“In popular culture, detached irony and cynicism have ceded ground to an emphasis on sincerity and authenticity. The “too cool to care” attitude that typifies Generation X has become “cool to care” for Millennials. This New Sincerity has become the vehicle for a resurgence in moral storytelling in popular culture.”

“Rather than offering a strict moral code to live by, popular culture today provides more of a moral posture.”

“Our best moral stories don’t tell us what is right or wrong in every situation, but they show us what one character did in one situation at one time. Readers, viewers, and listeners are supposed to extrapolate the moral meaning from the story. We’re not supposed to have it handed to us.”

“Sincerity is a Christian virtue, as is honesty about our struggles. But my generation needs to realize that Christianity is more than chic fragility, endless self-revelation, and the coolness that comes with authenticity.”

“We know – it has been measured in many experiments – that children with strong impulse control grow to be better adjusted, more dependable, achieve higher grades in school and college and have more success in their careers than others. Success depends on the ability to delay gratification, which is precisely what a consumerist culture undermines. At every stage, the emphasis is on the instant gratification of instinct. In the words of the pop group Queen, “I want it all and I want it now.” A whole culture is being infantilised.”

“Rap has been a path between cultures in the best tradition of popular music.”

“There has been a cultural shift in the way we communicate, and that, in turn, has had an effect on our relating. We have traded substance and depth for speed and convenience.”