Boomer Bashing

It seems there is a lot of boomer* bashing in the media these days.

Articles like “40 Things All Baby Boomers Think Are Cool” frequently pop up in my internet news. (1) The list includes things like ironing, all caps, and jorts.

They didn't ask me.

I don't think any of these are cool.

I chose a postive graphic for boomers

Another article, “Got a Granny, You'll Understand These Photos,” featured photos of things such as plastic furniture covers. (2) I remember seeing a plastic furniture cover only once in my life—when I was six years old.

Then there's Progressive Insurance's series of ads teaching people how to avoid “becoming their parents.” The premise is that once you become a homeowner, you start doing things your parents did—and apparently, that's something to be prevented.

immediate reaction to these articles and ads is to argue back.

I'm nothing like that!

I hate ironing. The last time I ironed was probably in the 1980s—and only because clothes weren't all permanent press back then. I NEVER USE ALL CAPS. And I don't even know what jorts are!

I mentally make my own list of things I like that are the opposite of the supposed boomer list: online shopping instead of catalogs, fact-checking instead of conspiracy theories, ethnic foods instead of chain restaurants.

Then I start explaining to myself why they aren't talking about me.

They must be talking about a different demographic. Maybe a different geographic region. Maybe rural versus urban. Maybe a different age group—people older than me, like my mother or grandmother.

But why do I cringe when I see these articles and ads?

Because they imply that the things boomers supposedly like and do are stupid. They lump us all into one category that apparently deserves to be laughed at.

While Progressive's advertising people say the “How Not to Be Your Parents” ads aren't meant to be mean, they seem mean-spirited to me. They create a fantasy image of what older people are like and poke fun at it.

I want to shout, “I'm nothing like that!”

But that's not the point.

Then it hit me. Isn't this stereotyping? So Now I Know What It Feels Like to Be Stereotyped

I've always known that stereotypes can be unfair. But there's a difference between understanding that in theory and suddenly finding yourself on the receiving end of one.

I wasn't being seen as an individual—with my own personality, interests, opinions, experiences, and quirks. Instead, I was being lumped into a category. The subtle differences and nuances that distinguish one person from another disappear.

And now we become old people.

ScienceDirect describes stereotyping as a process in which “the subtle differences and nuances that distinguish one individual older person from another are dissolved” until aging becomes one uniform process. (3)

Yep. That's what I'm feeling.

So now I have a new question: What's really behind all this boomer bashing?

We're Not All Alike

I understand that young adults want to chart their own path. As I matured, I often looked at what my parents did and said, I don't want to be like that.

That's part of growing up.

But I was never compelled to lump my parents—and everyone else their age—into one category based on their likes or dislikes. I knew they weren't all alike. They had different furniture styles, clothing styles, hobbies, beliefs, and personalities. They did things I laughed at and things I didn't agree with. But I didn't denigrate them because they were older.

They supported me. They taught me things. They gave me valuable life lessons.

And yes, I sometimes catch myself doing something and think, Oops. I'm acting just like Mom.

But that's not a horrible feeling. It's something I notice and chuckle about.

I never laughed at the fact that my grandmother and her friends wore flowered housedresses and black, tied, sensible granny shoes. I wouldn't wear them. But they weren't something to laugh at.

They represented my grandmother and her generation. And when I think of them now, they bring feelings of love and respect—not disdain.

The Other

Psychologists say our brains are wired to put things into categories. As social animals, we need to distinguish between friend and foe. (4)

There's nothing inherently wrong with categorizing. It's how our brains make sense of a complicated world.

The problem comes when a category becomes a stereotype—a fixed, generalized belief that replaces the individual.

That's why these seemingly cute articles and ads are so disturbing to me. They push me out of the category of friend and place me in the category of other. I am no longer a person to be admired for my accomplishments, judged by my character, or appreciated for my individuality.

I'm a person with gray hair. And apparently, that means I'm funny.

Selling the Stereotype

What's particularly troubling is that negative stereotyping now seems like an acceptable way to sell products.

Advertising used to be mostly about the product. Then it evolved into what the product could do for you: Use X aftershave and girls will love you.

Those ads might have been misleading, but at least they were selling a benefit.

The Progressive ads take a different approach. They suggest that being like your parents is something young people should avoid—and that the things older people do are the joke. Progressive's own description of the campaign calls it a way to help young homeowners “un-become” their parents.

And millions of young people see versions of the same message: Older people keep ancient stuff in the freezer. They worry about keeping lines straight. They leave voicemails instead of texting. They take their own snacks to movies and book signings.

Maybe some seniors do those things. But that's not the point. The joke depends on the audience recognizing these behaviors as things old people do.

And that's where the humor stops being funny to me.

OK, Boomer

Then there's the phrase “OK Boomer.”

In fairness, the phrase is sometimes used when older people lecture younger generations about standards from our time that no longer apply. You'll never get a job with pink hair or a tattoo. Fair enough.

Every generation has probably rolled its eyes at the generation before it.

But “OK Boomer” can also be used to dismiss someone's ideas simply because of their age.

You don't have to listen. You don't have to consider what the person said. They're a Boomer. What do they know? (7)

I've also seen the idea that boomers are responsible for everything wrong with the world today—economic inequality, environmental damage, racism, and more.

I want to defend my generation. We fought for civil rights. We participated in the environmental movement. We started Earth Day.

But then I stop myself. I don't actually need to prove that my generation was wonderful. Because that's the same trap.

The minute I start arguing that boomers are actually good people, I'm accepting the premise that millions of people born within a particular period can be judged as a group.

Some boomers are wonderful. Some aren't. Just like every other generation.

What I Don't Want to Forget

Being on the receiving end of stereotyping has reminded me of something I don't want to forget as I get older:

• Don't do the same thing to someone else.

• Don't assume everyone in a category shares the same characteristics.

• Don't dismiss someone's ideas because of the year on their birth certificate.

• And try to build bridges, not walls, between generations.

We are all more complicated than the categories we're put into.

And if we're lucky, we'll live long enough to discover that we're not nearly as predictable as the people who write those lists think we are.

Footnote

* By boomer I include a wider span of ages than what’s technically defined as boomers: People older or younger than me. Many of my friends were born pre-1946, but we all grew up in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. I also noticed some of the things they suggest boomers do are actually things my mother or grandmother did.

References

1. 40 things All Baby Boomers Think Are Cool, a lot. The list varies a bit, depending on who publishes it but it includes: cruises, diamonds, potpourri, malls, conspiracy theories, Home Shopping Networks, Reader’s Digest, Jorts, Golf, Crocs, procedural police dramas, knick-knacks, China, shopping catalogs, chain restaurants, giving retail workers a hard time, processed foods, dry toast, Ironing, air-brushed t-shirts, emails (exclusively), landlines, stored paperwork, all Caps, Mrs. Dash, Patterned wallpaper, Cable TV, fuzzy toilet seats, fossil fuels, infomercials, weird salads (Jell-O), Avon, Juice concentrate, TV dinners, bar soap.

2 Hendy, Got a Grandma? You’ll Understand These Photos, The Chive, October 9, 2022

3 ScienceDirect, Stereotyping, From: Encyclopedia of Gerontology (Second Edition), 2007

4 ABC News, The Psychology of Stereotyping,

5 Single-use plastic bottle use by age group, ResearchGate,

6 Number of PET bottles recycled in the US by age group in 2017, Statistica

7 Taylor Lorenz, ‘OK Boomer’ Marks the End of Friendly Generational Relations, The New York Times, October 26, 2019