Remember when the biggest generational divide was about rock ‘n’ roll music? Well, welcome to 2024, where “woke culture” has many Boomers feeling like they’ve landed on a different planet. From gender pronouns to cancel culture, here’s a look at modern social changes that have the older generation clutching their pearls and wondering what happened to “the good old days.”
1. Cancel Culture
The concept of “canceling” someone has Boomers longing for the days when public shaming meant a strongly worded letter to the newspaper editor. They’ve watched in bewilderment as celebrities and public figures vanish overnight for tweets posted during the Obama administration. Every family gathering now comes with the risk of saying something that will get them “canceled” by their own grandkids, leading to elaborate mental gymnastics before speaking. The idea that old TV shows now need content warnings or might be removed entirely from streaming services makes them particularly nervous. They’re still trying to figure out how to navigate this new landscape where everything they say might be screenshot and shared with the world.
2. Plant-Based Everything
Gone are the days when vegetarians were just “those hippie folks who eat rabbit food”—now their local grocery store has entire aisles dedicated to foods pretending to be meat. The sight of “bleeding” veggie burgers and plant-based chicken nuggets has many Boomers questioning reality itself, especially when these items cost twice as much as their meat counterparts. They’re baffled by oat milk lattes, cauliflower pizza crusts, and the fact that their grandkids are having “meatless Mondays” while paying premium prices for processed vegetables. The final straw often comes when their favorite restaurants start offering Impossible Burgers, leading to lengthy discussions about how nothing beats a “real” burger.
3. Pronoun Introductions
The practice of sharing pronouns in introductions or email signatures has many Boomers feeling like they’ve stepped into an alternate dimension of unnecessary formality. They’ll sit through workplace meetings where people introduce themselves with “he/him” or “they/them” while silently wondering when grammar became so complicated. For this generation, these introductions feel as bizarre as having to announce you’re human or specify that you breathe air. Their grandkids’ patient explanations about gender identity and expression often fall on bewildered ears, leading to heated family dinner discussions about “how things were simpler back in the day.” The confusion reaches peak levels during video calls where pronouns appear in digital name tags, forcing them to squint at the screen while muttering about how they can “see perfectly well what everyone is.”
4. Digital Payment Apps
Boomers watch in horror as their grandkids split restaurant bills by casually tapping on their phones, convinced that identity theft is imminent. The concept of digital wallets seems about as secure to them as leaving their credit cards on a park bench with a “take one” sign. Their phones are already suspicious enough without adding banking information to the mix, thank you very much. Some still write checks at the grocery store, much to the quiet despair of everyone waiting in line behind them. The final straw comes when their own banks start pushing mobile banking apps, leading to long rants about how “real money” worked just fine for the last several decades.
5. Self-Care Culture
Boomers survived decades without meditation apps, therapy sessions, or scented bath bombs, and they’re quick to let everyone know it. The idea of taking a mental health day from work seems particularly outrageous to the generation that prides itself on perfect attendance. They watch in bewilderment as their kids invest in jade rollers, essential oils, and wellness retreats, convinced this generation is just too soft. The concept of “burnout” is met with particular skepticism, usually accompanied by stories about how they worked three jobs while raising kids without ever needing a “self-care Sunday.”
6. Social Media Activism
Boomers who marched for civil rights are thoroughly unimpressed by hashtag activism and online petitions, viewing them as the participation trophies of social movements. They can’t understand how sharing a post or changing a profile picture counts as real activism, often comparing it unfavorably to their own experiences of actual protest marches. The concept of “raising awareness” through social media seems particularly puzzling, leading to frequent comments about how awareness doesn’t solve anything. They’re baffled by viral social justice campaigns and wonder why everyone can’t just write to their congressman like in the old days. The idea that a TikTok video could influence political change makes them question everything they know about activism.
7. Working From Home
The concept of a productive workday happening in pajamas breaks every rule in the Boomer career handbook. They’re convinced remote workers are just watching soap operas and doing laundry between Zoom calls, no matter how many studies show increased productivity. The idea of “digital nomads” working from beach locations makes them particularly uncomfortable, as if professional success is directly tied to how uncomfortable your office chair is. They’ll share stories about walking five miles in the snow to their first job, while their kids attend important meetings from their couch.
8. Dating Apps
The whole concept of swiping right or left on potential partners makes many Boomers nostalgic for good old-fashioned blind dates set up by their friends or family. They’re horrified by the idea of meeting strangers from the internet, convinced that every dating app user is secretly an axe murderer. Every family dinner includes at least one story about how they met their spouse at church or a sock hop, followed by concerned questions about “these Tinder things.” The concept of dating profiles and carefully curated selfies seems shallow compared to their memories of organic meetings and handwritten love letters. They’re particularly baffled by the idea of paying for premium dating app features when “in their day” you could find love for free at the local diner.
9. Cryptocurrency
Try explaining Bitcoin to a Boomer who still keeps their savings in a passbook account and watches the nightly news for stock market updates. The concept of digital money that isn’t backed by anything tangible makes them deeply uncomfortable, often leading to lengthy lectures about the gold standard. They’re convinced cryptocurrency is either a pyramid scheme or something invented by computer hackers to steal retirement funds. The terms “blockchain” and “NFT” might as well be from a foreign language, and any attempt to explain them usually results in glazed eyes and muttered complaints about “funny money.”
10. Gender-Neutral Bathrooms
The concept of bathrooms not labeled “Men” or “Women” has many Boomers doing double-takes in public spaces. They grew up in a strictly binary world where bathroom choices were as simple as picking chocolate or vanilla ice cream. Now they’re encountering all-gender facilities in restaurants, schools, and offices, leading to confused looks and occasional rants about “the way things used to be.” The younger folks just roll their eyes and go about their business, while their Boomer parents are still trying to wrap their heads around why this change was necessary in the first place.
11. Trigger Warnings
The idea of content warnings before potentially upsetting material has many Boomers reminiscing about how they watched war footage during dinner and turned out just fine. They’re baffled by the concept of emotional preparation before consuming media, often scoffing at warnings before classic movies or TV shows. Every family movie night now comes with extensive discussions about what might be too intense for various family members, leading to eye-rolling and stories about how they survived Hitchcock films without any warnings. The concept of avoiding trauma triggers seems particularly foreign to a generation that prided itself on “toughing it out,” and they’re quick to point out how nobody needed warnings “back in their day.”
12. Gender Reveal Parties
The elaborate celebrations for revealing a baby’s gender have Boomers longing for the days when you just waited to be surprised in the delivery room. They’re mystified by pink and blue smoke bombs, colored cakes, and the whole social media spectacle that comes with modern gender reveals. The concept of gathering dozens of people just to announce something that used to be a simple doctor’s appointment revelation seems particularly excessive to them. They’ll often share stories about how they found out their children’s gender—usually involving a quick ultrasound or just waiting until birth—while shaking their heads at videos of couples releasing butterflies or setting off fireworks. The additional irony of these parties happening alongside growing gender identity awareness isn’t lost on them either.
13. Digital Minimalism
The new trend of “decluttering” digital lives has Boomers completely baffled, especially since they’re still trying to figure out how to delete emails from their overstuffed inboxes. They watch their kids talk about “digital detoxes” and “screen time limits” while remembering how they used to beg these same kids to stop watching TV. The concept of paying for apps that lock you out of your own phone seems particularly ridiculous to them. The idea that someone needs help disconnecting from technology makes them nostalgic for the days when disconnecting just meant not answering the landline. They’re particularly puzzled by “minimalist” phones that cost more than regular ones but do less, usually commenting that a flip phone would achieve the same thing for a fraction of the price.
14. Influencer Culture
The entire concept of making a living by posting pictures and videos online breaks every career rule Boomers ever learned. They watch in disbelief as their grandkids follow “content creators” who seem to do nothing but talk to their phones all day. The idea that someone can earn six figures by dancing on TikTok or reviewing products on YouTube seems like a sign of society’s decline to them. When they hear about influencer marketing budgets, they’re quick to remind everyone about how they worked summer jobs at the local diner for actual money.
15. Subscription Economy
The idea of renting everything from clothes to furniture has many Boomers clutching their paid-off possessions in horror. They can’t understand why anyone would pay monthly for things they could just buy outright, from cars to software to streaming services. The concept of not actually owning your music or movies particularly disturbs them, leading to proud displays of their CD and DVD collections. They’re baffled by the younger generation’s comfort with perpetual payments, often citing their own mortgage-free homes as examples of “doing it right.”
16. Conscious Consumerism
They watch in bewilderment as their kids check corporate sustainability reports and social responsibility statements before buying a simple t-shirt. The concept of paying more for “ethically sourced” products seems particularly foreign to a generation that grew up prioritizing durability and cost. They’re especially confused by the boycotting of beloved brands over political stances, often commenting that “everything is political these days.” The extra time spent investigating product origins and company values seems exhausting to them, leading to complaints about how shopping used to be straightforward.
17. Therapy Culture
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The normalization of therapy and counseling has many Boomers wondering why everyone needs professional help to deal with everyday life. They’re particularly puzzled by couples therapy for dating relationships, remembering how they just “worked things out” with their spouses without outside intervention. The concept of therapy apps and online counseling seems especially strange to them, often leading to comments about how nothing beats a face-to-face conversation with a friend. The idea of processing childhood trauma with professionals makes them particularly uncomfortable, usually resulting in stories about how their generation “just dealt with it.”
