You Felt Like You Were Disappearing Every Time You Crossed A Road

In light of the late J.D. Salinger's Death just last week, many discussions have cropped up in regards to the novel that made him famous, Catcher in the Rye. One of these articles comes from the NY Times, which I found devastatingly interesting, enough to share at least.

The debate began with a simple question: Is The Catcher in the Rye relevant to today's youth culture?

It was generally discussed that with today's youth lives perforated with social media, could a novel that allows for loneliness and isolation find an audience? Apparently the answer is no.

It is suggested by some that there are no longer "teenagers," in the sense that the middle area between adulthood and childhood is gone, but rather teens are younger adults with perfectly planned lives or are encountering dangers that would have once only been seen as adult temptations. It is also said that teens today are never really alone, and therefore would not have ever experienced true isolation. Another says that this generation is exposed to everyone's personal dramas everyday that his jaded views of life have been experienced by them [us?] since pre-teen age and therefore Holden's drama is nothing unusual or interesting.

Damn it! 

Why would they ask today's adults a question so obviously formed for todays younger generations??

If this is not a perfect example of the division between adult and youth categories that what else is? 

I think it was best said by a Reader's comment down below:

"I am 23, and when I read this book for the first time in high school, I had the same sort of reaction to it typical of the professional commentators above. I dont think today's teens, who I am only slightly older than, would find the book so irrelevant as the panel seems to think. There is still angst, and rebellion, and suspicion of the hypocrisy of adults. These things dont go away because of twitter, or text messages (just think, passing notes in class, but quicker and sneakier..), or being over-scheduled. Overscheduled and micromanaged are just new ways of saying that adults heap expectations on children who often don't want to meet them, same now as then if just even more extreme today.

Perhaps the panel thinks the youth of today won't treasure the book as they once did, because they themselves are now looking at it and their own youths through the glasses of adulthood. The comments seem to ring to the tune of, "Those youth of today, they just aren't youth like we were!"'