I really don't know much about popular music, but I'm guessing that music from video games is getting more popular now, because when I ask people what they are humming they usually say it's a song from a game. But maybe those songs are just more humm-able, and the songs that I hear people humming are not a representative sample of all the songs that they listen to.

About updating the language, if you mean the abbreviations and phrases that people use in texts, I think that people do it so that they don't sound overly formal. Sometimes writing a complete sentence in a text would be like speaking to a friend in rhyming verses.

I think the kids I know get most of their information (and opinions) from their parents, and a few things from other places to make them feel grown up (I do this too). I think that because I often hear a friend saying something and then I find out later that that is what their parents think.

(sorry it took me so long to respond)

Hi! I have been lurking here for over a year but I've been too shy to participate until now. I'm 14, and I've been homeschooled all my life. I like math and physics and psychology, and I've learned lots of interesting things here. I really enjoyed reading the sequences last year. I've also been to some meetups in my city and the people there (despite – or maybe because of – being twice my age) are very cool. Thank you all for existing!