There was recently an online discussion about what Boomers love but young people don’t understand. It had a lot of good points, and we wanted to share the most exciting takeaways.
Neighborhood Gossiping
As you get older and spend less time outside, hearing the gossip from second parties is always interesting. One person said, “My dad is a baby boomer, and he literally walks around the neighborhood daily to find out new information from the neighbors so he can come to tell my mom. He’s so proud that he knows new info he can share. Community watch.”
Refusal to Learn New Technology
Technology is constantly evolving, and you’ve got children as young as four who now know how to use mobile phones. However, boomers refuse to learn the new world of technology. A person on the online discussion said, “It’s my kryptonite. I’m in my mid-40s, and I just can’t deal with my mom’s fear of everything, including using technology, because she might click on the wrong thing. I’ve asked her what the worst-case scenario is – maybe she gets billed for something or sent something unexpected – and reminded her, “I’m here to help make things right.” I’ve also reminded her that she’s spent so long resisting this stuff that it gets harder to learn each day. It just doesn’t settle with her.”
Driving the scenic route
When younger people drive, they like to get to where they want to go. Forget any scenic routes, they don’t see the point. One boomer said, “Now that I’m old, I just like to travel to places to look at the scenery. 20-year-old me would not understand the point of that at all.”
Sharing Daily Death Details
When you get to a certain age, you take particular pleasure in exposing the deaths of others. Whether it’s because you’re happy to be alive or you can’t believe this person has died, sharing the details of deaths happens daily with boomers. “My Aunt is OBSESSED with this. She gets almost giddy? Every time I see her, it’s like, “Oh, my neighbor Susan’s Uncle’s dentist died. Isn’t that sad?” Um… I guess?”
Fine China Obsessions
You could walk into a boomer’s house right now and find at least one set of fine china. The younger generation doesn’t understand why you need special plates that spend their time in storage or hidden behind glass doors. One younger person said, “It’s pretty in the way anything made in bulk can be. It’s expensive, has very little resale value, is fragile, and is virtually useless unless you’re trying to impress another old person.”
Using the phrase “Stay off my grass.”
Grass is there to walk on and play on in the eyes of the younger generation. It’s nothing special and won’t die if it’s walked over. However, boomers take pride in their garden, and if someone even looks at it, then it’ll become ruined in their eyes. One person on the forum said, “Everyone grew up with at least one grumpy old man in the neighborhood who’s always yelling to “STAY OFF HIS GRASS!” I’ve never really understood the fascination of keeping a pristine lawn that you don’t want anyone touching your grass.”
Reclining chairs
The younger generation sees a chair as a chair. It doesn’t matter what it does, as long as it’s comfortable and you can sit on it. However, boomers are selective and are obsessed with a recliner chair. A few older people on the forum agreed, and one said, “Oh my god, just sitting down in my recliner is glorious. Younger people may think I’m nuts, but I have so much stuff going on, it’s nice just to sit down and relax.”
Geriatric People Watching
You either love people watching, or you don’t. However, it is more common for boomers to sit on their front porches and watch the day go by and what people are doing. One user from Brazil said, “In my country (Brazil), old people sit in front of their houses and do absolutely nothing for hours, just watching people and cars go by.”
The Use of Locker Rooms
There is nothing modest about a boomer in a locker room. One senior said, “It is one thing to strut around naked, but another to embrace oneself and just not care!” This is another thing that younger people don’t understand, but they might get older and feel the same as other boomers do today.
Change in Music Taste
One boomer on the forum admits, “This is going to draw some hate, but once I reached my 50s, Bruce Springsteen’s library suddenly became enjoyable. I’d always liked bits of his work here and there, but once I got old enough, bam, I get it.”
Keeping an Eye on the Weather
One senior confessed, “Obsessed with the weather. My partner’s grandmother house-sat while we were away for a trip and made sure to record the weather details for us every day we were gone.”
Watching 24-hour News Cycles
The younger generation doesn’t understand this, and the news is becoming less watched by the younger population. One child of an older person said, “My dad watches the news all the time, and I can’t stand it because all it does is make him mad.” A lot of other younger people agreed with this.
The Obsession with Soap Operas
We all love watching TV, but there is something about soap operas that have retirees hooked. One person said, “She enjoyed her daytime soaps because so little happens that she can have them on while she cleans around the house and doesn’t feel like she misses anything. Some she’s been watching so long that she says they’ve recycled the same plot half a dozen times over the past 20 years.”
Oversharing
This was mentioned a few times on the forum, and we know a boomer who overshares their entire life. “Telling anyone who will listen about their various ailments. Look, I’m 57, so I’m ancient by Reddit standards. But I vowed early on that I will not become one of these over-sharing old people.”
Playing Slots
One Reddit user said, “All the casino ads make it look like you’ll be gambling in Monaco with a bouncy, joyful group of young people – then you go in, and it’s endless rows of blank-faced old jamming on those buttons.”
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