“Ok Boomer” and the Generational Divide

One thing I dislike about the phrase “OK, boomer”, besides its incredible condescension, is that it pretends all individuals of a certain generation are alike.

Trust me when I tell you we are not.

“OK boomer” or “okay boomer” is a catchphrase and internet meme used to dismiss or mock attitudes typically associated with baby boomers – people born in the two decades following World War II.
– Wikipedia

Dismiss or mock? More like dismiss and mock.

Not all members of the baby boom generation feel, believe, or act the same. There may be trends or bell-curves around certain ideologies or behaviors, but it’s a curve, not a bucket. Age alone tells you very little about an individual other than probabilities, at best.

This applies to every other way you slice the generations. Gen-X, millennials, Gen Z, these all have stereotypes just as boomers do. And just like boomers, those stereotypes do a huge disservice to anyone that doesn’t match the built-in assumptions.

And yes, boomers are just as guilty of this behavior as anyone else. Complaining about the generations following us is common. It’s not even anything really new: just consider the phrase “Kids these days”, which might be older than we are. The sentiment certainly is (think 2600 years, at least).

Whenever you use these over-generalizations, you’re explicitly missing, and perhaps even insulting, individuals who don’t match the stereotype you’re assuming is at play. That boomer you’re speaking to? They could be an ally, rather than an adversary.

I know stereotypes exist for a reason, but that doesn’t mean they’re useful assumptions to make. Not at all.

Treat everyone with respect, regardless of their age, and regardless of their age with respect to your own.