>It's also notable that when Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry in 2003 the media and public at large didn't seem to pay it much attention at all (or at least I don't remember it being such a big deal).

Probably because it wasn't broadcast live.

It certainly was broadcast live -- every major TV news organization in the US broadcast the re-entry. Of course Columbia was very high altitude when it broke apart and the cameras (fortunately in my opinion) couldn't get very close-in shots.

There's a point to be made that people were more prepared for a possible disaster given the reports of damage to the shuttle that the crew provided days ahead, compared to the absolute surprise and shock at Challenger, and the horrifyingly clear camera footage provided at a lower altitude.

> It's interesting (albeit depressing) to think about how every generation in the television (and now internet) age seems to have at least one of these events that occurs right on the border of adulthood;

Which would that be for people born in 1990-2000? I was born in ’96, but I’m not sure anything really traumatic happened in the past years.

Well, the Paris attacks might be the closest thing, but even that isn’t really traumatic.

I was wondering about that myself, and it's hard for me to judge because everything seems rather insignificant in comparison to 9/11.

While I was originally musing over negative events, maybe you could consider Obama's first election as the same sort of major news event (which I suppose could have been negative depending on your perspective)? That would put you right around 12 years old, which is about the time frame I was thinking of.

Nah, Obamas election had no effect at all on me (I happen to live in Germany). I’m not really sure there was even any event.

>I happen to live in Germany

Then I really have no idea, haha. It's also quite possible that we're so inundated with sensationalized news these days that the idea of one single event sort of stopping people in their tracks just isn't something likely to happen anymore.

Sadly, groups of people die all the time, perhaps monthly.

The kind of event we're speaking of though is one that strikes at the core of a nation's identity and/or faith in humanity.

I believe these events transcend news. They tend to happen once a decade or two, and as you age the second or third perhaps starts to lose its power.

So then to answer the original question, what event would this be for someone born in the mid 90's?

I don't think there's been anything on that scale (if you were too young to appreciate 9/11). I knew some folks who lost everything in 2008, but it wasn't everyone.

By the time of Columbia, we had already had the Challenger failure and 9/11 had recently occurred. There was no teacher on-board with students watching. We know that astronauts are as prepared for this kind of thing as they can be. So, it wasn't quite so shocking.

Also, people have a certain capacity for tragedy, pass it and you start to go numb.