The Older Generation Had A Point: Things That Younger Generations Agree With
As each new generation comes of age, one can typically expect some friction between them and the ones that came before. And while some of their arguments can be over petty matters like participation trophies and TikTok, others cut much deeper and can see each side blame the other for ruining the world.
But while there's always going to be a lack of understanding between generations, they have more common ground than people think. And today, they'll prove it!
The modern way is actually less convenient
For Twitter user Brandon Carl, there's no school like the old school when it comes to ordering in a restaurant. As he put it, "I am NOT using my phone to scan a QR code."
And really, who does prefer to fiddle with an app to find out the same information they could get in seconds by just flipping through a physical menu? Isn't technology supposed to make people's lives easier?
Not everybody is comfortable seeing this
Although she didn't really expand on what she wanted to say about it, one Twitter user who goes by @superspicesize simply responded with, "PDA."
Presumably, this meant that she was no happier to see public displays of affection around her than anyone older than her. Indeed, it seems to be a common sentiment, albeit apparently not so common that people stop doing it.
Everyone just wants some peace and quiet
One Twitter user named @bythekwe turned out to have a pretty popular opinion: "Street racing, donuts, etc., especially at night."
By that, they meant that it isn't just Baby Boomers who want the wannabe Vin Diesels in their neighborhoods to stop gunning their loud engines while everyone's trying to sleep. That's a pretty universal experience.
Don't drown out the TV & movie dialogue
One Twitter user, Chris Dawson, came through with an unexpected bombshell: "Fix the sound on TV shows so the music and sound effects don't drown out the dialogue."
Although a video from Vox explains how various differences in technology have led film production to this point, there's no explanation that makes it any more satisfying to experience. Is it too much to ask to be able to hear what people are saying in movies?
$$$$$$$$
As one person put it on Reddit, "Everything's expensive."
Although it certainly makes the sting of runaway inflation worse to remember how little certain items used to cost, there are very few people with enough money not to feel this struggle on some level. Sadly, people of all ages can lack financial security.
It's easy to forget this simple pleasure
Now that he's a dad himself, Twitter user @sir_richardfs is finding his sentiments echoed in the words of so many people who came before him, "Go play outside."
But while some may debate as to whether the inclinations of children or their overprotective parents led to the decline of playing outside, there is something about it that people seem to miss seeing.
There's enough snobbery in the world
One Twitter user who goes by Ashelina (not pictured) posted a photo of a Mr. Coffee machine and said, "These make a perfectly good cup of coffee; stop complicating things."
While a fancy French press may produce tastier results, there's something to be said for recognizing when something is "good enough." That's especially true when most of the other options involve paying too much.
They're popular to their viewers, but not everyone likes them
One thing that Twitter user @bythekwe found just as likely to inspire a disapproving cluck from them as from their older counterparts is the public TikToker.
By that, they meant that whether someone is doing a prank or a trending dance for a TikTok video, most people who do so in public will come off as obnoxious to them.
Just because they can, it doesn't mean they should
Twitter user Brandon Christensen had one complaint that just about everyone could agree with, "Appliances don't need to be connected to the internet."
Some household items could perhaps benefit from internet access, but a fridge or a washing machine isn't among them. As funny as it is to send a tweet from the microwave, there's really no reason for that to be possible.
Regardless of the fuel source, something has been lost
In one heartfelt lament, a Twitter user named Ella Thompson said, "I don't understand why humanity collectively stopped producing gorgeous looking cars like we did throughout the 50’s - 70’s."
That's not to say that society should go back to leaded gasoline and strip away modern safety features, but it's hard not to admit that most modern cars don't have as much personality as they did in the old days. Why did that have to go away?
To ghost or not to ghost
One aspect of modern relationships that Twitter user Melody Lindsey Kaiserin took an old-school view on regarded how they tend to end. As she wrote, "People need to stop ghosting each other for whatever reason and be more direct, learn how to keep friendships."
That said, another user wrote that it's sometimes necessary to disappear from people's lives for one's own safety, and Kaiserin readily accepted that point.
Hopefully, Hank Hill didn't hear that
Twitter user Ryan Gorman didn't seem to get any objections when he wrote, "Charcoal grills over gas grills." The only response he received suggested there was a third option: Cooking over apple wood.
Gorman couldn't help but agree and waxed nostalgic for his old smoker. Still, it's clear that people of any generation can appreciate a more elemental approach to barbecuing.
Sometimes, it's more about what they had than their beliefs
Whether Twitter user Bärí A. Williams agrees with the Baby Boomers or not, it's clear that she wishes she was there for one aspect of their young adult lives: "$30,000 home prices."
And while another user noted that her salary would also be much lower, there's still a good chance that it would be more proportionate to home prices than most salaries are now.
Some people prefer to dress with a little class
For some, it was easy to agree with their forebears about the way some people dress nowadays. As Twitter user @404SAGE wrote, "Y'all folks wearing ski masks in the summer need to stay away from me."
While that person clearly felt intimidated by this fashion choice, another user named @MornMoor seemed more annoyed by another one. In their words, "Pull your pants up; nobody wants to see your drawers."
And others don't want anyone making their property untidy
Although she confessed that she wasn't entirely proud of this, a nurse practitioner named Devyn Nixon tweeted that she would tell someone to get off her lawn in all sincerity.
And she keeps a similarly watchful eye over the state of her home's interior, saying, "Stop rippin and running in this house."
They're not being grumpy. It really is too loud
In one tweet, Dr. Justin Zimmerman wrote, "Lower the sound system at restaurants and coffee shops."
Because while it can be nice to have some background music during an evening out, it's a lot harder to hear what friends are saying when it becomes foreground music. So while some folks never imagined hearing themselves say, "Turn down that racket," it's hard not to nowadays.
Those departure times are no joke
While some people do this out of necessity, Dr. Joseph Stuart tweeted that it actually gives him some real pleasure to arrive at the airport early.
The older a member of a given family is, the earlier they typically want to leave. But while arriving three hours before a flight can seem excessive to some, Dr. Stuart would not be among those complaining.
Not everyone wants to talk with their thumbs
For Devyn Nixon, it's much more natural to talk to people on the phone like everybody used to do than to communicate through a series of texts.
While others may consider a day where they didn't have to talk to anyone on the phone a victory, Nixon prefers to hear a friendly voice.
Using them isn't the same thing as liking them
Although it's kind of an ironic thing to say on a social media platform, one Twitter user named Royce Brannon kept it simple: "Phones are bad."
There are varying degrees of this sentiment across generations, of course. One can use a smartphone and find it an enjoyable distraction without thinking it should be necessary to function in society.
It's perfectly good
One Twitter user who describes themselves as The American Stoic mentioned finding it hard not to feel the same disconnect as some of the older people in their lives when they pay in cash.
In their experience, people tend to look surprised when they don't pull a card out instead. It's not just for flexing on social media, folks!
Not everything needs to stay in the past
As far as one Twitter user who goes by Nyasha Junior, one vintage article of clothing needs to make a comeback. Because she said, her common ground with older generations is "Wearing a slip."
Although it's likely that most people consider it an unnecessary garment, others believe it makes a dress hang better and stay cleaner.
A little formality can maintain a healthy distance
Another way that Devin Nyxon agreed with her parents' generation was that the younger the person she's talking to is, the more comfortable she is hearing an honorific. In other words, she tweeted, "I'm Miss Devyn/Mrs. Nixon, if you never used dial-up. I don’t try to enforce this, but a 6-year-old calling me by my first name makes me fake smile."
It's worth noting that even the warmest and most compassionate children's entertainer in the history of television still went by "Mr. Rogers."
It's easy to consider GPS infallible, but watch out!
In a statement that likely made anyone who still uses a road map proud, one Twitter user named Robert Montag said, "You can't trust GPS!"
It can be useful to help figure out how to get to a destination, but that doesn't mean anyone should let their GPS system lead them off a cliff or into a lake.
An appreciation for Costco doesn't have to know any age
At first glance, it's a little hard to know what Twitter user Sumita Pahwa was getting at when she simply wrote, "Costco."
But according to Yahoo! Life, Costco is more popular among Baby Boomers than it is among Millennials. So on that front, the boomers definitely have a good point.
Some people are more influenced by them than others
One Twitter user named @Marengo234 echoed a lot of disappointed grumbling by saying, "Influencers need to get an actual job. Bunch of disconnected rich kids who need to experience the real world."
At this point, it seems that people of all ages will feel suspicious of people who describe themselves as influencers.
How much of life really needs to be documented?
While some agreed with past generations by distrusting phones, others found different common ground in their dislike of influencers, Twitter user @rose_vxo thought the problem was more fundamental. As they said, "Stop posting and recording everything."
Even in the early days of the Internet, it wasn't unusual to see many of its spaces clogged with minutia that only the person posting it cared about. Nowadays, that minutia has only become easier to capture and spread.
Proper grammar is usually not in style
Although it's not the most common complaint that people tend to hear from Baby Boomers, A historian named Nhung Tuyet Tran tweeted out that her modern bugbear was "split infinitives."
It apparently irritates her when someone decides to annoyingly add a word in the middle of an infinitive phrase. For those wondering what she's talking about, she would not like the preceding sentence.
Music that's old doesn't have to be any less golden
While some people argued that the music Baby Boomers liked was better than modern music, and one person posted the album cover from Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland, Twitter user Slick H put it the most eloquently.
In their words, "I like the Beatles and a lot of other music from that era. IDK if this is a product of actually getting along with my parents. I may be out of step with Boomers (as a group) politically, but I'm very much in step with a lot of their tastes."
Not everything needs to be an automated system
For one Twitter user who goes by Ky, it's hard to find something that drives them up the wall worse than getting an automated system when they're trying to call for a service.
Whether it involves going through keypad options or the particular struggle of wrestling with a voice-activated system, nothing is a substitute for just talking to another human being.
These people know what they have before they lose it
One Twitter user named Marxamod came through with an opinion that should extend beyond older generations, "I want to own my media."
Because while streaming platforms like Netflix or Spotify can make casual consumption more convenient, there's no guarantee that their users' favorites won't suddenly leave the platform. With purchased music or movies, that access is more permanent.
