. Yes they came and went but at the time EVERYONE knew about them. And some of those things I mentioned are still in peoples minds and are still being talked about and will be remembered well in the future as mega pop culture events. I still see some thanos memes although endgame came out 3 years ago for example.

It's not just Billie Eilish.  That's just one example.

Remember when everyone was catching virtual pocket monsters back in 2016? Or when everyone was spinning discs back in '17? And I vividly remember how big avengers was as well. Which is the most sold movie in box office history. Late 10s was filled with mega followings and events that everyone knew about. Yes they came and went but at the time EVERYONE knew about them. And some of those things I mentioned are still in peoples minds and are still being talked about and will be remembered well in the future as mega pop culture events. I still see some thanos memes although endgame came out 3 years ago for example.


I never heard of "virtual pocket monsters". I'm sorry, but the 2010s were not the monoculture like that of the mid-20th Century through the 80s and 90s. The internet, streaming, etc most assuredly put an end to it. All you are talking about is random popular things and events and novelty trends reminiscent of "pet rocks". Random short-lived massively popular things and events do not a monoculture make.


In the heyday of the monoculture, mid 20th Century through 80s & 90s, we had THREE TV networks. That was it. Cable came along during the second part of it, and MTV kicked the monoculture up a notch because they enlarged it.  Everybody watched the same things at the same time because that was the only time you could see it. Everybody talked about it the next day. 24 hour news with everybody in their own little silos and reinforcing echo chambers had not happened yet either. People saw all sides of things.

I never heard of "virtual pocket monsters". I'm sorry, but the 2010s were not the monoculture like that of the mid-20th Century through the 80s and 90s. The internet, streaming, etc most assuredly put an end to it. All you are talking about is random popular things and events and novelty trends reminiscent of "pet rocks". Random short-lived massively popular things and events do not a monoculture make.


In the heyday of the monoculture, mid 20th Century through 80s & 90s, we had THREE TV networks. That was it. Cable came along during the second part of it, and MTV kicked the monoculture up a notch because they enlarged it.  Everybody watched the same things at the same time because that was the only time you could see it. Everybody talked about it the next day. 24 hour news with everybody in their own little silos and reinforcing echo chambers had not happened yet either. People saw all sides of things.


By that i'm referring to pokemon go. Everyone knew what it is. Same with avengers and even fortnite. Social media is in a similar boat to how TV was back then. It was different in the 2000s but now everything is all centralized so most people use the same half a dozen websites to connect with each other and on those websites the biggest fads are being discussed all the time.

Monoculture isn't defined by how long the fads last, it is defined by how big pop culture events are at the time. Pokemon go only lasted about 3-4 months but took the world by storm and is one of the best exhibitions of a monoculture.

By that i'm referring to pokemon go. Everyone knew what it is. Same with avengers and even fortnite. Social media is in a similar boat to how TV was back then. It was different in the 2000s but now everything is all centralized so most people use the same half a dozen websites to connect with each other and on those websites the biggest fads are being discussed all the time.

Monoculture isn't defined by how long the fads last, it is defined by how big pop culture events are at the time. Pokemon go only lasted about 3-4 months but took the world by storm and is one of the best exhibitions of a monoculture.


This is manifestly inaccurate. Who is this "most people" on a half dozen websites? I suspect you are referring to a certain demographic, close to your own age. Ask a cross section of older people if they ever heard of Fortnite. Even I don't know what Fortnight was really about and I'm more savvy than most people my age when it comes to popular culture. 

"Social media is in a similar boat to how TV was back then." is not correct. Like I said, people were exposed to all sides and opinions back then, regardless of whether they agreed. Walter Cronkite and the news were fairly neutral. With social media today, it is possible to stay deep in one silo and not hear a peep from an opposing view. Even Facebook (yeah, yeah, I know it's old people on Facebook) has those notorious algorithms to feed a person just what they want to hear. Likewise with networks like Fox and CNN, each biased in the extreme to their respective "sides". A person could turn on one of those all day and never hear anything other than what they want to agree with. That's not a monoculture. In the real monoculture,  aside from everyone knowing the same fads,  which seems to be your focus and which I think is kind of trivial, everyone knew the same FACTS. Again, one didn't have to agree, but one knew.

Absolutely nobody and nothing, not Eilish, not Fortnight, not Pokemomo has universal market share today, they way, for example, MTV did int he 80s or Walter Cronkite's news did in the 60s. Sorry, but this is just factual.

Nah. Monoculture reached it's dizzying ZENITH in the 80s with MTV. Billie Eilish? Seriously? Not even in the same ballpark as to what MTV did with Michael Jackson (to use just one example). Not even CLOSE. In the monoculture days everybody knew everything. Doesn't mean they had to like it, but they KNEW it. Doesn't mean they were necessary KNOWLEDGEABLE about it, but they KNEW it. Everybody knew Michael Jackson. Everybody knew The Beatles. Most people my age never even heard of this Eilish. THAT'S the difference.

Things you mention like Fidgit Spinners were fads that came and went. Reminds me of "pet rocks" from the 70s. And  Despacito was a novelty song. Sorry, but this contention just doesn't wash.

I never heard of those either, neither has my wife. In fact out of the whole list


- Pokemon Go
- Fidget Spinners
- Avengers
- Fortnite
- Game of thrones
- Mumble rap
- Billie Eilish
- Despacito reaching over 3 billion views on youtube


The only one we heard of is the Avengers, coz its was a 60s TV show.  Diana Rigg as Emma Peel. :)
Now I need to look up what "Monoculture" is, I am not familiar with the term.

I never heard of those either, neither has my wife. In fact out of the whole listThe only one we heard of is the Avengers, coz its was a 60s TV show.  Diana Rigg as Emma Peel. :)
Now I need to look up what "Monoculture" is, I am not familiar with the term.


The "monoculture" was essentially that period of time, pre-internet, when everybody knew all the same things. Because there were so many less ways for us to know it. Three TV networks. One Top 40. Before the BALKANIZATION of everything. It lasted from about the 50s to the 90s.

To be clear, everybody didn't AGREE on everything, obviously. But we all knew the same facts. Before everybody retreated to their own silos and echo chambers. Before the center gave way.

I think the Internet's done BOTH. It centralizes what people see a lot of the time AND allows people to consume their own choices of entertainment

I think the Internet's done BOTH. It centralizes what people see a lot of the time AND allows people to consume their own choices of entertainment


I'd still say it has amplified the monoculture because most people browse the same 5 or 6 sites(facebook, youtube, twitter, etc) and are exposed to what's popular all the time on there. And it shows when you had so many big pop cultural events in the 10s, doubly so for the second half with things like pokemon go and avengers which took the world by storm.