February 19th, 2025

Boomers.  Millenials. Gen X. Gen Z.  When did the different generations acquire nicknames and who assigned them?   For reasons unknown I have difficulty remembering which generation goes by which title. It's sort of like the Kardashian girls,  I'm pretty sure I know all of the names  (I've certainly read and heard them often enough) but I'm not positive which name goes with which face.

Going to take a guess here and say that Boomers is the oldest group.  Most likely a shortened version of Baby Boomer which is post WWII.  And then maybe.... well hmmm.  Millennials probably has to do with the changing millennium which would be the year 2000 so since X comes before Z then the order must be 1. Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z.  I'm fairly certain that's accurate but what happened to Y? Shouldn't there have been a Gen Y too? XYZ ...?

I am not a fan of this nicknamed generational separation thing.  I think it tends to create a bigger divide between generations than there already is.  Because there is a nice tidy handy dandy label, we can tuck everyone into their correctly aged box and assume that they, like everyone else in that box, is exactly the same. Nothing could be further from the truth.

There has always been a kind of gap, a line of separation, a divide between generations. But I think it's currently worse than it's ever been. I've been trying to figure out why.  I know it sounds ridiculous, but I largely blame the media.  Not only is there a tendency to sensationalize everything but since we are bombarded with media's opinions 24/7, there is no escaping it.

Naturally within each generation we share similar experiences, music, history and fashion which means, yes, we at least have first hand knowledge of those things in common. BUT our response and reactions to each of those things is different. Our ability to change and move forward is different. Our interests and personal histories are different.  We are not carbon copies of each other.  Which is hilarious thing to say because carbon copies themselves are such a thing of the past.  Just dated myself :)  I still "dial" a phone and "roll down" a car window too.  LOLOL

The reason this popped into my head today was that I keep getting these articles in my online feed like "Things Gen Z hates about Boomers", "Things Boomers do that Gen Z finds rude", "Things Gen Z finds confusing about Boomers".  Very Annoying Articles. 

I read the first few.  Why?  Because I am always interested in learning new things AND in improving myself.  I don't read them anymore tho because the articles were less informational and more inflammatory.

Apparently one of the things that we oldsters do that really bothers youngsters today is...........get ready for it........we use punctuation.  The actual quote from one of the young people with regard to our insistence on using punctuation is that it "is really offensive when I see all that unnecessary punctuation".   Interesting.  That part where punctuation is offensive to him out kind of made me chuckle.  You have a very low 'offensive' threshold my friend.  And as far as punctuation being unnecessary, there is a huge difference between, "Let's eat, Grandma" and "Let's eat Grandma".   And if you don't see the difference in those two sentences, we need to talk.

Another thing that, so I read, truly drives young people up a wall is the fact that I write my grocery list on paper instead of typing it into my phone.  Why on earth would that matter to you? I am not asking you to write your list on paper.  I'm not handing you my handwritten list on paper and asking you to shop from it.  I'm over here, quietly writing and shopping all by myself.

The other thing I remember on the list that young people hate is our clumsiness with technology.  Ok I will cop to that one.  I am not the most technologically advanced person out there. On the other hand, I think, for someone who as a child considered the idea of personal computers and cell phones to be science fiction, I do pretty well.  And I continue to learn.  On purpose!

Perhaps young people forget that someday they will be the outdated change resistant old folks who the new young generation makes fun of and has no patience with.  It's inevitable. It's happened since the beginning of time. The only difference now, as far as I can tell, is that now the generations have names.

I will say that the gross generalizations regarding those words: Gen X, Millennials and so forth, go in both directions and that's wrong too.  The assumption that ALL kids today have no work ethic is unfair. The claim that ALL Gen Z-ers are entitled and have an unrealistic expectation of life is based on a few frankly outrageous stories that the media just loves to shove at us. 

I have no doubt that some Boomers are judgmental and closed minded the same way I'm sure some Gen Z-ers are addicted to their cell phones and have crazy short attention spans.  But by the same token,  some old folksre brilliant with technology  and some young people are focused and determined. 

This isn't one size fits all. We are all individuals. We all have purpose, value, skills to share and things to learn.  I think what is needed instead of snazzy sound bite labels is more respect in both directions. Aretha sang it.  Let's live it.  Be open to change and be open to learning from everyone we meet, older and  younger.  Let's try to be patient with ourselves and each other.  And above all else let's be a little more respectful to everyone in our lives. 

 I honestly think that'll help a bit with the divide.  If nothing else, it certainly can't hurt.