Ask any millennial and they’ll tell you that for the last two decades boomers have constantly been looking down on us about everything from the things we prioritize in our lives to the things that are simply out of our control.
And I recently stumbled upon a Reddit thread dealing with this very topic. A few months ago, an anonymous Reddit user asked: "Fellow Millennials, what's something actual baby boomers say that annoys the heck out of you?"
Of course, millennials (and even some Gen Z'ers) had a lot to say. Here are some of the top-voted and best comments:
1. "It's not what they say — it's what they imply: 'If I had to suffer, then so do you; otherwise it wouldn't be fair to me!'"
"Which is especially frustrating because their parents’ generation worked to build a society post-World War II and the Depression so that their kids wouldn’t have to struggle like they did.
Better schools, healthcare (except the US), affordable homeownership, civil rights laws, unions, pensions, etc.
The boomers grew up with all these benefits but want them cut back because they want lower taxes."
2. "'I don't do computers,' or, 'I don't do email,' or anything that indicates that they're actively refusing to learn how to use technology that has been around for almost four decades. I can understand if they don't want to fuss about with the more recent aspects of technology or even use a smartphone, but computers have been around for a very long time now. Many boomers may have used them in their jobs. At the very least, they should've been able to handle an email by now.
It's not being intimidated by technology that annoys me because I can understand that. It's just if they choose to be willfully ignorant or actively go out of their way to refuse to learn how to use it, even in the face of 'If you don't have an email address, you can't use this service, or we can't help you.' Email is no longer just for geeks from the '90s; it's considered as normal and as essential as having a telephone number."
3. "That I'm in my late teens/early 20s. I'm closer to 40 than 20."
"One guy at my last job called anyone young who annoyed him a millennial, which was ironic because they were all Gen Z, and the people he actually liked were millennials."
4. "Being told that I’m the exception to the general rule of millennials being entitled and lazy. I know you think you’re complimenting me, but fuck off with that noise. Lots of people in my generation work just as hard or harder than me. The difference is you see me often; you don’t see them, so your view of my generation is twisted by talk radio and TV."
5. "I’m neither generation (early 40s). But one thing that drives me nuts about boomers is how much they take for granted the situation they most often found themselves in. Especially when it comes to employment and retirement. They have pensions. They had extra money for investments above and beyond their 401(k)s because wanting to own a house and a car didn’t cost more than half their income."
"They had incredible benefits from their employers, and a fairly large percentage of them literally spent their career with one company, where they were fairly compensated.
And then they complain about how 'entitled' millennials are. Motherfucker, you literally had the envy of the entire world served to you on a silver platter."
"Same. My parents ask, 'Why don't you manage to save more each month? Your place isn't that big, and you have a good salary,' and I'm like, 'Remind me how much a home cost back in your day, relative to your earnings?'
Over the past 40 years, home prices went up like 10 times, while salaries maybe doubled, so gimme a break."
—rastafunion
6. "Telling me that if I’m not earning enough money to live (pay rent/own a home) then I’m just not working hard enough."
"If you don't like your job, find one that's better!"
—[deleted]
7. "Zoomer here. I absolutely hate it when a boomer says they hate something or something is stupid because it's new. I work at a fast-food restaurant, and an older guy comes in all the time and goes off on the table markers we give out. It's more convenient to sit at your table and wait for your order than to crowd around, pick up a tray by yourself, and hope a table is available. Just say it: You hate it because it's new and different. You have no real reason to hate it at all."
8. "I had one piece of shit tell me that my generation was lazy and incompetent, while I bent over backward to help him find whatever obscure-ass product he was looking for. It's especially infuriating because this stupid fuck clearly wasn't doing well in life, and was insulting me personally, as well as my entire generation. I'm a lawyer now, and I'm pretty sure he's out there screaming about nano machines in our vaccines building moon bases on our genitals. Fuck that guy."
"When a boomer calls you lazy or entitled, just remind them their parents called them the 'Me' generation."
9. "When they're shocked and offended that you're not familiar with an obscure band that had like one hit in the 1970s. But when you mention an artist who is hugely popular today, they have no idea who that is and are dismissive of their music."
10. "I'm an elder millennial. I hate it when they reference prices. My parents found out I bought my drone for 800 Dollarydoos, and they are all like, 'When we first got jobs, we weren't even earning 800 dollars per year', as they gasp at what they consider to be a crazy cost. Every time I'm like, "Inflation is a real bitch, isn't it.'"
"A boomer I know made a long post about how lazy people were today, pointing out that he worked 60 hours a week at a trucking job and paid for his first house, got benefits, etc., and that the same company was still hiring today, so the lazy, entitled younger generations just needed to learn how to work!
Well, he gave the name, so I looked up the company. They were hiring. Pay was listed. I pointed out to him that if inflation was accounted for, at the current pay someone would need to work almost 120 hours a week now to earn the same amount of money at that company, with no benefits, as he did for 60 hours, with benefits.
They deleted the entire post and still talk trash, rather than face the truth."
11. "I espouse libertarian or leftist beliefs (socialism, secularism, non-interventionism, drug legalization, pro-choice, etc.), and they tell me, 'I used to think like you, but you'll grow out of it as you get older.' I'm 35 now, and if anything I'm even more left-wing now than I've ever been."
12. "Had a conversation with a boomer where he insisted trans people didn’t exist in his generation. Nah, dude. They just had to hide themselves from fucks like you."
13. "Saying that people my age (late 20s to early 30s) are ruining things. They’re the ones who have been functioning adults for a few decades now; how did newcomers ruin everything?"
14. "Anything where they compare pre-1980 to anything past 2005. Look around. How many physical things do you see that haven't changed since the decade you're describing? If the physical things have changed, don't you think this would apply to everything?"
15. "My father confidently said that millennials tend to be 'weak' because we've been coddled, and mental health issues weren't a thing in their day. I have ADHD."
"My MIL doesn’t believe in mental illnesses like PTSD; she believes it’s made up. And she’s a fire/medic."
16. "Boomers have no idea how fast technology evolves. I'm 26, and my colleagues always act like the internet was around in 1990 and I was born with a tablet in hand."
"'We had to stop using the internet when someone had to make a call.'
'We had to turn a knob on the telly to change the channel.'
'We had to use the yellow pages to find a phone number.'
So did I! Digital technology is not that old. Millennials grew up through that revolution, not after it."
And lastly...
You can read the full thread of responses on Reddit.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.