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Resource of the Week: The Culture Translator Roundtable
Each year, we recap the top 20 biggest cultural events that shaped the world your teens are growing up in. This year, we’re also giving you a peek behind the curtain to see how we decide on this list. Part two of our Roundtable podcast’s (at times slightly heated) debate about which events mattered most, and what order they all belong in, is available now on our Culture Translator podcast. Check it out on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Or, if you just want to read the final order, keep scrolling down.
10: Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and the Super Bowl: Taylor Swift wasn’t in the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show—but let’s be real, she practically stole the whole event right from her luxury box. Swifties, from Gen Z teens to millennial moms, tuned in for her, not the game. Daughters dragged their dads to the couch, turning football night into an unexpected family bonding event. Meanwhile, die-hard football fans found themselves outnumbered by people who didn’t even know what a first down was. Taylor reportedly shelled out $7 million for her VIP box and filled it with A-listers and besties, sparking more buzz than any touchdown. Love it or hate it, one of 2024’s top cultural moments was the Taylor Swift Super Bowl.
9. Chappell Roan: Chappell Roan’s unique mash-up of catchy, 80s-inspired pop, drag queen aesthetics, and aggressive, edgy feminist rhetoric made her a—if not the—surprise breakout star of 2024. Her 2023 album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess and her 2024 single “Good Luck, Babe!” dominated the music scene (including TikTok) for most of the year. She consistently drew massive crowds, but also revealed some of the darker sides of sudden fame, speaking openly about her mental health and calling out invasive, parasocial fans. All of this kept Chappell Roan at the forefront of the year’s cultural conversation. Roan’s music is primarily about lesbian sexuality and relationships, so she’s an important artist for parents and trusted adults to understand.
8. The Athletes of the Paris Olympics: At the 2024 Summer Olympics, the personalities and quirks of the athletes were on full display. It felt like every other day during the games, social media found a new athlete to obsess over. Pictures of Stephen Nedoroscik in deep focus (and looking like he was asleep) before securing the U.S. a bronze medal in men’s gymnastics made him an instant hit. American rugby player Ilona Maher took to TikTok to expose the funny things that happen behind-the-scenes at the Olympics, while dominating on the pitch. The pistol competitions provided hilarious contrasts between athletes, and the Australian breaker Raygun inspired memes with her less-than-stellar performances. The 2024 Olympics provided a perfect encapsulation of how quickly social media can respond to a moment, celebrate (or laugh at) it, and then move on to the next thing.
7. Wicked: Wicked follows the journey of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (the Good Witch)—a story filled with magic, political intrigue, and self-discovery. Green-skinned and rebellious Elphaba uncovers the Wizard’s true nature (ahem that he’s a total fraud) and rejects the life alongside him she once dreamed of. Glinda is all about popularity and fitting in, but her friendship with Elphaba challenges her to consider what truly matters. With the 2024 movie adaptation, Wicked has become one of the year’s most successful films, already making over $358 million domestically. Of course, no Wicked discussion is complete without mentioning the iconic hit song “Defying Gravity,” which has exploded on social media with hundreds of covers of the ballad.
6. Sabrina Carpenter: Pop singer Sabrina Carpenter had a banner year. Her hits “Espresso,” “Please, Please, Please,” and “Taste” all performed well as social media soundbytes, and her album Short ‘n Sweet was the soundtrack of many teens’ summers. The singer’s earnest, breathy delivery of teasing, suggestive lyrics drew legions of new fans during a short stint opening for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. Carpenter embodies a shift happening in how young girls seem to want to see themselves; she is flirtatious, insincere, and shameless in her appetite for male attention. At the same time, her lyrics convey a frustration with the immaturity of her partners. Ending the year with a popular Christmas special on Netflix and more music in the works leads us to believe that we’ll see even more of Carpenter’s influence next year.
5. The Trump Assassination Attempt: The United States had a politically complicated year, to say the least. President Biden withdrew after mounting pressure from the Democratic party to do so, given his age. His replacement, Vice President Harris, became associated with Charli XCX’s “brat summer.” But perhaps the most significant moment was when the once and future President Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally. The image of Trump, standing back up after the attempt on his life, fist in the air, blood on his ear, and an American flag flying over his head became one of the year’s most iconic photos. For some Gen Zers (language), the events of this day galvanized the “rightward shift” that contributed heavily to Trump’s re-election.
4. Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake: Rap fans watched one of the greatest beefs in the genre’s history unfold this year as musicians Drake and Kendrick Lamar traded blows. While their feud pre-dates this year, when Drake and fellow rapper J. Cole declared themselves the “big three” alongside Lamar, it provoked a cascade of very public insults from Kendrick, including a rejection of there even being a big three (“it’s just big me”). Over the next few months, Drake and Kendrick would trade diss tracks back and forth, each attempting to tarnish the other. The beef got incredibly personal, with Drake pointing out Lamar’s alleged history of domestic violence, and Lamar responding by calling Drake a “certified pedophile.” The general consensus is that Kendrick Lamar won the beef, but either way, it was a fascinating picture of hip-hop culture in 2024.
3. Gen Z’s Response to the War in Gaza: At the close of 2023, most conversations around the October 7 attack on Israel were still centered around the hope of getting Israeli hostages back and, more broadly, support for Israel’s right to exist on the land it occupies. Throughout 2024, we witnessed a prevailing shift in the way that young people, in particular, talk about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. By this spring, student protests accusing Israel of a reckless use of force were widespread around the world. Many of these protestors demanded that the US government stop supplying weapons and that US-based entities stop financially supporting the government of Israel. As this year draws to a close, there is finally hope for a ceasefire in Gaza—though that may reflect a changing geopolitical climate more than the fulfillment of Gen Z’s protests.
2. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt: Even though concerns about smartphones and social media aren’t new, the publication of The Anxious Generation by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt seemed to represent a tipping point. Parents everywhere were talking about it—not to mention every culture writer on the internet. With his data-driven analysis of teen mental health deterioration since smartphones made their debut, as well as clear recommendations for a new way forward, Haidt’s work represents a clarion call. And now with Australia enacting his prescribed ban of all social media before age 16, it looks like the world may actually be ready to make a change.
1. “Brain Rot”: Oxford declared “brain rot” to be their word of the year, which refers to the “supposed deterioration” of someone’s brain, caused by engaging with “trivial or unchallenging” (as Oxford puts it) online content. The term is also commonly used, as a noun, to refer to that very same content, and encapsulates the self-awareness of the upcoming generation and their relationship to online content. Look no further than Gen Alpha’s love—sometimes ironic, sometimes not—of saying “skibidi” or “what the sigma?” They know this online content “rots” their brains enough to call it out with humor, as much as they may also feel resigned to consuming it. The silver lining is that the awareness this term represents can open a space for parents and caring adults to guide the next generation into more valuable content, and uses of their time.
Continue the conversation:- Do you agree with the order of #10-1? Why or why not?
- Do you think any of these will be in the top 20 for 2025?
- What other predictions do you have for culture in 2025?
That’s it for things 10-1! From all of us at Axis, we hope you have a very Happy New Year and a great 2025!
Parenting Together,
The Axis Team
P.S. Know someone who could use our conversation starters with their teens? Share the CT with a friend!