We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with a few thoughts on how we’re in the age of gatekeeping, and how that gatekeeping frequently involves age.
With my thirties drawing to a close, I’ve never identified more with that classic scene in The Simpsons where Abe warns Homer that one day, he won’t be “with it”. For Elder Millennials like me, it feels like we’ve been suddenly and unceremoniously pushed out of pop culture and some of our favourite hobbies; or at least, an effort is being made to do so. Our fashions are outdated (yet at the same time, they’re being brought back), our jokes might as well be “Boomer Humour”, and apparently we don’t even shoot videos correctly! We’re now among the “old heads” being sneered at.
And hey, to make a very Millennial-coded reference, it’s the Circle of Life, right? We’re not the trendy young crowd anymore, with only the youngest Millennials clinging to the upper end of the 18-34 demographic. This is the way of pop culture; this is, as blink-182 put it, growing up. Still, it feels like we’re being pushed out of things that we’re not too old for, or that anyone is too old for, really. We’re in an age of gatekeeping in general, but the gatekeeping itself is also often about age. That’s not to say that we didn’t have our own version of “Old Heads Keep Out” on the proverbial clubhouse door, but online discourse definitely revolves around generational division.
Admittedly, this is far from a completely new thing. I’ve just reached the age where I’m on the other end of the “older people are so stupid and uncool” sneering! Indeed, I hit that age some years back. I distinctly remember seeing a Tweet – as they were then still called – mocking the basketball opinions of “old heads”, and realising the insult was directed at people like me! That was probably about eight years ago, so in that respect, I can’t say that it’s recent or sudden. It still feels that way, though. I’m sure that older generations felt the same way, but speaking as an Elder Millennial, the gatekeeping of age is pushing us out of hobbies and online spaces we grew up with.
The obvious example here is video games. It’s wild to be told that you’re wrong about your favourite games, by people who weren’t even born when you got into them no less! For example, the insinuation that sim gamers are actually the casuals is absurd when you consider that NBA 2K became the brand leader thanks to its focus on authenticity, not to mention the fact that sim heads were always looked upon as the hardcore, geeky enthusiasts (and yes, we wore that reputation with pride!). It’s totally fine to have different preferences and modes of choice, but to suggest that we don’t know what the games should be, or that they’re not for us, is completely ludicrous.
I’ve seen similar comments about Mortal Kombat 1. Glance at the MK subreddit, and you’ll see people being mocked for caring about single player gameplay (“fighting games are meant to be played against other people!”), or the storyline (“no one cares about that!”). Considering that beating the tournament was always a point of pride in the original MK games, and that the story and lore became part of their appeal, those are ridiculous claims. Obviously times change, and the rise of online play and eSports has impacted the hobby, but it’s peak youthful condescension to re-write history, as is suggesting that people who actually lived through it lack any knowledge or insight.
This is of course where nostalgia enters the chat, so to speak. Now, I’ll certainly agree that nostalgia distils the past down to its most positive attributes, which is a distorted view. The term “nostalgia goggles” unquestionably has a valid use. At the same time, it’s become a blanket statement to dismiss and disrespect the past. In terms of forming an accurate view or critique, recency bias is no better than nostalgia. In fact, one could argue that it’s even more myopic because the dust hasn’t been allowed to settle! It also ignores the lesson to be taken from criticism of nostalgia, namely that not everything is great in any era. The past was both good and bad, and the same goes for the present.
Besides, it’s not just about arguing which is better, old or new, but also definition and undeniable history. Again, to suggest that focusing on realism and authenticity isn’t what NBA 2K is about is to ignore what made it so successful. Likewise, fighting games have been about beating the CPU and the challenging boss fights as much as multiplayer showdowns from the very beginning. To suggest that people who played those old games don’t know what they’re talking about, have no right to express their preference, and should just move on, is pure gatekeeping. Being older doesn’t mean that you’re always automatically right, but experience does teach you a thing or two!
That brings me to perhaps the most obnoxious part of this age of gatekeeping, and its gatekeeping of age. So-called “old heads” like me are told that our interests – video games, basketball, whatever – have evolved and passed us by. “Go back and play those games and watch your old clips”, or words to that effect, are the common cry. And so, many of us will do just that! We’ll turn to retro gaming, leaving new titles to the younger crowd they’re aimed at. We’ll reminisce about the great players we grew up watching, enjoying those discussions and old highlights. And then, even though we’ve been told to stick to our old head things, we get chided for doing that as well!
It’s kind of like being told that your favourite music is no longer popular and to just accept that it’s on the oldies station (and in the supermarket) now, but then being told actually no, you should just stop listening to all music period, because music is for young people and old music needs to go away. You see it with social media accounts and YouTube channels that are dedicated to retro gaming or classic hoops. Inevitably, instead of leaving people alone to enjoy their nostalgia – like they’ve been told to do – someone will butt in to say how much it sucks, how everyone has to be “done with the 90s”, and essentially trying to crash and ruin a party that they weren’t ever invited to.
I hate to say it, but it’s given me a better understanding of the whole “get off my lawn” sentiment that we attribute to cranky old folks! You have something that you enjoy, and then some kids wander in feeling entitled to the space. Somehow, you become the bad guy for being upset when they trample everything. That’s pretty much how it feels when spaces dedicated to nostalgia are invaded by people who want to trash it, while at the same time telling us to leave the present alone and stick to our nostalgia (which again, we wanted to do)! It’s a no-win situation, with the added insult of gatekeeping that tries to push us out of fandoms, hobbies, and online spaces that we were in first.
Older generations undoubtedly experienced this as well once they aged out of being the “youth of today”, but in the digital age, there’s been an increase in gatekeeping. It’s one thing to have to switch radio stations, curate your feed, or stop going to the trendy nightclub for people who weren’t even in school when you started clubbing way back in the day. It’s another thing entirely to be told that hobbies and interests that you’ve been passionate about for decades are no longer for you, and that you don’t have any knowledge or worthwhile opinions about them. It’d be different if they were hobbies and spaces exclusively for young people, but we’re talking about all-age interests.
To that end, it’s like someone who has very recently joined a club trying to kick out a senior member, or demand sweeping changes to cater to their preferences. That’s not to say that stubbornness and gatekeeping by the old guard is a good thing either, but it’s presumptuous to be a newcomer to a group – be it a club, a circle of friends, or whatever – and expect to make all the decisions, or have all of your whims followed. Furthermore, imagine that a handful of senior members formed an offshoot group so as to not stand in the way of change, only to be told by the newcomers that they need to shut it down and fall in line; a notion that the newbies themselves clearly balked at.
That’s basically where we’re at in this age of gatekeeping, and gatekeeping of age. Interests and hobbies that should be for all ages are now reframed as being for young people only, particularly within online spaces. Anyone creating or enjoying nostalgic content is mocked and told to stop pushing a narrative, rather ironically by people who are not only championing their own narrative, but often bleat on about “respect”. Accounts and creators focusing on retro gaming or basketball history are catering to a specific demographic, just like an oldies radio station. Just as they shouldn’t instruct anyone to not enjoy the new, they shouldn’t be told not to enjoy or celebrate the old.
As for real basketball, I’ll agree that being an older, long-time fan can lead to some curmudgeonly opinions. I won’t pretend that I didn’t notice that from older fans when I was much younger! At the same time, even if I disagreed, I respected their opinion, and recognised basketball as a multi-generational passion. I think we’ve lost that in the digital age, where gatekeeping has become a way of manufacturing consensus and making us feel smart because of our biases. In fact, I’d suggest that Millennials like me also do that whenever we join in with the “OK Boomer” sentiment. It can be a fair retort, but it’s ignorant to believe that old heads never contain knowledge or wisdom.
Of course, this is a symptom of a bigger problem. This is the age of gatekeeping, but the gatekeeping needn’t have anything to do with age; just a different opinion. It’s why there’s too much zero-sum thinking in gaming communities, with a belief that getting your way and enjoying the game must come at someone else’s expense. It’s why even when a game includes a variety of modes that cater to different preferences, there are still arguments over the “correct” way to play, not to mention unnecessary division and tribalism between people playing the same game. It’s why elitists tell newbies to “get good”, while objecting to the onboarding and matchmaking that would allow it!
Look, I’m not saying that this has never happened before. There have always been trends and an in-crowd. I remember a lot of advertising and humour that was aimed at 90s kids like me essentially boiling down to “ha-ha, old people”. Like a lot of things though, the internet has found a way to make attitudes worse, the discourse far more toxic…or maybe, I’m just at an age where I’m able to notice the childishness of it all (not to mention being way past dictating any youthful trends!). It’s hardly an original observation to note that so many people are misinformed in an age where so much information is readily available, leading to echo chambers and performative debate.
It is dismaying though, in no small part because it accelerates my feelings of being a cranky old man at far too young an age. I hate to buy into that stereotypical mindset, to mutter about “kids these days” like those terribly uncool adults that my generation once rebelled against. However, if you’re going to tell me that I don’t know history, my hobbies, and my interests…well, sorry kid, but I’m not going to take you seriously! For my own sanity, I’m just going to disengage. If you’re going to complain about old heads daring to have our own opinions, you can at least let us enjoy our nostalgia in peace; like you told us to do! You don’t get to keep moving the gate to chase us away.
Besides, you’ll be outside the gate with us at some point, and let me tell you: it might be sooner than you think! Right now, you may claim that you’re “above” nostalgia. You may believe that you’ll always agree with the current narrative, even when it’s disrespectful towards something you have affection for. Well, we’ll see. It’s easy to say you’ll happily give up your post at the gate while you’re still keeping it, but your tune will likely change when you’re unceremoniously pushed out. That’s the thing about gatekeeping, be it about age or some other criteria. You may think you’ll always be with it, that you’ll be rocking forever, forever, forever, but old Abe was right…