I recently asked my fellow millennials in the BuzzFeed Community to cop to the "boomer" things they do.
Here's what they had to say (it turns out I do a lot of boomer shit):
1. "I find myself judging what the youths are wearing today…I’m 31 😂."
I try really hard not to, but now that said youths are starting to wear the worst things to come out of 2000s fashion, it's a challenge.
2. "I'm 38, and I'm starting to ignore newer music and just listen to my tried and true. Unless it's Lady Gaga coming out with something new, I honestly just can't keep up. I always made fun of my parents for never listening to anything past their graduation year (1976), but now I get it. It's familiar, it's comforting, it's nostalgic. Your brain just stops wanting to listen to newer things, or 'Music ain't what it used to be, like in MY day,' LOL. I know this isn't a rule, but I'm noticing that it's mostly happening to all my friends and people around my age now. We end up putting on tunes from 1990 to 2010, and we're good with it!"
I'm half guilty of this because all the new music I hear is on TikTok, so I guess it's kind of a wash?
3. "I’m not at all adventurous in my food choices; once I find something I like, I’ll just stick with it and keep eating it over and over again. I think my grocery list is usually the same 10–15 items because I just can’t bring myself to branch out."
If this is a boomer thing, I've been a boomer since I was a child.
4. "I don’t know when exactly this happened, but I started commenting on background details I notice in movies and TV shows. I’ll find myself saying, 'Oh, that’s a lovely wall color,' or 'Those bookshelves are beautiful,' or 'What an ugly rug.'"
I definitely did this when I had roommates.
5. "These kids with their boom-boom car stereos speeding down my residential street at all hours drive me nuts. I was one of them many years ago in high school. Now I feel guilty for doing that to my neighbors when they surely had jobs to wake up early for the next day."
As someone who lives directly next to a highway, yes, I get this.
6. "I've been trying to be better about it, but I still use the 😂 emoji unironically."
I knew Gen Z hates this, but I didn't realize it was boomer behavior... 😬
7. "I still prefer working on desktop computers with a keyboard and a mouse instead of laptops or tablets."
—kaa
I can't use a desktop computer from my couch, so this one's a no for me.
9. "I actually love talking on the phone. It’s a no-pressure way to catch up with someone, as we aren’t face-to-face, and I enjoy hearing their voice and inflections…whereas with a text, I am left to interpret meanings and it just isn’t the same."
I'll take the ambiguity over talking on the phone any day.
10. "I don't know if this is boomer or Gen X behavior, but after years of only watching things on streaming services, I started missing live TV, so occasionally I'll turn on The Masked Singer or The Voice or watch a movie on Freeform (formerly ABC Family). I even like the commercials sometimes."
I don't like commercials, but I do still stream live TV occasionally. Nothing beats watching Abbott Elementary and White Lotus the nights they air.
11. "I like to write by hand whenever I can: work or school notes, planner, shopping lists, etc. There’s just something about actually putting things on paper that doesn’t translate to doing it on your phone or laptop."
I occasionally still write out shopping lists on paper, but I generally stick to my phone.
13. "I have a checkbook. I pay most of my bills online but still occasionally send out a check or pay the plumber or whatever with one."
I have checks from three addresses ago because I only use them to pay rent.
14. "I accidentally leave my cellphone flashlight on all the time. I was told by a boomer that is the most boomer thing you can do."
I did this once on the subway and was mortified when someone pointed it out.
15. "I’m 36 and I often use my index finger to scroll or type on my phone 😔."
The last time I used my index finger to do anything phone related was when I got a papercut on my thumb and had to wear a bandage.
16. "I don’t want someone’s raggedy-ass kids on my lawn. There. I said it."
If I had a lawn, I would 100% feel the same way.
17. "I get annoyed with loud car stereos, and sometimes when kids play outside super noisily, I hate that, too. Seriously, stop screaming."
Why do kids scream for no reason???
