Before Generation X came along, and long before the Millennials, there were the Baby Boomers. An entire generation was born of the uptake in pregnancies after World War Two. So how do you know you are talking to a Boomer? Well, that’s simple. Here are 18 clear signs that the person you are talking to is a Boomer.
An Unwillingness To Learn New Technologies
Being from a “simpler time” is often the main excuse that a Boomer might use to explain why they can’t use certain tech. Born between 1946 and 1964, it’s easy to see why keeping up with these fast-paced times might be difficult. Most Boomers will use their age as a reason for not learning to use their phone or smart TV.
Deciding You Are Too Young To Understand
It’s true, age does lead to wisdom. But, there is no firmer believer in this fact than the Boomer generation. You will know you are talking to a Boomer when they completely disregard your ideas due to your age. Usually adding their viewpoints as well as the fact that they’re older means they know more than you do.
Constantly Advising You On Your Finances
Being from a far more frugal time, Boomers like to let us know the importance of handling money correctly. “Save your money for a rainy day” is just one of a litany of phrases born in the same era as they were. In the post-war times that they grew up in, money was harder to come by. This led to much more of a focus on saving and money management.
Seeing Lifestyle Choices They Disagree With As ‘phases’
Most Boomers would prefer the world to change far less than it currently is. Coming from a far more traditional and straightforward time, some new ways of living are less understandable to a Boomer. This is why rather than accept whatever change it is that they do not like in you, they would prefer to call it a “phase” instead. This way it is not a change that stays for good, it is just a temporary thing that will pass.
A Blind Refusal To Change
The idea is that if something isn’t broken then why would you fix it? This is what a Boomer’s refusal to accept change is based upon. They have been doing things in the same way for their whole life. Why would they change that now? Even if there are newer and far more efficient methods available today, a Boomer will still choose the solution that has been tried and tested by them over a lifetime.
Talk Of ‘Inbuilt Obsolescence’
Boomers might have a point here with this one. Back in their times, things were built to last forever. Then along came inbuilt or planned obsolescence and the whole game changed. Now things were being built with a limited lifespan which urged (if not forced) you to replace the product sooner rather than later. Boomers will be the first to tell you about this fact. This is why you can still see Boomers using their parents’ record players yet your new phone is playing up already.
Being Accused Of Laziness
It might be true that your average Boomer would have had a far heavier load to carry. But part of this is due to work being different then. With far more trade roles and fewer office positions, much of their work was manual labor. This is not the case anymore. However this won’t stop Boomers from saying that these younger generations have no idea what hard work is and are therefore lazy.
Assassinating Your Musical Tastes
Your average Boomer pretty much believes that everything from their era is better than yours. This does not stop with music. This is one of their main pieces of evidence when fighting their case. Granted there was some great music made back then, this does not however make everything since then irrelevant. Unfortunately, the total assassination of any new music type is a clear sign indeed.
Accusations Of You Having ‘Too Much’
Boomers were brought up in a time where the median household income ranged from $1400 in 1945 to $2300 in 1952. This makes it easy for them to claim that they did not live in the world of luxury that anyone younger has done. They were forced to live on less and therefore see the life most younger generations live as one of excess. This will be echoed throughout most conversations with a Boomer.
Comparisons Of Their Life To Yours
With a firm disregard for how times have changed, a Boomer will readily compare your life to theirs at the same age. This idea that younger generations are living so much better or easier existences than they did is a favorite Boomer go-to. And while there is often much truth in this statement, the fact that the world has changed is rarely taken into account when they are blaming you for not knowing how “good you have it”.
Explaining Hardships You Don’t Have To Face
Boomers were indeed born into a time when the world was getting back on its feet after WW2. These were also times when the average Boomer would be put to work earlier and have to work harder. This is a thing that Boomers will never let you forget. And the fact that you didn’t have to go through such hardships is something you can never live down.
Demonized For Spending Your Own Money
Money is spent in a completely different manner from how it once was. The phrase “money doesn’t grow on trees” is a result of this fact and a favorite of the Boomer generation. Should you spend your money on something like a pair of sneakers, for example, a Boomer will hark back to times when one pair of good shoes was worn by them, their older brother and probably their father before that. This no longer being necessary is rarely taken into consideration.
Conversations Over How Kids Have Changed
In the times of a Boomer childhood, they would most likely have been looking after siblings at home. There were far more chores and responsibilities placed on a child in those days. With child rights and labor laws only just becoming a thing in their times, it’s understandable why Boomers hate it when they see kids today on their phones or watching TV without a care in the world. Ah, to be young.
Exaggerating Differences Between Generations
One much-loved topic of Boomer conversation is to exaggerate the differences between times. This is used to effectively highlight not only how easy the younger generations have it, but also to make them seem more capable or stronger than they are. Talking of how nowadays every kid has a cellphone compared with a time when you had to walk two blocks to a friend’s house to use their rotary dial landline is a perfect example.
Talk Of The Loss Of Respect
There was more of an unspoken code of conduct back in the days of the Boomers. That, and the very much spoken one they would have been raised with. So much more importance was placed on manners and etiquette as well as traditional norms. This means that the lack of respect or necessity for any of the above can be seen in younger generations. It’s often spoken about by any Boomer you come across.
Being Judged for Taking Time To Do Things You Love
Boomers for the most part were stripped of the ability to do things merely for enjoyment’s sake. This is due to the hardworking attitude of the post-WW2 times that they were raised in. It’s why it can get under the skin of a Boomer to see someone practicing a hobby in place of working hard at something for financial gain.
Expecting You To Do Everything For Yourself
Because of the way and indeed the times that Boomers were raised in, they have firm expectations for all who followed after them. They don’t tend to care about economic changes or housing crises, but they expect you to build your empire from the ground up.
‘Anyone Can Prosper, No Matter Their Circumstances’
This was indeed a firm belief of the time, and so it should be. It’s a strengthening mindset that came from a post-war era that was defined by doing all that it could to revive itself. A motivational ideal that was widespread at the time despite many legal precedents and societal norms that would clearly state otherwise. Times have changed and younger generations either follow these ideals or realize what they indeed can and cannot be.
‘Back to the Boomers?’
Perhaps they began by pointing out the differences between the two times and worlds that they inhabit. Maybe they’re resigned to the fact that Boomers are not set in their ways. There’s always the outside chance that they were too busy watching something online to have heard the conversation in the first place. Whatever the case, there will always be generation gaps and therefore differences as well. It’s important to remember that different doesn’t mean wrong.
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