Millennials and Boomers are two generations simultaneously puzzled and also often irritated by each other. The main reason is that most Millennials were born to Boomer parents, and most Boomer parents have been dealing with raising their Millennial children for the last few decades.
But why are these two generations so different? Basically, Boomers are called such because they were born shortly after World War II during a massive baby boom, and the post-war world in which they grew up was incredibly different from any generation before or after them. With Millennials being birthed into the world during the 80s and early nineties, it’s hard to imagine a more different experience of childhood.
While Boomers are renowned to be known as the generation who benefited from a time when hard work paid off, and were able to buy their own homes relatively young and start profitable businesses; Millennials faced different challenges, such as a world that focused heavily on academic qualifications, and the 2008 financial crash, both of which impacted their career directions, and bank balances. A combination of the above has led to Millennials being slightly resentful, if not outright irritated, by their financially flourishing Boomer elders. Here are 18 things about Boomers that Millennials can’t stand.
Bragging About Home Ownership
It’s no secret that Millennials have struggled to get onto the property ladder, and one could argue that the financial markets were not in their favor as they stepped out of college straight into a recession. But what really irritates Millennials about Boomers is the fact that they are always boasting about owning their own homes. “I bought this house in 1972, and it was only $20,000. When are you going to buy a house?” We can picture a Millennial rolling their eyes at this sentence as it’s one Boomers repeat all too often.
Their Fear of Technology
Millennials have grown up with the development of new technology, and they’ve adapted well to using it as part of their daily lives. Millennials love that you can almost do everything with the click of a button, asking Alexa to play a song, or asking AI to tell a joke. However, these are all very new and different experiences for Boomers, and they are often slightly fearful of a computer talking to them from out of nowhere.
Boomers Love Paper
Want to get the latest news? A Millennial will Google it, but a Boomer will reach for their newspaper. Want to make some notes? A Millennial will use their smartphones notepad, while a Boomer will take out their favorite pen and write on some nicely lined paper. I could go on… but, basically, Millennials are very environmentally conscious and they find it incredibly frustrating that Boomers seem obsessed with using paper for everything.
Unsolicited Advice
Deep down, Millennials know that they mean well, but they find it super irritating when Boomers keep giving them unsolicited advice, which usually doesn’t apply to the current climate. While Boomer advice might have worked in 1984, 2024 is a different kettle of fish.
Check Please!
Boomers are ready to write you a check at the drop of a hat; just give them a pen, and they’ll treat it as if it’s a quick draw challenge like pistols at dawn. However, ask them to transfer some money using online banking, and you might be waiting a while. Boomers have lived most of their lives walking into banks to physically count out their money with a clerk and lodge paper checks. But because they can’t see anyone or talk to anyone during online transactions, they remain highly suspicious of the process and are constantly afraid it’s some kind of scam. Something Millennials find eternally frustrating.
Back in My Day Stories
Millennials have heard all about how things were much better back in the days of Boomers. Believe them, they know all about it. Yes, it was much easier to buy a house, yes, you could just walk into places with a CV and ask for a job, and we know that you were married with three kids and a mortgage before 25. You’ve told us before. Cue Millennial eye-rolling.
Landline Phones
Boomers are caught in some kind of nostalgic trance by landline phones. We aren’t sure why, but most of them still have one, and they are usually disappointed to discover that their Millennial child does not. As you can imagine, this door swings both ways, and Millennials are equally as shocked to discover that Boomers are still using phones wired into a wall.
Losing Their Glasses
Of course, Millennials understand that Boomers need glasses to help with their deteriorating eyesight, but if only someone would tell Boomers this, that would be awesome. For some reason, Boomers own multiple pairs of reading glasses but can never find any and always go out without them. This means that Millennials have to read menus out loud, help them pay by card as they can’t see the PIN reader, and call out Google search results about medical ailments. Fun times.
Parenting Advice
While many Boomers are now doting grandparents, their millennial children can find it irritating whenever they try to critique their parenting with outdated advice and tips that aren’t applicable in 2024.
Tupperware Obsession
Whenever boomers were in their working prime, Tupperware was big business, and it was also seen as a cool innovation to bring your lunch to work in resealable Tupperware. Wow, check you out. Jokes. Obviously, it’s just a plastic lunch box, and Millennials aren’t impressed by it half as much as Boomers (although they are a little bit), and they are always shocked by the mountains of Tupperware that cascade down upon them from the kitchen cupboards of boomers.
Anti GPS
Boomers would much rather pull over at the side of a road, and pull out a map the size of their car, and start plotting coordinates as if they are in some kind of remake of the movie Commando than turn on their GPS. We aren’t sure whether it’s their ego or an innate fear of GPS, but Millennials can’t stand this habit of boomers as it takes ages, is impractical, and will most likely make you late, lost, or both!
Email Me
Millennials and Boomers have very different expectations within the workplace. For example, while Boomers love to shout “email me” across the office, Millennials find it extremely annoying as they find email to be a draconian method of communication. In 2024, we have instant chat platforms like Slack, Trello, Zoom, and Teams in the office, and asking a Millennial to email you is kin to asking them to send a pigeon with a post-it note tied to its leg.
Life’s Too Short to Dress Bad
The style and personal grooming habits of these two generations couldn’t be more at odds with each other. While Millennials are into understated fashion, casual clothes, and muted tones like stone and olive green, Boomers love to dress up for every occasion. Boomers were brought up to believe that you had to look smart every day, and some of them even faced “inspections” at school to see how smartly they had done their hair, nails, etc. So this generation is big on appearance, with Boomer men preferring a clean shave daily.
Job Stability
While Millennials have found it hard to not only get a job after college but hold onto it too, they find it immensely annoying that Boomers seemed to enjoy a much smoother career path, with many of them having a “job for life” with good pay, and benefits for most of their working career.
Mobile Phone Usage
The struggle is real. If you are a Millennial who has any kind of close contact with a Boomer who is in possession of a mobile phone, we feel your pain. From forgetting their PIN code to not hearing it ring or even remembering to charge it, Boomers and mobile phones aren’t a great mix, and it’s a constant pain for Millennials.
Cheaper College Costs
Most Millennials are walking around today with thousands of dollars worth of debt after college, and they find it incredibly unfair that the Boomer generation got all of the benefits of a college education without half of the tuition fees or student loan debt.
Generous Retirement Packages
While most Boomers are sailing off into the sunset to enjoy their golden years with a generous retirement package, Millennials can’t help but feel a twinge of envy. Due to the post-war era of prosperity, Boomers benefitted from economic stability, which extended to their pensions and healthcare packages, allowing many of them to retire early, something Millennials can only dream of.
Lower Cost of Living
It’s no secret that we are in the middle of a cost of living crisis, whether it’s hiking fuel prices, mortgage rates, or grocery bills, Millennials can’t help but feel frustrated by the fact that Boomers lived the majority of their lives through a time when the cost of living remained relatively stable, and Millennials see this as just another thing that Boomers seemed to get an easier ride on than them.
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