In life, pop culture references are an everyday part of conversation. They’re an ice breaker for interacting with new people and a way to bond with friends. How often have you casually quoted Star Trek among strangers to see who looks up, sent a meme from The Office with your coworkers, or shared an obscure Percy Jackson joke with friends. Pop culture references are the only inside jokes you can make with total strangers—a shared experience created through the invention of mass media that connects people in ways never seen before.

While they are mostly considered jokes, that is only one aspect to this conversational tool. It’s just as common to see pop culture references used as an efficient way to transmit information. “He’s joined the Dark side,” “hakuna matata,” and even “nice work Sherlock,” are all examples of using pop culture to deliver information in a much more effective way than “he was good, now he’s bad,” “no worries, a problem free philosophy,” and “your efforts to be a detective similar to the iconic fictional crime solver have failed.” Story is an intrinsic part of language. Just look at how many phrases can be traced back to Shakespeare, whose plays were very much the popular culture of its day.

This is why for better or worse, references to popular culture are a given in media of all kinds, including books. It’s part of how humans communicate; a way to make the book seem more approachable, the author less distant, and the characters more relatable.

When people think of pop culture it generally refers to forms of mass media like movies, books, TV shows and music. What is popular heavily depends on context. For example, a celebrity might be a household name in one city, but be utterly unknown in another. We also have to acknowledge that it’s easy to exist in a bubble and not realize it. When I asked friends and family what they thought a universal pop culture reference was, I noticed that they turned to things that they were fans of and had likely discussed often with their friend groups, but that I knew little about. We might like to think that everyone knows Spongebob Squarepants, but my grandma certainly doesn’t. Plus, not every kid grows up with cable or streaming. Citizen Kane is considered foundational to film with a legendary twist and iconic scenes, but have you actually seen the movie? Everyone knows the origin of Superman, but that doesn’t mean everyone’s a fan or even that they’ve seen all the movies, much less read his comics.

So, does a universal pop culture reference require the vast majority of the population to be intimately familiar with the story that it’s from? Remember, pop culture references can be used for humor, information, or personal expression. It doesn’t matter how many Superman comics you’ve read, you still know who Superman is. His iconography is plastered across T-shirts, billboards, and TV commercials. From this limited exposure, you know what it means when someone puts on a cape and flies without wings.

If you’re a writer or a publisher, keep in mind the kind of audience you’re aiming for. If you have a sci-fi book, you can feel confident referencing Star Trek or Star Wars. If you’re writing romance, then enjoy your obscure Shakespeare reference. Sure your reference might fly over some heads, but the people who get it will appreciate you.