It's always been hard to define 'Folk', and with Old/Young being such relative terms I have no idea what constitutes an Old Folkie or a Young Folkie.

I can only guess that you are referring to different types of material, ie those that are nearer to pop music and those that are nearer to 'The Tradition' (or perhaps the 'Folk Revival' of the 60s/70s). I suppose that I prefer (and definitely perform) the latter, but what of it ? I will be sixty next year, so at least in the eyes of many young performers I count as old. However I often sing at venues which have a variety of styles and find that I can still fit in. OK some of the music I hear, I would hardly classify as folk, but I'm pleased to see that many young people are at least producing their own live music, rather than relying on recorded stuff only.

Before I sang Folk Music, I used to play bass guitar in a pop group and I expect that the sort of material we played would not have found favour at Cecil Sharp House. Gradually, my tastes moved from American, via Scottish and Irish to the more English material that I tend to favour now. Compare the early recordings of some singers to
the way they sing today and I think in many cases you'll notice quite some changes in style.

I must admit that I tend to prefer my sort of folk music, but we all have our slightly different tastes. However, I've had quite a few experiences of young singers coming up to me and saying how much they've enjoyed what I've just sung.