“We Were Told That Boomers Would Eventually Retire”: 30 People Share The Lies That Their Generations Were Sold
Santa Claus is real. Babies come from a stork dropping them off on your doorstep. You are definitely capable of becoming a professional tennis player when you grow up. Adults tell children little white lies all the time. They are mostly harmless, and eventually, we grow up to learn that they weren’t true but were nice to hear at the time. However, some lies that we are sold from older generations, the government and the media don’t go away as we age. Even if we realize they aren't true, these ideas can be incredibly difficult to shake and continue to shape an entire generation's expectations of their lives.
Last week, Reddit user VictorPumpenstein posed the question, “What is the biggest lie sold to your generation?” and many readers had grievances to air. We’ve gathered some of the most thought-provoking responses to this question down below, so you can feel seen by others in your generation or understand the older and younger groups a little better. Be sure to upvote the replies that you found most eye-opening, and then if you’re interested in reading another Bored Panda piece featuring millennials calling out the lies they were told, you can find that right here.
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Whether it comes from a place of ignorance, optimism or wanting to spare people from anxiety, plenty of lies have been sold to the various generations. Maybe you were told to believe in the power of the “American Dream”. Perhaps you expected to be able to afford a home of your own 3 years after graduating from university. No matter what harsh realities you had a wake-up call to as you got a bit older, you likely are not the only person in your age group to feel that way. Your entire generation might have been mislead in the same way you were, and they might be just as bitter about it.
So to understand what misinformation each generation is responsible for spreading, first we need to understand exactly what each generation is like. Let’s begin with baby boomers. You might be one, your parents might be some, or even your grandparents might fall into this group, as these are the individuals who were born between the years 1946-1964. There are about 71 million baby boomers out and about today, and they are famous for their post World War II optimism, being around for the Cold War, and the hippie movement.
The war on drugs. It has decimated the lives of so many people. Minorities are disproportionately incarcerated for their possession.
My generation was taught that all drugs are bad and that there is no use for them in the medical community. Science is proving that many drugs that were classified as illegal are beneficial for treating a multitude of health issues.
It's time that we end the war on drugs. People should be treated for addiction in a medical facility rather than being incarcerated.
Hear, hear! It's infuriating af. Some recommended reading on the subject: "...in reality, the war on drugs has little to do with public safety. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2013 shows that tobacco, alcohol and prescription painkillers were responsible for more direct deaths than any other drug." https://www.mic.com/articles/109718/these-3-drugs-are-much-deadlier-than-marijuana-but-they-re-all-totally-legal
Money can't buy happiness. It's b******t, most of my problems could be solved by money and I'd be so happy.
Baby boomers are also known for being the largest consumers of traditional media like television, radio, magazines and newspapers. They are often traditionalists who stick to these forms of media that they know and have a hard time adapting to new technology. However, 90% of them do have a Facebook account, so they are not totally opposed to innovation. They have welcomed technology like Facebook that allows them to keep in touch with old friends and always know what their family members are up to.
When it comes to how baby boomers like to manage their money, many of them still prefer to go into their banks in person and always carry a bit of cash, especially for small purchases. Surprisingly, baby boomers also have a staggering amount of student loan debt. This is not because university was so expensive when they attended, because for the most part, it wasn’t. But many of them actually took on debt to help their children receive higher education, leaving lots of boomers with little to no retirement funds.
I suspect "crime doesn't pay" is a lie told to more generations than just mine.
First of all, crime is *extremely* profitable. We don't hear about criminals that haven't been caught, because they haven't been caught.
Second of all, 90% of rich people are criminals and we all just kind of accept it. E.g. through breaking labour laws. They tend to break laws in ways that save them money, rather than earn them money, but it still ends up in crime absolutely paying.
Edit: people seem to think I'm on about drugs or theft or other 'obvious' crimes that come with prison sentences. I'm talking about crimes where the punishment is a fine, and the fine is of lower value than what the person made (or saved) committing the crime. E.g. getting a fine in the thousands after profiting in the hundreds of thousands. Low risk, high reward.
Take any rich person and Google their name with the word 'fines' e.g. 'Bill Gates fines'. Then consider how many times they've done that without getting caught, and how many times they made more from the crime than the value of the fine.
Its not "how many criminals are super rich?", its "how many super rich people are criminals?"
“Do well in school and you’ll have a nice house, a good job, and a family before you’re twenty six”
NOPE.
Plastic recycling.
I remember when grocery stores went from paper bags to plastic because "they're recyclable!" Literally everything else started coming wrapped in a ton of plastic (instead of cardboard) because it was recyclable. Single use plastics were great, because we'd just recycle the plastic, and use it forever!
Turns out, it was just cheaper, and recycling had nothing to do with it. Most of that plastic can't be recycled anyway.
One of the lies mentioned on this list is that baby boomers would eventually retire, but for a lot of them, they don’t have the option to yet. Many boomers believe that it was important to set up their children for success in the future, by supporting their education and helping them start their careers, but now it is unlikely that much will be left for retirement and inheritance. Perhaps the lie that they would retire was not so much of a lie as it was a dream of theirs. I am sure they don’t love the idea of working until they are 80 years old.
Up next is Generation X, or those born between the years 1965 to 1979. This group, which is also referred to as the “Latchkey” generation or the MTV generation, currently has around 65 million people and maintains some traditional media habits like their predecessors. Lots of Gen X still reads a physical newspaper, listens to the radio and watches cable TV, but they are much more technologically savvy than their parents. In fact, they tend to spend more hours on Facebook than any other age group.
Meritocracy - that the system will select the best candidate based on ability.
Turns out they never tell you some people are born so far ahead they're starting 3 full laps ahead of you. And also their connections are thicker than the trans-oceanic cables.
Private schools excel at further entrenching these networks and ensuring that high paying positions are given to those that are mates of those in power, rather than those who actually have decent skillsets. While being friends with powerful people has always had benefits - over the past 20-30 years, this seems to have accelerated as far as the level of b******t utilised and the size of the paypackets received by these useless f*****g twats.
Gen X-er here... we were told that the boomers would eventually retire. Still waiting for that to happen while rapidly approaching retirement age myself.
Who can afford to retire these days and even if you are fortunate enough to have the money, how many of those people are well/fit enough to live their retirement to the fullest?
Reaganomics 'Trickle-Down' Theory. It was, and continues to be, a way for massive corporations and the wealthy to avoid paying taxes via loopholes, passing on the lions share of taxation to the middle class and small businesses in America. This has created the astronomical wealth gap in this country, creating more billionaires than ever and making it impossible for families to survive on a single income, let alone afford a home.
I'll say this again: trickle-down economics is giving more food to the overfed and telling the hungry more crumbs will fall off the table.
Some of the most important factors that defined the lives of Gen X were the end of the Cold War, the rapid advancements in personal computing, and feeling torn between two generational identities. When it comes to their banking habits, many of them still prefer to visit their branch in person, but some have transitioned to online financial management. A lot of this generation is under immense financial stress, however, with the pressures of trying to provide for their own families, pay off student debt and take care of their aging parents while looking ahead for their own retirement. On average, Gen Xers have about $142,000 of debt to pay off, but for most people, the bulk of that is from a mortgage.
“It’s a one in a lifetime event! These things don’t happen all the time” - In reference to things like wars, devastating floods, wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, mass shootings/gun violence, terrorist attacks, and now… pandemics, apparently.
How many more ‘once in a lifetime’ freak events am I going to be living through? When can we have some peace and quiet?
I never imagined I’d say this, but the legitimacy of the American government. It’s a shame.
All you have to do is go to college and you'll be successful.
Though it was less of a lie and more just being wrong.
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The next generation that we all know and love is Generation Y, better known as millennials. This group was born between the years 1980-1996 and has about 72 million people. Millennials have been shaped by the Great Recession, the exponential growth of the internet and social media and 9/11. Many of them still watch TV, but this generation has embraced online streaming platforms like Netflix wholeheartedly. Most millennials are extremely savvy when it comes to technology and electronic devices, and they usually are active on multiple social media platforms. While they were once mocked for their stereotypical obsessions with avocado toast and lack of care for their finances, it can’t be denied that millennials have been placed in an extremely hard position for saving up for their futures.
“You have a future.”
Nah. We might have done, but you stripmined the planet for profit, you stripmined our consciousnesses and experiences for profit, you stripmined our health and our wants and needs for profit. You lied, and lied again. You put your happiness above the futures. You decided the developing world was just shapes on a map and marginalised them.
You went to the ballot box and voted in the wreckers, the lairs, the confidence tricksters, the three-cup-trick fakes, the find-the-lady conartists, and you did it with a smile. You did it while you told us that you did it with your bootstraps and walked uphill each way and you came from nothing and you did this while you plugged up your ears and you covered your eyes and you told us the internet was bad and never learned about it.
You told us change wasn’t possible and that the system was working. You told us that we weren’t working hard enough, that our avocados were too luxurious. You told us to take the bus in the society you took public services away from. You told us to pay our taxes to politicians you elected who pocketed them.
You said we had a future.
You f*****g lied. We will burn in megafires or die in the water wars or drown as the sea floods our communities with water we cannot drink or be annihilated in the nuclear stars we bring down from the sky because you thought you could bomb for peace or in the nuclear winter that you’ll say disproves climate change.
You lied. You knew it and you lied again and you are still lying.
Be loyal to a company, give 100% and they will take care of you, after 20 years you’ll retire with a pension.
I’ve been working for the Umbrella Corporation for quite some time, and the benefits are actually great, they even give you free medicines and stuff.
"You can be anything you want"
Not everyone can become a millionaire astronaut and rockstar and professional gamer and parent. There is a reason why some us have the most boring jobs anyone can think of
So you're telling me I will never become a real life mermaid? Well that's disappointing.
When it comes to how millennials choose to conduct their banking, most of them have no preference of brand. Instead, they prioritize efficiency and excellent service, so apps and digital tools are widely used by millennials to manage their finances. And although this generation makes a huge dent in the workforce, lots of Gen Y is saddled with student debt. Due to a variety of factors including inflation, the recession, and education becoming more expensive, millennials have a hard time reaching financial stability. Contrary to the misconception that many of them have no desire to own a home or settle down, lots of millennials just have not had the opportunity to consider those paths yet, due to worrying about how to provide for themselves.
Affordable homes.
Yet, instead of building more small affordable starter homes, or redeveloping existing city buildings for affordable apartments—-not Section 8 housing, though we need housing for the homeless, improved housing for the poor, and some way of lifting them all out of that level—-I mean affordable for the average middle class income, new developments are building more overpriced and badly built McMansion type s**t that stays empty forever. Developers: you could more quickly sell out whole developments full of affordable starter homes, and rent or sell affordable apartments/condos in refurbished urban buildings, than you could sell one single badly built overpriced McMansion, much less sell out the entire development. It ain’t rocket science.
"Cheaters never prosper" is only true on a small scale.
Yes, if you cheat on all of your homework then at some point your lack of knowledge in the subject will catch up to you and people will figure it out, but on a larger scale, some of the most successful people in the world are terrible people who broke the law and got away with it.
If you donate enough to a politician, they'll change the law so what you're doing is no longer considered cheating.
Next up is Generation Z, or those born between the years 1997-2012. This generation has about 68 million individuals and is famous for knowing how to use smartphones before they could talk and being obsessed with the app TikTok. Most of them actually received their first cell phones at age 10, but having access to their parents’ devices meant they never experienced a life without smartphones and the internet. The average Gen Zer spends about 3 hours on their cell phone every day. I mean, they can't leave their Instagram and TikTok fans hanging, right? American zoomers have also never known a country that was not at war, and many of them have seen the financial struggles of their parents impact their lives. Gen Zers are also known for being socially aware, open minded and politically active.
Electric cars.
Everyone claims they are good for the enviroment, but that statement could not be farther from the truth.
First of all, to gather lithium used in batteries, you have to mine for it, which is horrible because of how dirty it is.
Second of all, and the most important one, lithium battery packs don't last forever. When they go bad, you have to replace them and there is no clean way of recycling lithium.
Third things third, if a battery pack is defective, it's a danger to the driver, passangers and potentially others around. If let's say the protective layer of the battery pack gets damaged and the lithium comes into contact with water it's goodnight for you if you don't react fast enough.
Lastly, the price of electric vehicles is ridiculous, what average person will ever be able to afford a car that costs more than a small house. And some of them (I won't point fingers at any manufacturer here) have terrible quality for their pricepoint. Tl;dr, EVs are overpriced.
So over all, you are better off driving and maintaining your old car for a long period of time rather than buying a tesla or something. Every politician just likes to point to cars, yet they don't seem to notice that planes pollute the enviroment so much more, yet nobody cares about that.
That's mostly BS. Current electric car batteries live around 15 years, AND can easily be recycled. So resources like lithium aren't "gone", but can be mostly reused. (Lithium is also used in conventional cars, or smartphones btw). There's not really any evidence that electric cars burn more often or anything like that - and a burning diesel is not exactly safe either. EVs might be expensive, but that's only bc the damage to the environment is not factored into the price of conventional cars. And the biggest CO2 emissions come from neither planes nor cars, but from the infrastructure and power needed for the internet. So that i can uselessly yell at people on BP.
Thank you for providing some clarity. Lithium ion batteries are 100% recyclable, btw. https://greencitizen.com/blog/lithium-ion-battery-recycling/
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Right now electric cars simply move where the pollution occurs. Instead of being emitted on the streets of our towns and cities it is emitted from the power stations that generate the electricity. However, power generation is slowly getting greener, and if you can have your own solar panels or wind turbine, you can effectively charge your car for free. Prices are starting to come down now as the technology becomes more mainstream. Would I buy one? No, not yet, as I live in an apartment with a shared garage, so at home charging isn't currenly possible, and the charging infrastructure away from home is not there yet. By the time I come to change the city runabout, the next one might be electric. However, my classic and main car, which are both petrol, will stay, but they do very limited mileage, and in future may have to run on synthetic petrol.
Yes agreed. Just moved it sideways. Hydrogen fuel cells are the future, but gotta start somewhere
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All of that is actively dumb. EV's are 85-90% fuel efficient, compared to combustion engines, where the absolute best is 21% efficiency. A typical CE car produces 1 tonne of Co2 every 2500 miles driven, while an 80kwh batter found in a Tesla can be produced emitting as little as 2.4 tonnes of Co2, meaning once you hit the 6000 mile mark, you're ahead of the CE car. When talking about the emission impact of CE cars, we're only looking at the impact of the end consumer burning it, it's not accounting for all the damage wrought during extraction, refinement and shipping it all over the globe. Yes electric cars are expensive, because despite electric vehicles dating back to 1832, it's only in the past 15 years or so that the industry has treated them as a viable product. What you're failing to understand here, is it really doesn't matter how you feel about it, or what rationalization you or big oil wants to come up with. Fossil fuel use needs to STOP
The transition should have been underway for nearly 50 years by this point, we should have been pursuing and refining alternative much more aggressively during that time. Instead, decades have been spent focusing on improving efficiency or trying to game environmental protection standards. Everything, that everyone of us does has an environmental toll. The usage of CE cars account 27% of total emissions in the US, a country that accounts for 4.125% of the global population, yet is responsible for 11% of global emissions.
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In theory...in practice, it's a huge time suck and stressor.
Load More Replies... you are forgetting a much worse thing which is the cost of charging. In our country electricity is scarce and rationed. There's no way in the next 10 years we are going to be able to have electric cars, for this reason. Moreover, coal stations are still important and they are providing the electricity, so the carbon is just moving from the car to the power station.
We would need about 25% more electricity than we currently produce to replace all ICE cars with EVs.
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This is the lie being told by those that hate change. Yes Lithium is mined, but when it comes to recycling, cars are almost always recycled, including their batteries. A car will never end up in a landfill. Electric cars do not add to air pollution, thats the key to preventing climate change. They add to land pollution, but land pollution does not change the temperature of the planet. Electric cars are not 100% environmentally friendly, they have their pros and cons. But if you compare the pros and cons of an electric vehicle to a gas powered one, the electric is better. This lie that is printed above is made by people that don't understand the basic reality of any form of transportation that isn't a person walking. Every vehicle requires mining, not all material is 100% recycled, all forms of transportation is dangerous and yes Lithium is a toxic substance.
I know it isn't the case for everyone but we got our EV used for less than $15k. I'm not saying I know it is better for the environment but we are paying less than a quarter of what we payed for gas, and that was at $2 a gallon. I can't imagine what the difference would be now. Just because something doesn't work for your personal situation doesn't mean it isn't good for someone.
I drive a hybrid and I love it. It seems like they’re abandoning hybrid technology for all electric and it seems like a missed opportunity. And our electric grid is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels so where does the juice come from you plug into your wall.
While hybrids work for you - main reason for abandoning (rather excluding hybrids from various incentives) is the fact what they are rarely used as they supposed to. Statistically less than 30% of plug-ins are actually being "plugged in". They are loved by fleets because of tax breaks but very few organizations have charging infrastructure for it and time to let them charge. Finally, when plug-in is used as regular gas burner you are stuck with far less efficient vehicle comparing to pure ICE. So, on a big scale - what's the point ?
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You are wrong on so many levels that I don't have time to cover all the lies in your statement.
There is a tiny grain of truth in everything you say. But you are greatly exaggerating all of it. That's how good propaganda works.
Hate this post because it's completely false. How much more dirty is lithium mining to fossil fuel extraction? No one ever wants to answer that question. Recycling lithium had a 99% recovery of the lithium. The issue is that we just don't have enough lithium batteries yet to make building a recycling plant worth it. That will change very soon. This is the biggest lie, lithium battery fires are extremely slow. As in you have enough time to take a nap before getting out of your car. They tend to be a little bit more dramatic at the end than ICE car fires but gasoline fires are much faster, much more deadly and explosive and quire a bit more common than electric cars catching on fire. The most dangerous thing about an electric car fire is that most people don't know what it looks like so they don't respond to it correctly. If you're going to buy a brand new car an electric car is cheaper. if you're just buying a used car or just maintaining a current car you already paid for...
The problem with electric cars is cost. I can buy a used car for less than $10000. Also i don't have a garage to install a charging station. All told the up front cost of buying an electric car is WAY too high. And sure, I'll make up for it in long term cost, but if i don't have the up front cash, that's a meaningless argument.
In my area, not even a mobile home would be cheaper than an EV.
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It's not really an option for me. I live in an apartment complex and park my car in a lot several buildings down. There are no provided charging ports and the only other option I would have is to get an industrial length extension cord from my apartment and those are really expensive
This is why we need to elect more politicians willing to invest in infrastructure. And stop focusing so much on banning drilling. Clean energy is already becoming the cheaper option both for personal transportation and for electric companies. Let's focus on supporting that transition.
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Although many things on this post are not correct, I somehow agree with the statement that electric vehicles are not the main solution. Yes, it's good to have them in the portfolio of transportation (along with hydrogen, biodiesel, LNG, etc.) but they are not a good solution in places where electricity is expensive or the infrastructure for charging many cars is not in place. In addition and as an owner of an electric car, it makes me sad that since the first models came out until now the battery packs cannot be replaced... yet. This means that once the battery level goes down to a level where you need to charge too often, you need to buy a new car. As far as I am aware in Europe it is not allowed to take your car to a workshop to change the cells and continue using your car some extra years. Moreover, you cannot upgrade you car to add more range. So your car becomes obsolete after 5-8 years and goes to waste. That is a terrible design.
Really it puts you to sleep, because you said it’s good night for you and I have insomnia so I would love to be able to sleep 😉
Also, think of the slave labor gathering that material!! AND< MOST states don't do renewable energies so you are charging your EV with coal/oil!!
You forgot one major point! Electric cars are only as clean as the electricity used to charge them. If that power comes from fossil fuels, it's better to use a newer combustion engine.
And what about the way the electricity to charge the electric car is generated?
Ok, this is not quite all true. While EVs are sold as environmentally conscious "solution" - it works on limited bunch of customers (feel good type I'd say). Others, me included - went for EV because of supercar performance for reasonable price (yea, I like speeding, bite me :) ), tech and convenience (full tank every morning and reasonable recharge time on fast chargers). Generally you should go for ev only if you have money to burn or really like how they drive. Otherwise even with current fuel prices it will be cheaper to run gas burner for the price difference.
I HATE our Tesla. The tech in the cockpit only worked smoothly for about two years, I HATE using a touchscreen, there are literally no child car seats that fit in the back, and that effing back door that keeps breaking...but I do like how zippy it is. That's it though. I miss our diesel VW Passat!
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The biggest lie everyone is buying is not the EV. It's the fact that a lot of people still think energy can be "green". That's just greenwashing BS. Nothing is green, especially in the massive scales we need them. Solar panels are disgustingly toxic to produce, wind turbines are anchored to huge concrete blocks, and concrete industry is not clean at all, the wind blades are a nightmare to recycle and are just being buried. EVs still need tires, plastic, metal. People don't realize that in order to power 8 billion humans' lifestyle EVs and all the green BS big corporations are trying to sell us to make us feel better is just not the answer. Resources are finite on this planet.
Not to mention actual range is about 58% of advertised. Only about 33% when towing. Also, going back to the polution aspect from the beginning, the vast majority of Lithium is in China who has no regulations on polution. So, the carbon footprint claimed is an absolute lie.
Latest report came out saying if all governments actually got what they're pushing in the EV goals (e.g. all new sales are EV, no more ICE cars) then buy 2040 oil consumption will drop to 2010 levels and by 2100 the difference in global temperatures will be 0.0001C (yeah, one ten thousandth of a degree). As always, it's not about science it's POLITICS and corruption. Check out Patrick Bet David's YouTube video "Will Electric Cars Save the Planet?"
Just a false rationalization to continue to do nothing. And by the way, no one ever said EV's were the total answer. We have procrastinated too long for that. Now scientists have to figure out ways of taking excess carbon out the air. So even if I trusted your numbers, which I don't, you misrepresent the issue by pretending that scientists are saying that transitioning to clean energy is the total answer. IT ISN'T.
Load More Replies... Actually electric powered vehicles were experimented with back at the same time as combustion vehicles. We could have simply chosen to go in a different direction. I believe solar energy was experimented with back then as well.
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EV's are not the solution to climate change. In fact, the push for EV's just shows us that we are STILL trying to delay meaningful action on climate change. I know so many people (including on this site) are resistant to the very fact that it is quite literally IMPOSSIBLE to make car dependent cities/car culture eco friendly... but that's the truth. There are so many other ways in which building our cities around cars hurts the environment including but not limited to suburban sprawl, pollution, roadkill, roads that break up eco systems which drastically harms biodiversity, etc. If you want to address climate change, support public transit! Support trains! Support middle housing over single family detached homes! Support mixed use zoning developments! Be against vontinued suburbanization!
Bob, I agree that public transportation is one solution, but it won't work for every area. I get a bit irritated at people who only promote THEIR pet solution and denigrate others. There ISN'T JUST ONE SOLUTION. Public transportation is one area we need to pursue. So are EV's. They are NOT mutually exclusive goals!
Load More Replies... Make the Tesla less ugly. That’s the only way I’d even consider one. Priuses are still ugly and they still drive like s**t.
Wow, even that were true that's a lousy main criteria for buying a car. I guess "Me" is the right name for you, because you literally think it's all about YOU.
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I didn’t buy my Tesla to save the planet. I bought it because it’s so cheap and easy to maintain and because I never have to go to a gas station or oil change place again. Mine is an SUV so it’s extremely practical and it’s very fast. I also own a mid engine corvette for weekends and it is very shiny. That’s the show off car, not the Tesla which is kind of generic looking.
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Growing up everyone i ever met said to never get a credit card. The only way to buy a house is with credit and the only way to actually get credit is a credit card. In my life I paid off 3 vehicles early only to be told the second they were paid off my credit was dropped to a no rating because I wasnt actively in debt.
I don’t really understand how the credit score it’s calculated in the US, but it seems to be so f****d up. In my country, the credit score is calculated based on age, gender (i don’t understand why), education, job. The only thing that is affected by other loans is the amount of money you can get (since you can’t exceed a certain percent of your income). Why would i have a higher credit score if i am already in lots of debts?
If you work hard anything is possible. It helps but doesn’t guarantee you anything.
Hahaha...if you work hard, someone else will take the credit and get promoted. Then you're still working harder hoping for your boss to see how dedicated you are but they're too busy with someone under the desk. The one under that desk is no one other than the one taking your credit and hard work.
Although Gen Zers are young, they have seen the financial struggles of millennials, so many of them have adopted a fiscally conservative approach to managing their finances. They are fearful of being plunged into debt and seek out resources to help them stay on top of their money. Many of them prefer debit cards over credit cards, and because they are so internet savvy, it is assumed that they all use mobile banking. Lots of zoomers actually are interested in personal finance as well, so they might be able to save more than the previous generation and actually look forward to retirement.
“Doesn’t matter what subject your degree is in, just having one gets your foot in the door!”
No! It totally matters what your degree is. And please never discount or look down on trades, electricians, plumbers, HVAC guys, they make great money. Humanitarian degrees don’t.
“You have it much easier”...
Medicare and social security will protect you. Based on how things are going, anyone with 30 years or more before retirement better have strong backup plans
Last but not least, Generation Alpha is the group of kids under 10 right now, as well as anyone born between now and 2025. They are too young for us to know their banking habits, but it is assumed that they will use a purely digital approach, as they will be the most technologically integrated generation yet. They will grow up being able to see their parents’ social media accounts and be shaped by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the social justice movement, the Trump presidency and Brexit. It is possible that they will never even carry cash, and things like CDs and VHS tapes will seem like ancient history to them.
Tattoos and piercings are going to keep you from having a stable income in a good company.
While the lies told to younger generations are usually intended to be harmless, or not even viewed as lies at all, they can still be powerful. It's important to understand where every generation is coming from and take their advice with a grain of salt. The world changes rapidly, so even if your parents were able to afford a house when they were 25, that does not mean you will. Keep upvoting the responses that you agree with the most, and then feel free to let us know in the comments what you feel like your generation was lied to about. And let's all try hard to be honest with the younger generations. Even if the truth hurts, they deserve to hear it.
(Millennial) That you can do literally anything you set your mind to. Like sorry no, most people are not capable of becoming pro athletes or astronauts. And that’s ok!
Edited to add: I’m referring to the Disney-style bootstrap mentality that implicitly frames high-visibility, low-frequency careers as successful. Like other responses have noted, achieving goals takes more than just hard work, and success is way more than just job title.
You will always have to write in cursive.
don't know what the fuss is about cursive. I only write in cursive. Sure, I type much more than I hand-write, but if I hand-write it is cursive.
1) If you are super-focused a motivated you'll get a great result.
No, you can't replace years of study and experience with good motivation.
2) Find your dream and persue that, don't do any other activities.
You can be happy without doing your dream job and you can change path during your life. You can be happy without evolving your passion to a career.
3) Choose your future right after high school or you won't be able to study anymore.
Better get a gap year. Travel, do little jobs, meet people, take time to discover what the world can offer.
This post is so depressingly bleak because it's so entirely true. Especially the ones about "good education"; "loyalty to an employer"; "affordable housing" and "climate change". I genuinely feel for the generations to follow. It's hard enough as it is and shows no sign of stopping. I'm convinced we will eventually see a reversal of population growth as people begin to realise brining a child into this world isn't actually a particularly nice thing to do...
How about you just bring a child in to the world then and raise them properly? E.g. tell them the truth and explain to them why many of these are lies? It's a cycle. Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, weak men create hard times. We're in the age of good times creating a lot of weak men, so there are tough times ahead no doubt. But in the next decade or two we'll flip back to creating strong men and good times.
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That timeshares are real estate you can sell. They are scams that can rarely be dumped. Maintenance fees will supercede the value of the unit.
There are apparently lawyers and law firms that now specialize in getting you out of a timeshare contract.
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Don't discount the "you can be anything you want".
That article is currently followed by this: where a dog ran away to follow his dream of winning in a dog show. Untitled-6...d9a956.jpg 
I am so done with BP. Used to be a nice humor site not it is either political or bashing. USA bashing, boomer bashing, etc.
And don’t forget overly sensitive people who think that if your opinion doesn’t match theirs you are wrong.
Load More Replies... Friendly reminder: downvotes are NOT dislike buttons. Downvoting a comment just because you don't agree = not cool. If a comment gets downvoted, its author will get banned from the site. So please downvote only in case of obvious spam ("how to make cash") or if someone is literally harrassing a fellow panda
Yes. It's easy to get banned or suspended for downvotes.
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The reason BOOMERS aren't retiring is you keep adding to the BOOMER pool. The boomers were the children born nine months or so after the men came back from WW2. That ended in the 40s. I was born in the 60s. MY PARENTS were BOOMERS I can't be in the same generation as my parents, but there it is. So this so called BOOMER isn't at retirement age yet. DO some math. You can even use a calculator if you want.
On #3 what they actually were saying is that if you're rich you can get away with crime, that doesn't mean crime pays. Also, you can buy a house without credit. That's how I'm in mine. Through owner finance.
First thought: The whole 'generation' thang is bogus. For USAnians born 1945-1955 (or in any other era) attitudes and outcomes quite depended on race, income, social status, and location. My 1950s Los Angeles suburb had on its edges colleges, state prisons, auto race tracks, missile factories, and farms. What my local cohort shared was fear of nuclear war. I'll propose a 'boomer' motto: We weren't nuked.
This post is so depressingly bleak because it's so entirely true. Especially the ones about "good education"; "loyalty to an employer"; "affordable housing" and "climate change". I genuinely feel for the generations to follow. It's hard enough as it is and shows no sign of stopping. I'm convinced we will eventually see a reversal of population growth as people begin to realise brining a child into this world isn't actually a particularly nice thing to do...
How about you just bring a child in to the world then and raise them properly? E.g. tell them the truth and explain to them why many of these are lies? It's a cycle. Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, weak men create hard times. We're in the age of good times creating a lot of weak men, so there are tough times ahead no doubt. But in the next decade or two we'll flip back to creating strong men and good times.
Load More Replies... That timeshares are real estate you can sell. They are scams that can rarely be dumped. Maintenance fees will supercede the value of the unit.
There are apparently lawyers and law firms that now specialize in getting you out of a timeshare contract.
Load More Replies... Don't discount the "you can be anything you want".
That article is currently followed by this: where a dog ran away to follow his dream of winning in a dog show. Untitled-6...d9a956.jpg
I am so done with BP. Used to be a nice humor site not it is either political or bashing. USA bashing, boomer bashing, etc.
And don’t forget overly sensitive people who think that if your opinion doesn’t match theirs you are wrong.
Load More Replies... Friendly reminder: downvotes are NOT dislike buttons. Downvoting a comment just because you don't agree = not cool. If a comment gets downvoted, its author will get banned from the site. So please downvote only in case of obvious spam ("how to make cash") or if someone is literally harrassing a fellow panda
Yes. It's easy to get banned or suspended for downvotes.
Load More Replies... The reason BOOMERS aren't retiring is you keep adding to the BOOMER pool. The boomers were the children born nine months or so after the men came back from WW2. That ended in the 40s. I was born in the 60s. MY PARENTS were BOOMERS I can't be in the same generation as my parents, but there it is. So this so called BOOMER isn't at retirement age yet. DO some math. You can even use a calculator if you want.
On #3 what they actually were saying is that if you're rich you can get away with crime, that doesn't mean crime pays. Also, you can buy a house without credit. That's how I'm in mine. Through owner finance.
First thought: The whole 'generation' thang is bogus. For USAnians born 1945-1955 (or in any other era) attitudes and outcomes quite depended on race, income, social status, and location. My 1950s Los Angeles suburb had on its edges colleges, state prisons, auto race tracks, missile factories, and farms. What my local cohort shared was fear of nuclear war. I'll propose a 'boomer' motto: We weren't nuked.
