They’re watching YouTube.
Specifically, old TV shows like Johnny Carson on Late Night, and Groucho Marx on You Bet Your Life.
Probably because when Facebook came out, their college kids told them about it, so they must have been about 45 then, and now they’re veritable senior citizens, but with iPhones and just binging YouTube daily.
Consider this video of Ed McMahan hiding how drunk he is:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9-UjChtOpew
Here’s a sample of the 560 comments:
@LindaErker
2 months ago
God, I miss them. The content and quality we grew up with in that decade are gone forever 😢.
@cygnals524
1 month ago (edited)
I was so lucky to have watched this show for two decades. I still have the final episode on a VHS tape somewhere in my collection.
Watching Johnny was a great way to end the day. Johnny, Ed, Doc, and all the guests he had on made for wonderful entertainment and TV that people of all ages could enjoy.
@angelasharpe5573
2 months ago
Daddy would watch Johnny Carson religiously; he really enjoyed watching Johnny and so did I. He did a skit (you know with the flash cards) about kittens in a burlap bag. Over 45 years ago, I HAVE NEVER LAUGHED SO HARD IN MY LIFE.
@tejadeja9542
2 months ago
I used to watch Johnny all the time. I’m telling you, Ed is hammered! This was way more real than either one wanted! But it’s hysterical 😂😂😂
@julialongstreth5890
2 weeks ago
Omgosh!!
I remember this watching this live! Carson was the absolute BEST!!
@carolm3768
2 months ago
Dad put 6 kids to sleep, then asI went to the bathroom, I’d pass his room. Bathed in the TV glow, he’d be eating ice cream and laughing at Johnny. Only peace that man ever saw..❤
@Hbizz813
2 months ago
My mom used to let me stay up and watch the first half hour of Johnny Carson show. My older brother and sister were so jealous when they found out lol.
Also you can tell Johnny’s laugh is deeply real and hearty at 1:20. I love it when people genuinely laugh. There are some good videos of Conan having a genuine laugh. Not many, and usually it was Norm, but not always.
Anyway, it seems this is what old people do now. They sit on their phones and binge YouTube content.
For nostalgia. Look at all those comments. It’s not the videos they care about, nor YouTube.
They miss the good old days. They miss when life was simpler. When it was happier.
In reality it never really was simpler or happier. And they’ll admit it if you ask them the right questions. But they feel like it was.
But culture was different, I’ll grant them that. I saw an episode of You Bet Your Life recently where Groucho got a man and woman guest to kiss!
Groucho was always trying to get the contestants to kiss. He was an old man, deeply curious about human nature. Once he interviewed two teenagers for so long that they couldn’t do the quiz until the next week! He had a natural curiosity about how people thought.
Anyway, he’s dead now. A lot of these old people will be too. Maybe that’s what’s got them missing the old days. Maybe they’re convinced they’re out of steam. Maybe they’re sure they have no more value left to give. Maybe they’re right.
But no, they’re not. They have a lot of experience and wisdom. Not everyone appreciates it right away, of course. But to find an old person who has something to share, that’s a genuinely good conversation. Somtimes.