In the Washington Post’s weekly crank section “Free For All,” a reader chastised the paper for not quoting more extensively from Bob Dylan’s works in its piece about his Nobel Prize, writing:

“It may come as a shock to the young people who now write and edit the paper, but there are many of us who are not familiar with the lyrics of “popular” music.”

Granted, in respect to Dylan, the complaint makes no sense. “Blowin’ in the Wind” was written in 1963; I’d expect “young people” to be more unfamiliar with Dylan than seniors. How old IS this guy? Still, the letter raised a crucial ethics point related to life competence, an ethical obligation for all of us. Being willfully ignorant of current popular culture is as much of an ethical lapse, and as great a threat to societal cohesion, as young people not bothering to learn about “Moby-Dick,” minstrel shows, Will Rogers, Stephen Foster, Babe Ruth, Charlie Chaplin, Fred Astaire or Lee Harvey Oswald.

In 1987, University of Virginia English professor  E.D. Hirsch wrote “Cultural Literacy,” making the argument that nations require common cultural reference points for generations to communicate with each other. He argued—correctly— that teaching this cultural vocabulary was a primary duty of the schools, in part because cultural literacy is an inextricable element of individual autonomy and power. Since then, the problem of the fracturing of society and the breakdown in communications between segments of the population has worsened considerably, its deterioration propelled by the loss of common information sources and the rise of the internet.

Throughout life we continue to have an obligation to learn about our shared history and culture, or risk becoming isolated, confused, and increasingly powerless. Moreover, as Hirsch correctly pointed out, the lack of common cultural touchpoints for comparisons and metaphors increasingly leads to a divided and dysfunctional society. The young need to know about the myth of Icarus to understand references to the dangers of celebrity and ordinary people being destroyed  by underestimating the dangers of fame and power. But being over forty and looking blankly when someone refers to “The Hunger Games” is equally crippling, and equally irresponsible.

Is it more difficult for the old to keep up with culture as it evolves than it is for the young to learn the historical and cultural reference that will help them engage in critical thought and cross-generational communication? No, it just seems that way. As people age, they tend to dismiss new cultural developments and ideas as fads and foolishness, when they are no more faddish or foolish, and often just as significant and influential, as what are now recognized as turning points in history and crucial catalysts for societal change. It is a terrible mistake to be ignorant of current popular culture, for as an individual becomes more estranged from the culture, he or she becomes its victim rather than its participant and beneficiary.

Yes, it takes time and attention to listen to new pop songs and watch the popular TV shows, but really no more, indeed less, time and effort than it takes a teen to become effectively familiar with world history and major cultural forces from Plato to Beethoven to O’Neill to Elvis. Indeed, it is easier to keep up (and catch up) now than ever, thanks to the internet, and YouTube in particular.

Now, being familiar with “Hamilton,” Beyonce’s songs, “OOOUUU,” Kendall Jenner, and TV’s “Scandal” doesn’t mean you have to like them, and as with history, nobody can know all of this stuff. Nonetheless, the more you know, the better you understand the world, nation, culture and the people around you. The less you understand, the more you make yourself irrelevant, useless and helpless, and it simply is not ethical to do that until you have no choice due to infirmity or catastrophe. We all have an ongoing duty to be aware, and to stay aware.

Inextricable from the task is keeping up with technology. No matter how bewildering and scary it seems, being technologically literate and competent is part of your ongoing obligation, because it is now impossible to be culturally literate without being at least minimally able to use the web, social media, and a smart phone.

Here is a way to test how much cultural homework is waiting for you if you are over 40: check out Vulture’s 100 Pop-Culture Things That Make You a Millennial.

(I knew a little over half of these. I’m trying though. Never stop trying.)

100. “All I Want For Christmas Is You”
99. The Room
98. The Fresh Prince theme song
97. Punk’d
96. Ryan Gosling and “Hey Girl”
95. Paris Hilton
94. The Illustrations from Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark
93. “The Cha-Cha Slide”
92. “A million dollars isn’t cool…”
91. Matt Damon, ass-kicking everyman
90. Clue
89. Reader’s Choice
88. “It’s Friday, you ain’t got no job, and you aint got shit to do.”
87. Call of Duty
86. Blink-182
85. The Babysitter’s Club books
84. Now That’s What I Call Music!
83. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
82. Wacky Johnny Depp
81. Chelsea Handler and Tucker Max
80. Ace of Base
79. The Star Wars prequels
78. High School Musical
77. Toy Story
76. Janet Jackson’s breast
75. “The first rule of Fight Club is…”
74. Catfish
73. “Gasolina”
72. The Royal Tenenbaums
71. Guitar Hero/Rock Band
70. Mash-ups
69. “The Real Slim Shady”
68. The Hills
67. The baby sounds on Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody?”
66. Illuminati theories
65. Tracy Flick
64. Adult Swim
63. The Romeo and Juliet Soundtrack
62. Lost in Translation
61. “In Da Club”
60. Dawson’s Creek
59. Will Smith
58. The O.C.
57. “Umbrella”
56. The Kardashians
55. Rent
54. YOLO
53. James Franco
52. Jimmy Fallon
51. Spice Girls
50. “I’m Rick James, Bitch!”
49. The Hunger Games
48. Dave Matthews Band
47. Arrested Development
46. The Matrix
45. Doug
44. The Blair Witch Project
43. TRL
42. Dubstep
41. Karaoke
40. Amy Winehouse
39. Mr. Feeny
38. “I Want It That Way”
37. Mean Girls
36. American Idol
35. The Neptunes
34. Garden State
33. The Office
32. “I’m so excited, I’m so scared.”
31. The Little Mermaid
30. Taylor Swift
29. The Family Guy Chicken Fight
28. “Cry Me a River”
27. Twilight
26. Netflix
25. Auto-Tune
24. “Milk was a bad choice.”
23. Britney Spears and the Snake
22. Judd Apatow
21. Titanic
20. Matt and Trey
19. The Rise and Fall of Lindsay Lohan
18. “Poker Face”
17. Funeral
16. TGIF
15. The “Single Ladies” dance
14. Gossip Girl
13. “Since You Been Gone”
12. Celebrity couple portmanteau names
11. “Hey Ya”
10. Christopher Nolan
9. “Dick in a Box”
8. Harry Potter
7. The Onion
6. “I’mma Let You Finish”
5. “I’m Not Here To Make Friends”
4. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler
3. “Ignition (Remix)”
2. Clueless
1. Beyonce and Jay-Z