So, while I agreed with this "boomer" opinion myself, I wanted to open it up to the BuzzFeed Community to share their own boomer-adjacent hot takes.
Here's what they had to say:
1. "Since when is it bad to fail? Children's lives will not be irreparably harmed if they don't get a participation award. You learn from failure and grow. It's not a failure when you don't get first place. The reward is the fact that you tried in the first place."
2. "Not all socially inept behavior can be attributed to schools closing down due to the pandemic. A lot of the rude and narcissistic behaviors were already in play well before shutdowns happened. Parents need to take some responsibility for letting their kids act a certain way, especially if they were stuck at home with them during the shutdown."
3. "We have too many 'celebrities.' Anyone with a phone can create a TikTok or YouTube video and buy followers and views. Too many low-effort content creators demand to be treated like actors and musicians who spent years honing their craft."
5. "There is no such thing as early; you are either on time (what others call early) or late (could be just in time or actually late)."
6. "There should be some sort of laws about filming in public. Many people do not want to be in the background of your content or accidentally turned into a meme because you want to film people without their consent. Of course, there are rare instances like criminal behavior, harassment, police brutality, and people being Karens that need to be filmed and called out, but those are extreme examples."
7. "Kids and young adults must learn to respect their teachers/professors. To give just one example, it seems very few people I'm in school with know how to email a professor properly — you can't message like you're texting them and demand whatever you want. You need some salutation, a reminder of who you are, followed by what you're asking, and a sign-off."
8. "You should have to verify that you are an expert in your field to give advice on social media. There's so much misinformation being spread by people who 'did their own research' (aka, Googled something with a strong confirmation bias). Since people take advice at face value without checking any sources, it spreads a wild amount of bad advice around. We need to find some way to stop this madness."
9. "We are better off when we have to work for something. Maybe it's working for information (looking in a book vs the ease of Google), maybe it's working to save money, or working to get better at a skill. No matter what, my boomer-truism is that we get dopamine too quickly. It would probably be better if we had to work harder for it."
10. "'Don't be lazy! If someone else can do it, you can do it too!' My dad still tells me this all the time! It's his way of telling me not to waste my money on things that can be fixed or mended. I cut my grass, fix my appliances, replace (very few) car parts, and try to do painting and patchwork in the house as well. I absolutely hate doing all of these things, but that little mean voice is always in the back of my mind. I will admit it has saved me thousands of dollars over the years."
11. "I'm an elder millennial with boomer parents. On my father-in-law's 69th birthday, we asked him what words of advice he would give to younger people. He said to learn to work hard and take pride in your work. That is good advice. He has tried to retire from being a mechanic three times. They keep calling him and begging him to come back because they can't find anyone who will actually show up to work."
12. "You are not special. Sure, you might be significant to your loved ones, but to the rest of the 8 billion people currently living on this planet and those who are not yet born and people who have gone before us… you are not special. Get over yourself."
13. "YES, us older millennials 100% had the last of the good ol' days. We weren't tied down or dependent on a screen for 18 hours per day, and I know people are so sick of hearing this, but YES, we played outside, we skinned our knees, and we drank from hoses. We weren't concerned with skincare or TikTok dances or challenges. We had to memorize information and phone numbers, got to sneak out, and actually talk to our friends instead of texting."
14. "People are so invested in hating others they feel have done them wrong. When you actively hate someone, you think about them constantly (they win). This is a waste of your time and energy. 'Delete' them from your memory and move on."
15. "We rely waaaayy too much on technology. Most Gen Z'ers can't even read a map, let alone drive without GPS. It's wild to think how the world would begin to try to function in the event of an apocalypse or something."
16. "Social media and phone addiction are killing people's intelligence."
17. "People need to re-learn how to entertain themselves! Learn how to draw, play an instrument, or play some card games."
18. "The point of having a phone is to answer/return a call. I'm 25, and many people my age forget that their smartphone isn't just a mini-computer. It's the best way to get ahold of someone. I get it if you're busy at work, home, or school and can't pick up a call. But if you see a missed call, please call me back. The reason for my call could range from 'trying to plan to meet up' to 'grandma is in the hospital.'"
19. "Usually, a person has a valid reason for thinking or feeling the way they do, and that is based on a life experience different from your own. A person can hold an opinion that you disagree with and still be a good person. A different opinion is no reason to cut someone out of your life. If you believe strongly that you are right, you must talk and listen respectfully to those who disagree with you if you want to change their thinking."
20. "Exposing yourself to different ideas, even those that make you uncomfortable or angry, is a good thing. The exposure to something new will cause you to expand your current understanding of the topic, give you a different perspective, change your view completely, or entrench what you already believe. Living in an echo chamber is dangerous. This is being lost in today's highly curated news/social media feeds."
21. "The use of auto-tune has lowered the bar for professional singers. It's bad enough that some live performers are actually using recordings during live performances. Now, 'vocally challenged' singers can become successful recording artists. The scam is revealed when they attempt to sing live without electronic assistance."
22. "Cars don't need to have touchscreens! It's just as bad as using a cellphone while driving."
23. "Restaurants: Turn your dang lights up and your dang music down! I had to use the flashlight on my phone to read your menu and kept saying 'what' to the person I was with cause I couldn't hear them!"
24. "There does not need to be an app for everything! I tried to use my military discount at Lowe's the other day and was told that I would have to download their app in order for the system to give me the discount. I have even tried just to look up food menus for different restaurants online, and the websites have directed me to their apps to view the menu. I just am so tired of having to download all these unnecessary apps all the time."
25. "Can we go back to physical menus at restaurants? I get maybe it uses fewer resources to have a freakin' QR code or whatever, but there are definitely ways to make eco-friendly menus that I can hold in my hand instead of scrolling through my phone to look at the poorly organized digital menu that they decided to make the only option. It pisses me off when I walk into a restaurant, and they have a QR code slapped on the table and nothing else. It's even worse when you have to order from the phone as well."
26. "The advent of smartphones has taken away our right to be reachable only at our own will without feeling guilty over it. 'Just don't answer!' and 'Just leave your phone at home!' are unrealistic because 1) People act weird about it, and it bristles against ingrained attitudes, and 2) Like others have said, there are a lot of places and basic functions in the real world that are simply inaccessible now without phones or apps and it's annoying."
And lastly:
27. "Be kinder. Even when it doesn't seem deserved."
Got any other "boomer" opinions to share? Let me know in the comments!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.