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Younger people are admitting baby boomers got these 17 things right

"Kids shouldn't be on phones or iPads all the time. It makes them weird."

via Christian Buehner/Unsplash

Baby boomers didn't get everything wrong.

In recent years, baby boomers have often been the target of criticism from younger generations. The most common accusations are that boomers are selfish and don’t care about leaving ample resources (whether financial or environmental) to subsequent generations. They also come under fire for not being able to acknowledge that it was easier for people of their generation to come of age when things were more affordable and life was a lot less competitive.

However, we should also understand that many of today’s problems are not the boomers’ doing, especially when it comes to the issues that stem from entitled children and technology run amok. In hindsight, there’s something to be said about the importance that boomers placed on self-reliance, letting kids be kids and having a healthy skepticism towards technology.

In the end, each generation contributes to the tapestry of society in its unique way, whether good or bad, even baby boomers. This became evident after a Reddit user named Youssef4573 asked the AskReddit subforum: ‘What is something you can say ‘I'm with the boomers on this one’ about?” Over 4,700 people responded to the prompt, and the most prevalent problems mentioned by the younger generations were overreliance on technology, the modern world’s lack of human touch and how Gen Xers and millennials have raised their children.

Here are 17 things that younger people are “with the boomers” about.

1. Public filming

"Just because I’m in public doesn’t mean I want to be filmed. Yeah, I know legally you can, but common courtesy people." — Jayne_of_Canton

2. Customer service

"I want to talk to a person in customer service, not a machine." — lumpy_space_queenie

"And also a person that actually works at the company I bought the product from, not a teenager at an outsourced call center with a script to follow and who answers calls for 15 different companies on the same day." — Loive.

3. Turn up the dialog

"For the love of all that is holy, can we fix the audio in movies so that the music and sound FX aren’t drowning out the dialogue?" — Caloso

"And the action sequences don’t burst your eardrums or the dialogue is whispers." — Whynottry-again

4. Bring back buttons

"No, I don't need everything in my car to be electronic. Some stuff needs buttons." — LamborghiniHEAT

"This was the big thing for me in my last car - trying to adjust volume or change songs while driving is way more dangerous when it’s all touch screen. Thankfully my current car has physical knobs for everything." — GeekdomCentral

5. App overload

"Every store/service does not need an app." — BigDigger324

"I was standing at a car rental counter at an airport (boomer here) to rent a car. My daughter’s car broke down on the way to pick me up. While standing at the counter, with a customer service rep right there and not busy, I had to log in to their site, create an account, and reserve a car. It seemed ridiculous and it took a long time, filling in my license information and all that. This was last September." — Cleanslate

6. Bring back DIY

"Learning DIY skills is crucial. I had basically zero DIY skills when I bought my house because I had lived in apartments for so long and I've had to learn a lot. YouTube tutorials are absolutely clutch." — JingleJongleBongle

7. Turn off the speakerphone

"I hated this when I worked at Walmart. So many of my coworkers would talk on speaker or watch TikTok at full volume. It's just trashy imo, nobody wants to hear your media." — WhiteGuy1x

"I work at an emergency medical office and holy sh*t the amount of people that sit in a quiet, peaceful lobby and just have the LOUDEST conversations on their phone…. Speaker or otherwise. Not to mention the people that still watch sh*t without headphones. Like do you not see the plethora of other people around you that you’re disturbing?" — Cinderpuppins

8. Ban QR code menus

"I think menus should be tangible." — Limp-Management9684

"QR codes kill the vibe. We’re all on our phones constantly throughout the day and then when you go to spend some quality time with someone, it’s another excuse to whip out the phone and stare at it. There’s an intimacy to a physical menu. You’re looking at what the other person is reading, you’re each pointing to parts of the menu. You’re noticing the lighting of the restaurant. QR codes feel chintzy and kill the ambiance completely." — VapeDerp420

9. Stop subscriptions

"When I was your age, you only had to pay for a video game once to own it." — CattonCruthby

10. Free the children

"A kid in 2024 should have the same freedom to exist unsupervised and move about their community independently as a boomer did growing up." — PixelatedFish

"The world is safer than it's ever been and people are more scared than ever. I blame true crime and local news." ⲻ Unhappyhippo142

11. Kids need to touch grass

"Kids shouldn't be on phones or iPads all the time. It makes them weird." — Ubstantial_Part_952

"The same could be said about most adults." — DrunkOctopus

12. Stop being so sensitive

"People in our generation are far, far too sensitive. Don't get it twisted; empathy is, by and large, a good thing and it takes some serious doing for me to say it's gone too far. But collectively, we've become people willing to throw every last bit of energy fighting against every slight and making sure our pet cause gets top billing to the point of fighting amongst each other even if we're in almost complete agreement otherwise. Emotional energy - like any other kind of energy - is very much a finite resource. Whereas boomers could at least generally agree to disagree and get on with things (obvious cross-wielding exceptions doth apply). Culturally, we've lost sight of the adage of 'winning the battle, losing the war.'" — almighty_smiley

13. Stop delivery

"Food delivery services are a complete ripoff; if you use them regularly, you’re terrible with money. Get off my lawn." — VapeDerp420

14. Parking meters

"So rather than throwing a few coins in your meter, you have to now get your license plate #, get your meter number, go to the meter station, stand in line with everyone waiting to pay their meter, then you're set. It's an unnecessary amount of extra steps. I don't carry cash much anymore, but I can hide a small amount of coin in my car to quickly pay a meter." — Luke5119

15. Kids should know their place

"Not letting your children rule the roost. When did it become acceptable to let your kids back-talk to you, slap you, climb all over shi*t in public places? As we've raised ours, I've witnessed so many parents around us just let these behaviors slide. It's kind of sad when I'm the one saying things like, "Did I just hear you just say that to your mom?!?!?!?! That is not ok. You go and apologize right now!!". Then I get this stunned "deer in headlights" look back that tells me they aren't used to someone calling them out on their behavior." — Cobblestone-Villain

16. Pride in ownership

"Seems that a lot of boomers have pride of ownership and enjoy maintaining what they have." — Awkward_Bench123

17. Don't follow leaders

"My dad (a solid boomer) has been saying that ALL politicians are crooks since he became disenchanted with politics around the Nixon era. He was starry-eyed before that, trying to make social change, yada yada. He still votes, but holds his nose. Can’t say I disagree with him." — Thin_white_duchess

This article originally appeared in January.

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Internet

Millennial asks Gen X people how they got their scars and the responses are unbelievable

"In fairness, most of us thought we would never make it to 30."

Photo credit: Canva

Gen X shares unbelievably wild tales on how they got their scars

Scars are something that just about everyone has. Some scars serve as memories from our childhoods while others occurred as adults from surgeries or other accidents. Either way, the permanent scars on our bodies tell a story, but the stories Gen Xers have to tell may not be for those with a weak constitution.

A woman that goes by Anxietay13 on social media is a Millennial married to a Gen Xer. Recently she shared a video expressing her horror in learning about how her husband got some of his scars. The mom proposed that other younger generations make it into sort of a game to find a random Gen Xer and point to any visible scar to ask how they received it.

Her prediction is that this middle aged generation will take inquirers on a truly wild expedition through their childhood that seems so far fetched that it sounds made up.

"Here's a fun little game you can play with your nearest Gen Xer the next time you get bored but trigger warning, it's not for the weak," the woman exclaims.

The given directive is to locate a scar, any scar and ask them how they got it, "and then just sit back and enjoy the chaos because they're never going to end the story with, 'and then I went to the doctor.'"

The Millennial's rant about Gen X scars was like a homing beacon because Gen Xers came out of the woods with a box of Little Debbie's in one hand and a good walking stick in the other to spin tales about their childhoods.

One woman shares, "big scar on my knee from 1st or 2nd grade. Wiped out in the gravel on the playground, teacher sprayed something on it, mom gave me a bandaid. Like 2 weeks later the scab came off and gravel fell out."

Nothing like walking around with tiny rocks in your knee for a couple of weeks, but that's not the most unhinged thing someone shared with the flabbergasted Millennial.

@anxietay13 I’m gonna start drinking from the hose…there’s something to it 🤔 #genx #genxersoftiktok #agegapcouple ♬ original sound - Anxietay13

"I drilled my index finger in high school metals class. They cleaned it up, put a band aid on it and never called my parents," another says.

"Oh this one on my forehead, my sister hit me in the head with 2 by 4 an it had a nail in it," one person explains.

"Broke my arm on the monkey bars at school. Rode the bus home. Mom gave me an ace bandage. Went to school trip next day to Carter Caves," someone else shares.

Gen X has some stories to tell. One Gen Xer, The Geek Preacher, responded with a video of his own explaining how he was being chased by his older brother when a board fell out of the ceiling plunging a rusty nail in his arm. There was no trip to the doctor or updated tetanus shot but it was the gem he dropped at the end that he might have wanted to lead with.

"I'm sorry what...... you drop that last part so casually...... you said your brother SET YOU ON FIRE?!," a commenter asks.

@thegeekpreacher #stitch with @Anxietay13 #GenX The #scars are real. The #1970s and #1980s ♬ original sound - The Geekpreacher

The 80s and early 90s was a different time for sure and while one person jokes that, "in fairness, most of us thought we would never make it to 30," we're all glad they did. Who else would tell childhood stories so outrageous that they cause you to question your own sanity.

So, Gen X, what's your craziest scar story?

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Family

‘I am tired of feeling helpless’: Gen X mom admits her kids have it harder than she did

Hard work doesn’t solve everything anymore.

via that1crazy72/TikTok

Jessica McCabe explains why her 20-something kids have it so much harder than she did.

Historically, there’s always been a battle between older and younger generations. Invariably, the older generation will always say that the younger kids are lazier or softer than they were growing up. We’ve seen this over the past few years with baby boomers accusing millennials of being entitled and oversensitive.

But Jessica McCabe, 51, who is retired from the Air Force, is bucking the historical trend by pointing out that the game has changed since she was in her 20s. In a passionate rant, she says it’s much harder for her 25- and 28-year-old kids to get by.

The video has obviously struck a chord on TikTok, where it’s received over 11.5 million views and 68,000 comments. Her primary complaint is how costly it is for her hard-working kids to afford housing.

"I am so tired of feeling helpless as a parent,” McCabe says in the video. “Yes, my kids are grown adults. My oldest is 28. My youngest is 25. And I thought by teaching them what I learned, which is you work hard, you get a good job, you're gonna get the things in life that you need, right? Worked for me. Why wouldn't it work for them? Because it doesn't, because the world has f**king changed."

Warning:Video contains strong language.

@that1crazy72
Its no wonder there is a mental health crisis amoung the younger generation..and to make matters worse most cant afford to get treated and if they do they are told to “get a better job” what happened to the middle class just wanting to make w decent living? #housingcrisis #mentalhealth #americandream #rent #longervideos #howtoretire

McCabe makes a compelling point that things have changed over the past few decades and that it’s unfair for older people to judge younger people on the same terms.

"I see them struggling, and before my generation comes at me, yes, I understand struggling as a part of life. We all struggle, but there's a difference between struggling and drowning. So we struggled, and it was tough. But you know what? We made it. We knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel with our struggle. It seems like kids today, no matter how much they struggle, they just get further and further down."

Even when McCabe's kids do the right thing, it’s still not enough to get by. Even though her son has a college degree, he still had to move back into her home.

"I told my son, all you have to do is work hard, go to college, or join the military like I did. He went to college, got his degree, got a full-time job,” McCabe said. “It's been 10 months. He has saved almost every dime and still can't afford to live. Why are one-bedroom studio apartments almost $2,000 a month. Why?"

Her daughter had a similar problem buying a house.

"She wanted to buy her own house. My daughter worked six days a week, 12 hours a day to save up enough for this down payment and finally got this house. She's paying double what I'm paying for my mortgage, but her loan was the same amount,” she said.

The mother’s complaints drew much support on TikTok, where other people deal with the same issues.

"Thank you for seeing the reality of this. So many parents/grandparents don’t understand this struggle," Don't Mess With Mamma Taylor wrote.

"This is why my 27 yr old still lives with me. Neither one of us can afford to be on our own," Crissi Smith added.

"Nothing that worked for me as a Gen X works for my kids. The rules are stacked against them," RHO wrote.

For those who have a hard time understanding the younger generations' housing struggles, the numbers don’t lie. Over the past 20 years, the average U.S. home price has risen from about $140,000 to $340,000 as of April 2023.

Things aren’t much better for renters.

For the past 20 years, Moody’s has been tracking the rent-burdon threshold that measures the percentage of one’s income paid on rent. In 2023, for the first time since monitoring the metric, the typical American renter now spends over 30% of their income on rent.

“If we’re looking at the low- to moderate-income families, they are taking 40 percent and above all of their income on the rent, even if the metro [area] itself hasn’t crossed that 30 percent line yet,” said Moody’s Analytics senior economist Lu Chen told The Hill.

From Your Site Articles

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gen xers

Younger people are admitting baby boomers got these 17 things right

"Kids shouldn't be on phones or iPads all the time. It makes them weird."

1. Public filming

2. Customer service

3. Turn up the dialog

4. Bring back buttons

5. App overload

6. Bring back DIY

7. Turn off the speakerphone

8. Ban QR code menus

9. Stop subscriptions

10. Free the children

11. Kids need to touch grass

12. Stop being so sensitive

13. Stop delivery

14. Parking meters

15. Kids should know their place

16. Pride in ownership

17. Don't follow leaders

Millennial asks Gen X people how they got their scars and the responses are unbelievable

"In fairness, most of us thought we would never make it to 30."

‘I am tired of feeling helpless’: Gen X mom admits her kids have it harder than she did

Hard work doesn’t solve everything anymore.

Woman who was pressured to quit her job to raise stepdaughter's baby makes a bold decision

15 hilarious parenting comics that are almost too real

Star neuroscientist Andrew Huberman breaks down two simple exercises to improve vision

Golden Retriever's unbridled excitement over new dog bed is too sweet not to watch

'Wicked' author reveals how one line in 'The Wizard of Oz' inspired Elphaba and Glinda's story

Hospice nurse shares clue she uses to know if someone is dying 6 months before it happens