Last week, Reddit user u/NukeEnergy asked, "Elder millennials, what stereotype aggravates you the most?"
It led to “elder millennials” — who’d fall into the age range of 35 to 40 right now — sharing stereotypes about millennials that annoy the hell out of them. Here's what they said:
1. "I hate that millennials get pinned as being addicted to their phones. Like we're always behind a screen and not interacting with the real world. I, for one, try really hard to have good phone etiquette, and what I've noticed is, boomers can be really bad at this."
2. "That we don’t take our jobs seriously. I had to sit my peer (age 55) down and tell him that the millennials he was complaining about were the same age as the 'very qualified and mission-focused' person he’s been working with for the past decade."
3. "Boomers had it far easier than we did but act like our generation's struggles just boil down to a lack of hard work. Also, the 'participation trophy' meme, aside from being largely bullshit anyway, raises the questions: 'Whose generation was giving out the participation trophies? Why would you blame the kids who received them?'"
4. "I laugh when boomers call us snowflakes, when they seem like the biggest bunch of wimps in history. Anytime they get a taste of their own medicine, they act like it’s an assault on their freedom."
5. "I'm getting really tired of hearing about us lying around expecting handouts and not working."
6. "My mom complained back when I was in college because I could not pay for college with my summer jobs, saying that she paid for most of her college with her summer jobs. College today is a lot more expensive."
7. "That boomers think we are not working just because we can work from home."
8. "When people use the term 'millennial' to refer to the general 'young person.'"
9. "When they say, 'You can't use a rotary phone?!' No, and you can't use a fucking telegraph. Technology changes, you quack."
10. "That I want my parents to do everything for me or handle any stressful situation I might find myself in. I ask for advice and usually take it because they've been in the same situations and have experience handling them. Still, I make my own doctor's appointments, call people I need to connect with myself, etc."
11. "We can't afford houses because apparently we spend too much on avocado toast. No, in the '80s and '90s, houses were about three to four times the average annual income."
12. "When someone makes mention of some 'challenge' that teenagers are doing, like eating Tide pods, and people are like, 'Ugh, millennials.'"
13. "I, for one, am tired of hearing about the things we've 'killed.' Tastes change all the time; this is not new."
14. "It really pisses me off how older generations constantly perpetuate the idea that millennials have no manners and are just inherently shitty and rude. I have worked in retail, a call center, and social services for my entire working life, so I have communicated with a lot of different people from all age groups and all walks of life. Without a doubt, there is an absolute and distinct difference in 'manners' between millennials and folks from older generations. Few of the rude people were millennials."
15. "When millennials take cooking classes and sewing classes and basic auto repair classes (and other shit our parents were too lazy/busy to teach us, but no one ever talks about that part), we're derided as being helpless and needing 'adulting classes.'"
16. "That I am an entitled, unwilling, un-driven individual who has no interest in having children, saving for my future, getting married, or buying a home."
17. "When we are looked down upon for needing to use YouTube, etc., for learning tasks (like changing a tire) that our parents were taught by our grandparents, but the former never took the time to teach us."
18. "We got blamed for spring break COVID-19 outbreaks. We aren't in college anymore!"
Are you an elder millennial? Let me know what you think of their responses in the comments below!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity. H/T: r/AskReddit.