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40 Spot-On Millennial Complaints About The State Of The World Right Now
Interview With Expert
Each and every generation from the start of history has had something to grumble and groan about. And that’s likely never going to change. Even the renowned Greek philosopher Socrates was complaining about how young people had no manners or respect for their elders—and that was 2,400 years ago! Meanwhile, Roman statesman Cicero moaned about how children no longer obey their parents and “everyone is writing a book” just over 2,000 years ago.
Fast forward to today. Bored Panda has collected some of the best millennial complaints about technology, society, and the world from all over the internet to share with you. Scroll down to check the posts out. They’re amusing. They’re often accurate. And they might make you realize you’re getting older (hi)!
Bored Panda got in touch with personal finance expert Sam Dogen for his thoughts on how we can all embrace technological change instead of complaining about it, plus how much money we should all be saving for retirement. Dogen is the founder of Financial Samurai and the author of Millionaire Milestones: Easy Steps to Seven Figures, which comes out in May 2025. You'll find our full interview with him below.
This post may include affiliate links.
"Change is never easy, but resisting it only puts you further behind. Instead of complaining about technological shifts, millennials should focus on adapting and taking advantage of new opportunities," Dogen told Bored Panda in an email.
"One of the best ways to do this is by continuously learning and staying curious—whether it’s picking up new skills, leveraging AI tools to enhance productivity, or even exploring alternative income streams that didn’t exist a decade ago," the personal finance expert said.
"I wrote about AI’s impact on personal finance, where I discuss how embracing technology can help people optimize their money management and investments rather than fearing job displacement. The key is to use technology as a tool for financial empowerment rather than as a scapegoat for stagnation. The most adaptable people are the ones who stay proactive, experiment, and evolve with the times."
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#2
Firstname Lastname 9 months ago
And I don't want the mobile version of the website to be garbage to try to coerce me into downloading the app.
#3
Blue Bunny of Happiness 9 months ago (edited)
But make sure the menu is online too so I can decide what I want before I get there.
Meanwhile, Dogen was kind enough to shed some light on how much everyone should be saving and investing for retirement.
"My general advice is to take full advantage of your tax-advantaged retirement accounts, such as your 401(k), IRA, and Roth IRA, by contributing every month. After maxing out your contributions, aim to save at least an additional 20% or more of your after-tax, after-retirement contribution income. If you stick to this plan for at least 10 years—ideally 20—you’ll be financially set for life," he said.
"For a more detailed roadmap, you can follow my net worth target guide based on age or work experience. For example, I recommend having a net worth of 2X your gross income by 30, 5X by 35, and 10X by 40. These are ideal benchmarks, but even if you fall short, my guide will help keep you on track," Dogen shared.
"Ultimately, reaching a net worth of 20X your annual gross income means financial freedom. Using income as a benchmark, rather than expenses, prevents the illusion of financial independence through extreme cost-cutting."
#4
Rick Murray 9 months ago
GenX agrees. Having actual buttons and knobs for the ventilation is non-negotiable. I will turn down a car if I can't finger-fumble over to the right k**b to adjust the air to demist the windscreen on a chilly black winter morning (or evening). Given that I live rural and that's the time wild boars and bambis are around, no way in hell I'm taking my eyes off the road.
《¤Pookie¤》 9 months ago
Omg why the fụck is kņöb censored?! It's a part of a car not something inappropriate!
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AnSi Bae 9 months ago
Not having buttons and dials are a stupid modern idea. Diverting your eyes from the road to do basic things is dangerous.
Disgruntled Pelican 9 months ago
And then they have the audacity to put warnings on the touchscreens saying "taking your eyes off the road could cause and accident or death"...then give me my freaking buttons back!
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Joanne Earle 9 months ago
I love how we're not supposed to use the phone and drive but new cars have touch screens and c**p you have to look at to figure out. That's just as dangerous as texting! Go back to the dials. I can't stand these new spaceship cars.
Hippopotamuses 9 months ago
I'm surprised that touch screens haven't been identified as a driving distraction: safety hazard.
martin734 9 months ago (edited)
They have in Europe. Euro NCAP, the people who do safety tests on new cars, will give vehicles that do not have physical controls for common and important functions, lower safety marks.
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Hoi-Polloi 9 months ago
I like buttons and dials for two reasons... first, you can manipulate them without looking at them. Keep those eyes on the road! Second, distraction issues. HUDs and screens tend to creep into the zone of giving you too much to look at, when you should be looking at, oh I don't know, THE ROAD. ;D
Learner Panda 9 months ago
Safety says: don't use your mobile whilst driving. Car manufacturer says: here's a screen for you to use whilst driving.
Robert T 9 months ago
For any controls that the driver may need whilst driving, they should be analogue (or very simple buttons) and placed within easy reach of the steering wheel. That includes heating, aircon, entertainment system, etc. Satnav is easier on a touchscreen whilst stationary, but needs button (or voice) controls whilst driving to change route etc. The only touchscreen I have in any of my cars is a portable satnav!
BM Khalid Hasan 9 months ago
Knobs and buttons are more reliable. You can get access and control them perfectly without seeing them, even in an accidental situation.
Roland Nijveld 9 months ago
As a car enthusiast, I can't think of a single thing that's better now in cars. Everything became more s**t
Bacon Tentacles 9 months ago
I think this is a generation-agnostic complaint, really. Touch screens are a royal pain in the a*s, even on phones, but on cars they especially suck.
Kaia Martin 9 months ago
and in the cars that have buttons and knobs, they should be tactile and not have a smooth turn, i want to be able to stop turning when i want to
Harry Gondalf 9 months ago
I hate touch screens, too. They're dangerous. You have to take your eyes off the road. With a k**b you glance down, then twist. But unfortunately, knobs & buttons will never come back. Reason: too expensive. Extra wiring, the cost of the actual physical devices. A touch screen is a more expensive piece of hardware than a bunch of buttons and knobs, but by the time you install and connect them they're much more expensive than a touch screen.. Wait a minute: perhaps we could get OSHA or the transportation department to outlaw them for the same reason that cops give tickets to somebody trying to text and drive.
Chris the Bobcat 9 months ago
I drive a 24 year old Miata and I can operate every control by feel without taking my eyes off the road. Touch screens are not progress, they're a gimmick. And not a good one either.
Virgil Blue 9 months ago
Yep, being able to reach out without looking to turn something on is practically essential in a moving vehicle.
Lexekon 9 months ago
Familiarity is key. I cannot begin to tell you how many cars and trucks I have driven, because I needed to drive several daily due to my job as a mechanic. The simple truth is, once you are used to a setup, you do not need to more than glance at it. That includes screens or physical controls.
Another Panda 9 months ago
This should be number 1, along with no apps or accounts or subscriptions for everything!
martin734 9 months ago (edited)
Whereas my 1979 Land Rover has 3 levers for the gearbox.
Load More Replies... Breadcrumb. 9 months ago
Wouldn't know, I don't have car touch screen money..just dials with dim lights. Sometimes I can't turn down the heat so I roll down a window. I never can find out if the stereo is on or the volume is just low until I've blasted my ear drums..
Gordon Hall 9 months ago
I hope that every car company marketing 'genius' reads this. They are so out of touch with reality.
Pablo Ramos 9 months ago
Wrong there. Even airlines, spacecraft and fighter Jets are now touchscreen
martin734 9 months ago
Most of these have either two people operating the controls or an autopilot. They also operate in conditions where hitting another person, vehicle or object are much less likely than when driving a car on the road.
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#5
keyboardtek 9 months ago
Biden did not cause the inflation. Big greedy corporations that have reported the highest profits in history created inflation. Now we have a dictator who will make sure that greed never has any government limiting it. The first thing he did was stop all of Biden's anti inflation programs.
#6
Blue Bunny of Happiness 9 months ago
My parents completed a course in building computers when they were in their 70s. I’d call them, they’d diagnose the issue over the phone and they’d visit with the replacement part and install it the next day.
Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are Americans who were born between 1981 and 1996.
After them came Generation Z (also colloquially known as Zoomers), who were born between 1997 and 2012. And after Gen Z came Generation Alpha, aka Gen A, kids who were born roughly between 2010 and 2025.
Meanwhile, the generations preceding millennials include Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980), Baby Boomers (aka Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964), and the Silent Generation (born between 19280 and 1945).
#7
superfluous 9 months ago (edited)
Boomer. And here I was thinking it was millennials who supported this model! I have always preferred to own rather than subscribe. I watch FAST (free ad supported streaming tv).
#9
However, as the Pew Research Center notes, “generational cutoff points aren’t an exact science” and there’s no “agreed upon formula” for how long generational spans should be.
Thresholds between different generations, thus, are defined by meaningful shifts in political, economic, and social factors.
Investopedia explains that millennials were the first generation that was born into a digital world. Many consider members of Gen Y to be ‘digital natives’ for whom technology has always been a part of their everyday lives.
Though millennials are considered by many researchers to be people born between 1981 and 1996, some argue that Gen Y could refer to individuals born as early as 1980 and as late as 2004 as well.
#11
Rick Murray 9 months ago
What I'd much much rather have is a season that is whole and complete. It sucks to have "season one sets everything up" and/or "season one ends on a cliffhanger" and then Netflix, Prime, Netflix, Disney, Netflix, Hulu, or Netflix go and cancel the thing leaving everything unresolved and unfinished.
#12
Rick Murray 9 months ago
It seems HP have just bought an AI outfit in order to include AI in their printers. What? How? Come on, my computer/phone/banana creates a bitmap. That bitmap gets sent to the printer. The printer's *only* job is to try as best it can to arrange ink splatter so that the piece of paper that passes through at least sort of resembles that bitmap. Not eating the paper or belching cyan ink all over the place is also desirable, though it seems not all printers got that memo. I cannot imagine any reasonable use case for AI in a printer that isn't simply down to marketing buzzwords.
As per Investopedia, millennials in the United States tend to be progressive politically and less religiously observant than the generations that came before them.
Furthermore, Generation Y is the biggest generation in US history, faces record amounts of student loan debt, and wants to follow their ambitions, focus on their hobbies, and travel while young instead of putting things off.
#13
#15
Bacon Tentacles 9 months ago
I miss the days where you could actually do a reverse-lookup on a phone number without 8 million sites giving you a partial result and trying to sell you a membership. The information is all still out there, it's just buried in 8 tons of b******t.
Though millennials are still quite young and energetic by all accounts (even if we don’t always feel like it!), it’s never too early to think about retirement. Investopedia warns that not enough members of Gen Y may be thinking about retiring, as just over a fifth of millennials don’t have a job that provides employer-sponsored retirement plans.
#16
#17
Hoi-Polloi 9 months ago
Xer riposte... does that include MJ smoke? I know a lot of people who are down on cigarettes but will defend loco-weed till their last breath. ;D
#18
Firstname Lastname 9 months ago
Finally had to upgrade phone and no headphone jack. Still not happy over it.
70% of millennials think that they’ll be able to survive on $36k per year once they retire, even though in 2022 the average annual expenses for Americans aged 65 to 74 were $60.8k per year. Furthermore, inflation is likely to erode the purchasing power of the money you’ve already saved.
#19
CP 9 months ago (edited)
I know this is anecdotal evidence, but I must be lucky. I have never had a tv stop working for me in my life. The only appliance that broke early was a microwave. It was easy to fix but easily broke again, the switch that indicates the door is closed kept shorting. The design was faulty.
Dias Wealth LLC founder and managing partner Carlos Dias Jr. noted that “based on an inflation rate of 3%, the value of $36,000 today will be reduced to $14,831.52 in 30 years.”
On the flip side, millennials investing in the stock market are likely to fare much better, as they can expect return rates of around 10% in the long run. It’s never too late to start planning for your retirement or investing. The best time to have started doing that would have been when you were young(er), sure, but the second best time is now.
Different generations will complain about slightly different things because their cultural, social, and technological context isn’t the same. In other words, they have different issues at the forefront of their minds.
But broadly speaking, every generation tends to think that older generations are out of touch while younger generations are supposedly irresponsible, reckless, lack respect, and have poor(er) work ethics.
These sorts of generational divides and tensions are a tale as old as time. It’s a very human response to believe that the way that you live and what you value is how everyone else should live. We tend to approach life from the perspective of our own experiences, after all.
#26
Which of these millennial complaints do you agree with, dear Pandas? What are some other complaints that you’d add to the pile that weren’t mentioned in this list? Would you like to go back to the Good Old Days (whenever they were) or do you think we should all embrace the future no matter how it looks?
Let us know what you think in the comments! And if you want to share what generation you are, feel free to do so, too.
#28
murmelinpaiva 9 months ago
My ringtone is the theme from "The Exorcist" because I think that cellphones are the work of the devil.
#29
Ace 9 months ago
I was already saying this 20 years ago, about software that was much less 'usable' than 20 years earlier. Problem is that as we grow older we have got used to, and are satisfied by, the set of capabilities of the older product and don't see any need to add new ones. The older functionality is then harder to find among the new stuff and sometimes may be removed/replace completely.
#36
Joe Swanson 9 months ago
I wonder if Matthew knows you can simply unplug your modem or router. Then voila, internets off!
#41
Firstname Lastname 9 months ago
If I'm paying this much for cereal, I want my gosh danged color changing spoon. Or at least a toy that isn't a three step cardboard cutout process.
#42
#45
Orange Panda 9 months ago
That's not a boomer complaint. Most boomers are pro-voicemail, Erika.
#46
#49
Hoi-Polloi 9 months ago
Another thing you can do if you're not time-constrained is go chat up your local librarian. They are trained researchers, and can find anything!
#50
Rick Murray 9 months ago
How old are you? I'm half a century and I have written stuff in assembler for both 6502 machines and the ARM processor; back in a time when you needed to understand your machine well enough to be able to tell exactly how many clock cycles your code will take (and in the case of the 6502, how many bus accesses and where). I despair at the bloated inefficient dross that passes for software these days. [and people older than me used to write their code on stuff like punch cards, and they'd got one shot at having it executed on the mainframe so it had to be correct]
#52
#53
#54
General Anaesthesia 9 months ago
Artificial intelligence is authentic ignorance. And shareholder value.
#59
#60
keyboardtek 9 months ago
If one were to expand one's musical horizons beyond pop music drivel and maybe explore progressive rock, jazz, and classical music, that limitation does not exist.
#61
Featherytoad 9 months ago
I have one that I got from Verizon. When you flip it open, it's as big as a smartphone and it's ridiculous. Previously, I had a great small one with an excellent battery life, and they don't make it anymore. I don't think they put in as much thought for the flip phones anymore as they do with smartphones. Not everyone wants or needs a smartphone.
#62
Orange Panda 9 months ago
I get this at work. It started in September, I think. I started tracking the numbers and they're always different. There's never anyone there, but it sucks when you're busy. Such a waste of time.
#79
#84
#89
John Ambrose-Hemmingway 9 months ago (edited)
If by stuff, you mean drūgs, then they are still doing stuff.
#90
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Tiny Fox 9 months ago
Gen X here. I cracked last week. NVIDIA popped up to let me know I had a driver update ready to go, awesome, download and install please. Noooooo, first you have to login to an account, do the MFA dance, then you can have the update we just told you was ready to go!!!!!! You already had enough access to my PC to tell me it was needed, and there. Eat bag of d*cks please.
Patrick H 9 months ago
MFA is a excellent, but it's really only necessary when it's safeguarding sensitive information. I don't need MFA for most things. If a service needs an account but doesn't need to store sensitive information, MFA should not be mandatory.
Load More Replies...
Jason Kennith 9 months ago
Why do I have to subscribe to premium to keep reading? Bored Panda sucks
Rick Murray 9 months ago
My complaint as a GenX? Why is that MrBeast guy *everywhere*, with that fake smile, dead eyes, and vocal delivery like somebody who's just slugged a dozen Red Bull and is dangerously close to exploding. Come on internet, give me kittens not... that.
Tiny Fox 9 months ago
Those eyes are creepy, is he just stoned all the time?
Load More Replies...
Sandy Jones 9 months ago
With tons of great music out there, radio stations only play 30 songs over & over again. I don't want to hear "The boys are back in town" everyday at 3pm .
Lost Panda 9 months ago
Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Disney actually had a lineup and didn't run one show into the ground. I've been out of the states for awhile, but my children had so little choices compared to what we had in the 90s and 00s
Linnoff 9 months ago
I don't know if it's a millenial complaint exactly, but "convenience fees" and the like on buying tickets. I was interested in a concert and there were an extra $40 in fees on top of the $60 ticket. Or there was a play I wanted to see at a local theater, buying online came with a $7 per ticket fee, but if I go to the box office and buy in person, there isn't any. Shouldn't it cost more to employ the box office person than buy on your website?
Child of the Stars 9 months ago
Most of these are just whining that change happened. But here's a little perspective: 50 years ago--just a decade before I was born--I would've been considered disabled because the technology for glasses lenses to be made for my heavy prescription didn't exist. I can only function in modern society because of advancements in technology. The world isn't perfect by a long shot. There are legitimate concerns to have about the world right now. But let's be honest: none of it is new to human society; the only thing that changed is that we're more aware of the problems.
Sky Render 9 months ago
I miss when the advice "don't discuss politics or religion if you want a peaceful life" was actually respected and followed.
Michael P (Perthaussieguy) 9 months ago
Continue reading with Bored Panda Premium - Haven't come across this before on here. I'm not THAT interested in the site enough to go Premium. So I miss out and BP misses my clicks. Lose/lose? Nope. I win;BP loses :(
lla 9 months ago
No cellphone since all my friends are gone, and I live now isolated in a remote village. I am regarded as abnormal as a cellphone is required by the bank and many other transactions. I am a ghost !
Nice Beast Ludo 9 months ago
Hello fellow ghost. People think I'm super weird. I'm like the 2020s version of a 90s hermit but no one notices me. It's wonderful
Load More Replies... Hippopotamuses 9 months ago (edited)
The previous generation always complains about, or makes judgements of, the next generation. This is the way it has always been, and is the way it will always be.
Richard Miller 9 months ago
I love the touch screen in my Rivian. I don't want to go back to clunky, ugly buttons.
Tiny Fox 9 months ago
Gen X here. I cracked last week. NVIDIA popped up to let me know I had a driver update ready to go, awesome, download and install please. Noooooo, first you have to login to an account, do the MFA dance, then you can have the update we just told you was ready to go!!!!!! You already had enough access to my PC to tell me it was needed, and there. Eat bag of d*cks please.
Patrick H 9 months ago
MFA is a excellent, but it's really only necessary when it's safeguarding sensitive information. I don't need MFA for most things. If a service needs an account but doesn't need to store sensitive information, MFA should not be mandatory.
Load More Replies... Jason Kennith 9 months ago
Why do I have to subscribe to premium to keep reading? Bored Panda sucks
Rick Murray 9 months ago
My complaint as a GenX? Why is that MrBeast guy *everywhere*, with that fake smile, dead eyes, and vocal delivery like somebody who's just slugged a dozen Red Bull and is dangerously close to exploding. Come on internet, give me kittens not... that.
Tiny Fox 9 months ago
Those eyes are creepy, is he just stoned all the time?
Load More Replies... Sandy Jones 9 months ago
With tons of great music out there, radio stations only play 30 songs over & over again. I don't want to hear "The boys are back in town" everyday at 3pm .
Lost Panda 9 months ago
Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Disney actually had a lineup and didn't run one show into the ground. I've been out of the states for awhile, but my children had so little choices compared to what we had in the 90s and 00s
Linnoff 9 months ago
I don't know if it's a millenial complaint exactly, but "convenience fees" and the like on buying tickets. I was interested in a concert and there were an extra $40 in fees on top of the $60 ticket. Or there was a play I wanted to see at a local theater, buying online came with a $7 per ticket fee, but if I go to the box office and buy in person, there isn't any. Shouldn't it cost more to employ the box office person than buy on your website?
Child of the Stars 9 months ago
Most of these are just whining that change happened. But here's a little perspective: 50 years ago--just a decade before I was born--I would've been considered disabled because the technology for glasses lenses to be made for my heavy prescription didn't exist. I can only function in modern society because of advancements in technology. The world isn't perfect by a long shot. There are legitimate concerns to have about the world right now. But let's be honest: none of it is new to human society; the only thing that changed is that we're more aware of the problems.
Sky Render 9 months ago
I miss when the advice "don't discuss politics or religion if you want a peaceful life" was actually respected and followed.
Michael P (Perthaussieguy) 9 months ago
Continue reading with Bored Panda Premium - Haven't come across this before on here. I'm not THAT interested in the site enough to go Premium. So I miss out and BP misses my clicks. Lose/lose? Nope. I win;BP loses :(
lla 9 months ago
No cellphone since all my friends are gone, and I live now isolated in a remote village. I am regarded as abnormal as a cellphone is required by the bank and many other transactions. I am a ghost !
Nice Beast Ludo 9 months ago
Hello fellow ghost. People think I'm super weird. I'm like the 2020s version of a 90s hermit but no one notices me. It's wonderful
Load More Replies... Hippopotamuses 9 months ago (edited)
The previous generation always complains about, or makes judgements of, the next generation. This is the way it has always been, and is the way it will always be.
Richard Miller 9 months ago
I love the touch screen in my Rivian. I don't want to go back to clunky, ugly buttons.
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