--- title: Seinfeld First Episode 25th Anniversary: References Young People Miss description: It's never too late to understand why babka matters canonical: https://time.com/2951961/seinfeld-generation-gap/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-04T02:10:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T08:57:21.931Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Seinfeld First Episode 25th Anniversary: References Young People Miss og:description: It's never too late to understand why babka matters og:url: https://time.com/2951961/seinfeld-generation-gap/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdbfda72528db47e2/69869a6013c79f318b192ec4/seinfeld.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Seinfeld og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Seinfeld First Episode 25th Anniversary: References Young People Miss twitter:description: It's never too late to understand why babka matters twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdbfda72528db47e2/69869a6013c79f318b192ec4/seinfeld.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Did You Ever Notice How There's a _Seinfeld_ Generation Gap?  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jul 4, 2014 2:10 AM UTC  Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine Benes, Larry Thomas as Soup Nazi Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine Benes, Larry Thomas as Soup NaziWren Maloney—NBCU Photo Bank / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jul 4, 2014 2:10 AM UTC Twenty-five years ago, on July 5, 1989, the first episode of _Seinfeld_ aired. It got good enough ratings to give birth to a behemoth that ran for nine seasons. On that fateful summer day, about half of today’s millennials — the generation commonly seen as covering people born in the ’80s and ’90s, and sometimes the first years of the ’00s — weren’t born; the rest were probably too young to get the jokes, which were about things like whether a cup of coffee was really decaf and the awkwardness of not knowing whether a house guest was looking for a romantic weekend or just a cheap place to stay in New York City. But by the time the show went off the air, it was a huge hit with younger viewers. A 1995 [Ad Age article](http://adage.com/article/news/tv-buying-planning-guide-older-viewers-young-seinfeld-e-r/81003/) stressed that _Seinfeld_ was good at reaching a young audience, and the show [maintained its strength](http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/16/arts/rating-for-seinfeld-finale-grazed-super-bowl-country.html) with the 18–49 demographic through its finale. A Pew survey timed with the 1998 finale found that 62% of high-schoolers surveyed (and 46% of those younger than high-school age) had watched the show; the figure for those aged 18–29 was a full 81%. However, as this auspicious anniversary approaches, a surprising phenomenon has emerged. There is a _Seinfeld_ generation gap, or so suggests an informal, statistically insignificant but highly persuasive survey of TIME’s millennial staffers. For some in their mid- to late 20s, _Seinfeld_ had seeped into their brains despite being too young to have seen the original broadcast. But several of those born in the early ’90s confessed to never having seen the show or, even if they had seen it, not watching enough to get any reference. “I know that it’s ‘a show about nothing,’ but that’s all I know,” said one 22-year-old. “I miss all the _Seinfeld_ references.” “I’ve never seen it, so I don’t get any references,” concurred his 23-year-old colleague, with a sad-face emoji. Obviously there are a million things that could explain this situation: the tiny, skewed sample size; differences in senses of humor; a preference for _Friends_. But the thing about _Seinfeld_ — one reason the 25th anniversary is particularly worth noting, and why it matters that the generation gap exists — is that _Seinfeld_ succeeded at being more than just something you watch. It’s also a hotbed of cultural references. These poor people–my own peers, I shudder to think–have been hopelessly lost during a lifetime’s worth of conversations, not understanding why they won’t get any soup or why it’s noteworthy that pretzels make you thirsty or the problem with talking close, high or low. A quarter of a century later, _Seinfeld_ references remain fresh. In the last day alone, the phrase “not that there’s anything wrong with that” has appeared, _Seinfeld_\-free, in a _Wall Street Journal_ [piece](http://blogs.wsj.com/atwork/2014/07/02/harvards-sassy-new-business-school-application/) about Harvard Business School, a Gothamist [story](http://gothamist.com/2014/07/03/original%5Fdirt%5Fcandy%5Fto%5Fclose%5Fin%5Faug.php) about a restaurant relocating and a gossip-y [report](http://thestir.cafemom.com/entertainment/174368/kylie%5Fjenners%5Fnew%5Fbff%5Frelationship) on The Stir about Kylie Jenner. The phrase shows no signs of going anywhere soon — nor does “master of my domain,” or Festivus. So consider this a call to arms — or, rather, a call to reruns. _Seinfeld_ has been [renewed](http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sony-pictures-televisions-seinfeld-earns-an-unprecedented-fifth-cycle-in-syndication-232391521.html) for a fifth cycle of syndication, which means it’ll be on TV through 2017, and it’s available online too. Non-_Seinfeld_\-watchers of the world, watch. 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