It’s no secret that among corporate America, the prime demographic that they target and want to reach are young people, generally between 18-40 years old. That’s a large part of why so many shows on TV -- whether they’re dramas, sitcoms, or reality shows -- are geared towards young people, as well as the commercials contained within them. But where does that leave baby boomers who still constitute a large portion of all TV viewers? As the Associated Press reports, a backlash among baby boomers may be forming against TV’s obsession with youth:

Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they believe that most TV programming and advertising is targeted toward people under 40, the survey said. More than 80 percent of adults over 40 say they have a hard time finding TV shows that reflect their lives. A significant number of baby boomers -- 37 percent -- say they aren’t happy with what’s on television, according to the study. . . .

To a certain extent, the generation that decades ago warned against trusting people over 30 can blame itself for the predicament. The TV industry’s slavish devotion to ratings within the 18-to-49-year-old demographic started when most baby boomers fit into that group. . . . The Harris Interactive study found that half of baby boomers say they tune out commercials that are clearly aimed at young people. An additional one-third said they’d go out of their way NOT to buy such a product.

There’s two issues in play here. The first is that baby boomers are apparently being jilted by the same trend that they first enjoyed. In other words, as the article notes, the practice of advertisers targeting young people began with baby boomers. Apparently they didn’t mind when they were the ones receiving all the attention but now are feeling left behind as they grow older, like they’re being traded in for a newer model. So on the one hand, I think their objections sound a little like sour grapes.

On the other hand, I absolutely agree that corporate America has a slavish mentality regarding youth culture, or what they perceive to be youth culture. In other words, in their ever-ending quest for capitalist profit, corporate America and the mainstream media frequently pursue young people with a narrow, tunnel vision-like obsession and in the process, ignore all other possible uses of their resources.

To that we might add that with the advent of the Internet and associated high-tech gadgets like iPods, cell phones, TiVo, video-on-demand, etc., traditional TV outlets are in danger of becoming obsolete in the near future. So this obsession with youth culture on TV is like chasing an increasingly fleeting target to begin with and in fact, may be turning off and alienating the one demographic that may be the most loyal to traditional TV.

But I guess that’s just like corporate America and the mainstream media -- desperately trying to influence us but oblivious to the often contradictory effect that they’re actually having on us.