I wonder what music their kids listen to will elicit the perennial ‘it’s got no soul compared to what I used to listen to!’ from today’s kids after they grow up? 😂
You live long enough, you get to hear the same complaints every few decades…
It's not a simple matter to discuss. At my home my parents never listened to Soviet music, so I had to discover it on my own. Trying to study songwriting I tried to listen different music and stay open-minded. I have to conclude that there were a lot of songs written by very talented composers and poets; I also have to admit that with their songs they tried to bring up some kindness in people, admiration, to unite soulful and intellectual. American popular music of that time is also sophisticated, songs like "Night and Day", "My Happy Valentine"; songs like "The Girl From Ipanema...", "My Way"; European music like ABBA, or Joe Dassin was popular worldwide; it was not particularly in trends when I was growing up, but it was always available; and while it was loved and accepted, it always contained something sophisticated inside, basically, it tried to meet certain ethical and aesthetic standards. Certainly, when all those songs appeared there was another mainstream with a lot of mediocre stuff, which just has been filtered out by time.
But it also important to consider that young people need some soundtrack for their lives, which would be of their own, like some kind of a marker. Music is very personal and psychological thing, and it is also a reflection of what's going on, so if it reflects some confusion, hatred and aggression, perhaps we shouldn't blame the songs, but to think of it as of communication.
Nevertheless, it looks now that a total freedom and rules of a free market don't always bring harmony. Actually, it's not a fact that such things exist; not a secret that there are monopolies, oligopolies, such as recording companies and now things like YouTube which have a lot of leverage.
At some point it's up to us (everyone) to promote, to impose music which we feel is valuable. If a person just relies on content which is suggested by a service, or which is considered to be "in trends", I believe that he will be fed, but won't be truly satisfied.
Sometimes what's popular is indeed quite good. I watched recent Star Wars franchise "Obi-Wan Kenobi", even if the story is simple, the music and the acting are charming. There's also a popular TV series "Stranger Things". In the same time, both these shows are in fact "retro" in one way or another; so these examples are controversial.
I think that today there is such a problem as informational overload; availability is no longer a problem, but making a choice - this is when it gets complicated.
If you feel that there's something wrong... I think you might be right, and it's not that you just aren't catching up with the trend. I think it is the reality we are dealing with regardless of our ages.