Millennials And Gen-Z Are Sharing Their Most “Boomer” Opinions, But They Just Make Sense (35 Answers)
To put it mildly, millennials (and to some extent Gen X and Gen Z) aren't fond of baby boomers. Boomers hogged the economy and the world’s resources, we say, and they have no regard for what future generations will inherit.
But when Reddit user u/coolfreeusername asked the question, "Non-boomers ... , what's your most boomer opinion?" it led to a pretty awesome discovery. Turns out, younger generations and baby boomers share quite a few thoughts. Here are some of them.
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Having your kid go “viral” for some stupid thing he did or just crying is a way to humiliate them and you are a disgusting parent for making the whole world laugh at them
Not everything needs to be filmed and put on the internet
Very true. Some people genuinely don't believe something happened if you don't post it and brag about it. I had that situation with people convincing me that I didn't accomplish something just because they didn't see photos on social networks and therefore concluded beyond any doubt that the event never occured. The paper proof was not sufficient.
I don't want my damn refrigerator connected to the internet. It has one job.
Just because we have access to instant communication doesn't mean I'm obligated to message you back immediately.
I don't think that it's related to one generation. I know very old people, old, middle aged, young, teenagers that only check once or twice a day. And other people from different ages who are always wanting to answer or write immediately. For example, my father and my mother do opposite, and my two sisters, too.
Just because I disagree with your opinion doesn't mean I hate you, I don't need to agree with everything just to be politically correct. You can still disagree and be cordial. We seem to have forgotten that.
It's such an immature way of thinking to conflate disagree with hate. You see it with preschoolers. You can hate the opinion and still like the person (you can also agree with the opinion and hate the person, but that's a different thing).
Curiously, it's not just hating people who disagree, but more often accusing people who disagree of being hateful. "If you don't agree with me about (whatever), it's proof that you hate (whatever) and therefore I am justified in treating you as less than me and mine." You can see this tactic throughout this threat.
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It isn't about being 'politically correct' it is about a fundamental difference in values.
Related to this is stop reading or hearing everything through an "angry filter". Not everything is said or written as a direct attack on you, even if it is possible for it to be taken that way, look for solutions rather than problems!
"It's the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." --Aristotle
Entertaining the concept & agreeing to be friends with someone who believes something cruel or hateful or stupid is the mark of a person with values.
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I don't think this is a generational problem. though I do think Gen Z thinks is someone makes a mistake they should be shamed, missing the chance to teach them
I can't tell you how many times I've tried to teach people that what they believe is hateful and wrong -- backed by facts and citations -- only to have bile and hate spewed at me. And, as I've been alive over six decades, I'm far from a Millennial.
Load More Replies... See, "I don't need to agree with everything just to be /politically correct/" is a red flag for me. This one needs context, because if the thing on which we disagree is in the vein of racism/sexism/homophobia/transphobia, that's not just a difference in opinion. If someone disagrees with the statement that all people deserve the same basic human rights, that's not just a disagreement- that's that person showing their cards and letting you know they're an asshole. I'm not going to waste breath on being cordial with someone like that.
You are the person this entry is about. Your feelings are not what determines whether an opinion on a subject is more than mere opinion. Nor does the subject itself. Being of the opinion that something is wrong is much different than being of the opinion that people who do it should be discriminared against. Learn to refrain from adding intentionality to people's opinions where none has been given. Ask about motives, don't assume them. That is called "communication".
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Too many refuse to respect anyone's opinion if they disagree with us. Too many people destroy friendships because of politics.
When someone's politics grows toxic, people are right to back away from them. Honestly, if you lived in 1940s Germany, would you have been able to say, "Yeah, he's a Nazi and works at a concentration camp and believes that Jews, non-straight people, Gypsies, etc. should all die -- but, hey, he's always been nice to me and he's good to his dog, so we're friends."
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You get to disagree about what to put on pizza. You don’t get to disagree about human rights, facts, or science.
Isn't bored panda one of the platforms that specifically allows for this? "I downvoted you because your opinion isn't mine" seems to be the theme on this website.
The worst example can be found on social Media, especially on Twitter - don't agree with something, well you are "insert any word that end with -ist"
SO true. And that's one reason why I don't have a Twitter account-- or Facebook, for that matter.
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"They don't think as I do! They should lose their job, friends, family, etc!" Yeah...a lot of people need to learn how to debate and/or agree to disagree again.
They need to be able to have conversations that don't validate their beliefs at every turn. Not everyone is going to agree with you on everything, even someone you vibe with.
Load More Replies... In social media it's usually easy to unfriend or ban people. It's good but it also allows to use it with only one comment that you don't like. So finally you only see one point of view, and you become less and less open, and you loose all chances to know amazing people. You won't agree with absoletly everything with your friends "in real life".
OH MY GOD, THIS NEEDS TO BE #1 IN THE *WORST* WAY. And it is not a generational thing, it's a fragile-ego thing, which the internet has shown is far more rampant than we used to be able to perceive.
Especially with politics! I have a family of Republicans who always vote Republican no matter the candidate. They don’t necessarily believe things I believe politically or economically, but they’re still good people and I love them. We just don’t discuss politics when we’re together.
Until you have a gay kid or come out yourself. Then it's not just an opinion.
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My kid has decided to hate me, because he thinks I believe something he's never asked me about.
Then maybe tell him that you don't believe that thing -- seems easy enough.
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True. My friend and I disagree on a lot of stuff and we still get along well
Y'all need to consider context. My friends and I have a lot of contradicting political opinions- about healthcare, police, taxes, welfare, etc. I do NOT continue friendships with people who believe others are below them and vote and and advocate for laws to be put in place that will actively harm or kill groups of people
It depends on the "opinion" -- if your opinion means you believe something that is clearly a lie, easily debunked by facts, that will infuriate me. If you believe your uninformed opinion is equal to that of an expert in the field, that will infuriate me. If your opinion is that people of other races, religions, country of origin, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity are inherently inferior to you, that will infuriate me. And if you use coded buzzwords like "politically correct" (which really only means polite and respectful), that will infuriate me. I cannot be friends with someone who infuriates me.
Unless it's your opinion that I should have fewer rights than you do.
I hate when if I have a different opinion to someone they want to debate me on it!! Just leave as separate opinions dude! Jeez.
If your opinion is based on a lie (or on bigotry), wouldn't you want to know?
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While I agree with the overall sentiment, there is a caveat. If I disagree with you for being a bigot, I absolutely hate you and you deserve no cordiality.
I just got into a discussion the other day with a couple of people that got really ugly. I will admit to being sarcastic at points in this discussion, but it was really more about me just adamantly disagreeing than putting anyone down. One of them in particular went off on me, I'm convinced, not so much for HOW I said things but more over the fact that I was arguing for the other side (and brought some points she and the other person really couldn't address.). How dare I believe they weren't on the side of the angels? It was ridiculous.
Can we please stop throwing the word "hate" into everything? It's an incredibly strong word to be used so lightly. "I hate her hair." , "I hate the look of that house," etc. can morph into "hating" people who don't share your opinion, "hating" people who are different from you (color, religion, culture, sexual identity,). can morph into doing something about that/them purposely to do damage. If you hear the word "hate" applied to so many different things/people often enough it will end up being a self fulfilling prophecy. "I don't like that hairstyle.", " I don't like the way that house looks.", "I disagree with your opinion." & leave it at that. That puts a different lien on things. Substitute "hate" in there & it will spiral. Save that sentiment/emotion for where/when it is appropriate. I " hated"Osama Bin Laden. He's dead now. Saving "hate" for now. I hate Diaper Don based on my opinion that he is an evil man promoting evil. Have the right to that opinion & not be hated for it. You have the right to yours whatever it may be & not be hated for it.
My husband and I disagree on a lot, yet we still manage to love each other—-and have for the last 20+ years. I personally don’t want to live in a world of conformity—-that would make it such a f*****g boring place I’d stow away on some billionaire’s space rocket just to get away.
It's an unfortunate state we're in right now. People will rather be on the side that agrees with them than be factually correct.
The majority of the country hasn't forgotten. The minority is being locked into an Us/Other dynamic of violent response to any challenge to the Received Beliefs.
This happened to my wife and I the other night.Her brother commented on the pride flag on my 15 yo daughter's jacket, and my wife said "Yeah, she's gay". He thought she was joking and started making ignorant comments about homosexuality being a "perversion". Things didn't go well for him after that, especially since my daughter was sitting within ear-shot in the next room. We gave him the what for, but in the end said "Look we love you, but we can't talk to you about this stuff." Changed the topic and had a nice evening.
I wish the people that controlled the main stream media outlets were as wise & tolerant as you... these social justice warriors believe that all opinions that don't buy into the MSM narrative must be opposed and suppressed as pure evil
Social Media was a mistake. I genuinely think that it is single-handedly one of if not the most damaging thing to the world that's happened in the past however many years.
No one wants to listen to your music. Turn it down/ roll up your windows, or better yet... both.
No one thinks your loud car/motorcycle is cool. Drive like a normal human being around town. If you want to drive fast, get some track days.
I don't want to listen to my neighbour's screaming kids either, so I turn up de volume.
Children are so coddled and over protected nowadays. Bring back the playgrounds of yesteryear where the monkey bars were sky high and the merry-go-round could go mach 5. If the little f***ers fall and get a bruise, they'll know not to be a dumbass next time (an invaluable life lesson). Teach them how to responsibly handle dangerous objects like knives and garden tools. The way we're raising children today is one of the main reasons we have so many stupid ass adults with no valuable life skills and a god complex cuz they think their actions don't effect them
Late to the party but a lot of pop music today is overly sexual, especial Cardi B. I really don’t want to be out at the bar listening to how you suck dick and have a vagina.
I hate how literally everything these days has a stupid app that you need to have in order to use it. Everything from kids toys to freakin cars needs some sort of crappy app these days. Why!? What if you plan on having this item for a long while and the app either gets deleted, gets malware, or just doesn't function due to the company not updating it? You would have to throw it out causing more waste in this world. This is planned obsolescence just disguised as being technologically advanced.
Also, new power adapters with EVERYTHING, without even asking, so all those lovely polluting circuit boards inside end up in landfill!
Stop helicoptering your kids and let them go outside and scrape their knees and drink from the hose.
Exactly. And hosing down a child covered in mud in the garden is not child abuse Dr Phill. I don't have kids, which is probably best.
TikTok is stupid.
I follow subs on tiktok that are informational the animal videos and some comedic ones and people that make miniatures some cooking ones that are aged 35-to i think the oldest man I follow is in his 80s. I don't ever see anyone dancing or any of the people that are considered famous
Kids absolutely shouldn't have cell phones or tablets or whatever thing like that.
People are far too thin skinned. Stop taking everything so personally and learn to handle things you don't like hearing.
Quit spending money on stupid stuff that you won’t want in a year and put it towards saving for the future.
People use their phones too much, particularly for texting and social media. Getting upset because your girlfriend/boyfriend hasn't texted you back for a few hours, or hasn't liked your photo, is so unhealthy.
Being on time for casual social events matters.
I generally agree, but it depends on what's standard for your group of friends. For casual get-togethers at my house, my good friends always show up 15 minutes late. That's because they know I'm running around trying to make everything perfect right up to the last minute, and that 15 minutes gives me a chance to sit down and relax for a moment. On the other hand, we invited a couple for dinner a few weeks ago, and they were more than an hour late (with no text, phone call, or apology). I was really annoyed, but they apparently thought it was pretty standard practice. Maybe in their circle of friends it is.
Sending out thank you notes when you receive a gift from someone. My mom was always big on that and I understand why. I bought an expensive gift for my friends birthday and she never messaged me or said thank you for the gift. Saying thank you isn’t that hard and it means a lot to the person.
Cancel culture is stupid. Everyone is stupid when they're young and dumb. You make bad decisions sometimes and the you you are today isn't necessarily the you that you used to be. Social media should have a 7 year mandatory erase period. Any tweet or fb post or whatever disappears after 7 years permanently.
Our society is wayyyyyyy too materialistic. Most people can't go one year without "upgrading" their phone or buying the latest and greatest GPU. Your last year's model will work just fine.
Flannel shirts are amazing, and should be a part of everybody’s wardrobe for fall/winter
Am 29:
If the conversation is going to take more than 3-5 texts (or emails), just call me.
Social media is bad for your health. Social media is not real life. Never take anything said on Twitter/Facebook/Reddit seriously.
Kids these days need to go play outside more.
Participation trophies are stupid. This is coming from someone who had a few as a kid.
Taxes aren't hard to figure out, especially if you don't own a house.
"Kids need to play outside more." Society proceeds to make the outside dangerous or illegal to be. "Kids and their stupid phones ..."
There's too many subscription services for s**t.
It's nice to have access to unlimited movies and TV, but like. For the most part I wind up just watching the same sitcom over and over to decompress after work. I wonder how much I could have saved by just getting B99 and King of the Hill box sets instead of paying for Hulu for four years.
And anything where they mail you a box of curated crap every month is absolutely unnecessary, toot f***ing sweet.
Yes! I grew up before channel 5 and usually something to watch, but with 600+ channels of sky TV I'm often stuck because it's all trash or repeats.
I don't like e-books. I only read books that are printed on paper. It's just much more satisfying.
I like physical buttons. Not everything needs to be on a touchpad.
That society is slowly putting much more emphasis on people accepting their faults than working on them.
A culture of immediate gratification and excess of creature comforts begets a spoiled population. There's something to be said for the character that can be built through patience and powering through adversity.
I agree about instant gratification and the importance of patience and hard work, but I also think it's important to separate that from this kind of messed up idea western culture has that suffering makes you a better person. There's a difference between instant access to luxury items vs to necessary resources (affordable food, water, shelter, healthcare, and in this day and age, internet. To clarify, I'm not saying everyone needs social media, I'm saying it is nearly impossible to go to school or work today without access to online resources.)
My back hurts
Note: this post originally had 83 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.
My most "boomer" opinion is that you don't need a new car, period. Buy a good model that can survive the Apocalypse, keep it properly maintained, then laugh all the way to the bank when someone with their fancy current-year model tries to shame you for owning a 20-year-old sedan. My car's cost me less keeping it running in 5 years than a new car's lease alone costs in just a single year, and I actually OWN my car.
My millenial opinion is: I don't need any car at all.
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I think we need to really look at whether or not we’re part of the problem when we complain about something but we don’t do anything about helping to resolve our complaints. I myself try not to use the words should and shouldn’t I prefer to invite people to change not tell them to change. I have a good story to relay if you have a minute. Some people were camping in Yosemite on vacation and next to them some people pulled in and turn the stereo up really loud. After and during this for a couple of minutes the dad walked over to the young people with the loud stereo and ask them have you come to Yosemite before? Not really knowing how to react because they were expecting an argument, They started a conversation and one of the things the dad said was we come here to listen to the birds and to listen to the waterfall and to really leave our music at home because we want to hear the music of nature and we would like to invite you for dinner with us tonight.
Part two now both families vacation in Yosemite at the same time every year and they enjoy each other’s company and there’s no loud radio it’s all in how you approach things you don’t need to fight with people to get your point across you don’t need to degrade them demoralized them or tell them that the wrong. Invite change don’t demand it
Load More Replies... Is it me or do they keep changing the title on this one? I have seen three different titles now.
More divisive generational posts. People do realize that the generational labels, boomer, gen x,y,z, millennial, is all made up, that before boomers there were no generational labels, and are all used for marketing purposes. How about we all just leave the labels behind and just exist as people of all different ages.
Because some people are glad to be marketing slave warriors. For free. :)
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I'm a " boomer " and I wouldn't even be aware of the generational thing if it wasn't for Panda and similar media. I'm sure as hell not qualified to tell somebody how to live today. I admit it bothers me a little when they call me sir. I'd much prefer " stud. "
And Youtubers/Twitch stars, don't complain when your fps drops by 2. You have much better setups than any of your viewers. Don't rub it in. Stop with these TikTok influencers and dances. People shouldn't be copying everything they see. They should be using CREATIVITY. Don't diss 'nerds' or whatever. I love dressing in Edwardian/Victorian styles, and I get strange looks any time I go outside. I get that I'm different, but I think I look pretty, and it's none of your business anyway.
Generation labels are dumb. So much depends on how and where you were raised, rather than what year you were born. (And half of the Boomers raised Gen Xers, then divorced, remarried and raised Millenials. So are we even really 2 different generations?)
I think the youth of today are more confident in agreeing with the boomers, At their age, I would have loved sharing lots of "old fashioned" opinions as a teen, but I would have never dared for fear of ridicule. Being cool and popular was everything, geeks/teens not fitting the mould were mocked and bullied, sporties/big talkers admired. I'm in awe of this strong "I don't care what you think" generation.
Why are these "boomer" opinions? I'm Gen X and want to know why my attic ventilation system only has controls by cell phone! Maybe it's just wanting a bit of simplicity... a basic on-off switch, for example!
The reason boomers don't like GenXers or Millenials is that for the most part the younger generations are hyper-critical without having made any self-sacrificing effort to contribute to the betterment of the world, let alone the lives of the people around them. Coupled with this is the assumption that just because the evil boomer politicians who currently run the show are bent on destruction, all boomers are like that. It is quite the opposite. The self-centeredness is insulting to a generation which did make those sacrifices for the future, and who would like nothing more than to openly communicate with you, but the default has always been to shut out the aging people from society in the Western World, so it really isn't a surprise.
I don't see the hate here. Isn't it an American thing?
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As a Boomer....thank you. I agree with so many of these things! I don't upgrade every year...maybe every 5 years for anything. Finally donated my car of almost 20 years with 185,000 miles on it to Habitat for Humanity...I prefer used books (real ones!) that we can read at home, then send on to others. And honestly...not all Boomers are bad people. :)
Just wait until Millenials and Gen Z are around 50, opinions change with age.
am sick and tired of the Americans blaming everything on the Boomers. Society is wrecked because of leaders, [people with money etc, whose only concern was themselves and how much more money they could make. The USA government just uses it as an excuse to divert attention from the real culprits, just Look at Branson etc?????
WHAT IN HELL IS EVERYONE carrying in their backpacks? Planning on leaving town in a hurry? Always wondered what they had to have with them that was so important.
Get outside and appreciate nature whilst you can. It'll be gone by the time you have grandchildren, so make the most of it now.
Yes, that's because this post is about people that *think* like boomers, not that they are boomers
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I think you should look at the statistics on the rise of mental health issues today, and what the causes are.
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My most "boomer" opinion is that you don't need a new car, period. Buy a good model that can survive the Apocalypse, keep it properly maintained, then laugh all the way to the bank when someone with their fancy current-year model tries to shame you for owning a 20-year-old sedan. My car's cost me less keeping it running in 5 years than a new car's lease alone costs in just a single year, and I actually OWN my car.
My millenial opinion is: I don't need any car at all.
Load More Replies... I think we need to really look at whether or not we’re part of the problem when we complain about something but we don’t do anything about helping to resolve our complaints. I myself try not to use the words should and shouldn’t I prefer to invite people to change not tell them to change. I have a good story to relay if you have a minute. Some people were camping in Yosemite on vacation and next to them some people pulled in and turn the stereo up really loud. After and during this for a couple of minutes the dad walked over to the young people with the loud stereo and ask them have you come to Yosemite before? Not really knowing how to react because they were expecting an argument, They started a conversation and one of the things the dad said was we come here to listen to the birds and to listen to the waterfall and to really leave our music at home because we want to hear the music of nature and we would like to invite you for dinner with us tonight.
Part two now both families vacation in Yosemite at the same time every year and they enjoy each other’s company and there’s no loud radio it’s all in how you approach things you don’t need to fight with people to get your point across you don’t need to degrade them demoralized them or tell them that the wrong. Invite change don’t demand it
Load More Replies... Is it me or do they keep changing the title on this one? I have seen three different titles now.
More divisive generational posts. People do realize that the generational labels, boomer, gen x,y,z, millennial, is all made up, that before boomers there were no generational labels, and are all used for marketing purposes. How about we all just leave the labels behind and just exist as people of all different ages.
Because some people are glad to be marketing slave warriors. For free. :)
Load More Replies... I'm a " boomer " and I wouldn't even be aware of the generational thing if it wasn't for Panda and similar media. I'm sure as hell not qualified to tell somebody how to live today. I admit it bothers me a little when they call me sir. I'd much prefer " stud. "
And Youtubers/Twitch stars, don't complain when your fps drops by 2. You have much better setups than any of your viewers. Don't rub it in. Stop with these TikTok influencers and dances. People shouldn't be copying everything they see. They should be using CREATIVITY. Don't diss 'nerds' or whatever. I love dressing in Edwardian/Victorian styles, and I get strange looks any time I go outside. I get that I'm different, but I think I look pretty, and it's none of your business anyway.
Generation labels are dumb. So much depends on how and where you were raised, rather than what year you were born. (And half of the Boomers raised Gen Xers, then divorced, remarried and raised Millenials. So are we even really 2 different generations?)
I think the youth of today are more confident in agreeing with the boomers, At their age, I would have loved sharing lots of "old fashioned" opinions as a teen, but I would have never dared for fear of ridicule. Being cool and popular was everything, geeks/teens not fitting the mould were mocked and bullied, sporties/big talkers admired. I'm in awe of this strong "I don't care what you think" generation.
Why are these "boomer" opinions? I'm Gen X and want to know why my attic ventilation system only has controls by cell phone! Maybe it's just wanting a bit of simplicity... a basic on-off switch, for example!
The reason boomers don't like GenXers or Millenials is that for the most part the younger generations are hyper-critical without having made any self-sacrificing effort to contribute to the betterment of the world, let alone the lives of the people around them. Coupled with this is the assumption that just because the evil boomer politicians who currently run the show are bent on destruction, all boomers are like that. It is quite the opposite. The self-centeredness is insulting to a generation which did make those sacrifices for the future, and who would like nothing more than to openly communicate with you, but the default has always been to shut out the aging people from society in the Western World, so it really isn't a surprise.
I don't see the hate here. Isn't it an American thing?
Load More Replies... As a Boomer....thank you. I agree with so many of these things! I don't upgrade every year...maybe every 5 years for anything. Finally donated my car of almost 20 years with 185,000 miles on it to Habitat for Humanity...I prefer used books (real ones!) that we can read at home, then send on to others. And honestly...not all Boomers are bad people. :)
Just wait until Millenials and Gen Z are around 50, opinions change with age.
am sick and tired of the Americans blaming everything on the Boomers. Society is wrecked because of leaders, [people with money etc, whose only concern was themselves and how much more money they could make. The USA government just uses it as an excuse to divert attention from the real culprits, just Look at Branson etc?????
WHAT IN HELL IS EVERYONE carrying in their backpacks? Planning on leaving town in a hurry? Always wondered what they had to have with them that was so important.
Get outside and appreciate nature whilst you can. It'll be gone by the time you have grandchildren, so make the most of it now.
Yes, that's because this post is about people that *think* like boomers, not that they are boomers
Load More Replies... I think you should look at the statistics on the rise of mental health issues today, and what the causes are.
Load More Replies...