Trending Now
Reading about how the experiences of generations differ is kind of like reading a horoscope – or at least, it used to be. It was just a fun thing to do, to see how much you have in common with others “like” you or how much you color outside the lines.
Generational parameters are too wide to really apply to the majority of the people inside them, a fact that is perfectly illustrated by these older Millennials, who are still getting lumped in with their much younger peers (or even people more the age of their kids, at this point).
Here are 15 things thirtysomethings with people would stop saying about Millennials in general.
15. You can’t convince them.
I just shoveled like 20 of my elderly neighbors driveways this morning after snowpocalypse.
By Wednesday, while chatting they’ll talk about those lazy millennials like they’re still 20 year olds. Bro, I’m 38 and got 4 kids and own the biggest house of this block. Am millennial. Can not convince them of this, ever.
I know that I’m at the older end of Millennial, maybe in a micro-generation like Xennial or “Oregon Trail Generation”. But most lists out me as a millennial, with it starting in 81. Generations are kind of bullsh%t wishy-washy stuff anyways.
Plus right as I was getting into adulting (graduated college, party and focus on job a few years, then start transitioning into family life around 10-12 years ago).
That’s right at the time when the “Millennials killing X” meme was starting up, as email fwd’s right as I was of age to start doing those things. So, I feel like I am lumped in there since when the criticisms started, a lot of it was blasted right at my age group at the time.
They just have kept blasting the same age just-out-of-college age group as Millennials for over a decade now, lol.
14. Telling it like he sees it.
That we’re entitled. Having worked with the general public for over a decade, I can assure you the overwhelming majority of entitled and rude behaviour comes from the over 50s crowd.
Edit: also they keep telling us to be more financially responsible but when we are they’re like NO, NOT LIKE THAT.
Can’t wait to tell my judgmental extended family that I’m having a backyard wedding because I don’t have 30k just lying around – my parents are already pissed about it.
13. I mean. Just sayin.
“Participation trophies”–these were for our BOOMER PARENTS, not for us! And now WE are blamed by THEM for being entitled because we got them!
I’ve gotten into a shouting match with an older guy over them before.
“I was 10 your generation was the one handing them out dipshit.
12. It’s not apples to apples.
The Works Secretary where I work almost flipped her shit when I asked her why they still force old school financial thinking on us when it is clearly not working.
A lot of boomers going into pension have low levels of life satisfaction, how do they expect us to enjoy any at all if we are expected to deny ourselves while in working age by putting as much as 20% of our TGP into our pension funds.
I can’t afford to go on vacations to nice places anymore, the diesel cost alone is sky high (I live in a country where we don’t fly everywhere).
My parents are going on pension in July. They’ll move 1300km (about 800 miles) from where I am. Just getting there and back again will cost me about $270 US in gas money, which is about a 5th of what I take home at the end of the month. I barely save that a month after all my deductions.
When my parents were my age they had two kids, a large house, a caravan and a boat. I have a tent that I inherited.
We are not in the same boat.
11. This just made me laugh.
“yOu CaN’t UsE a RoTaRy PhOnE!?!?”
And you can’t use a f*ckin telegraph. Technology changes ya quack.
10. It doesn’t make sense.
That people don’t own a house because they’re “lazy”.
I have taken the time to explain the loss of buying power, stagnant wages, automation, contract employees, lack of job security, cost of living in other areas, etc. play way more into it.
9. They DO have manners.
It really pisses me off how older generations constantly perpetuate the idea that millennials have no manners and are just inherently shitty and rude. I have worked in retail, a call center, and social services for my entire working life, so I have communicated with a lot of different people from all age groups and all walks of life.
Without a doubt, there is an absolute and distinct difference in “manners” between millennials and folks from older generations. Of course I can’t paint everyone with a broad brush, but if I had to list the 100 most entitled, batshit crazy, unbelievably rude people I have ever spoken to, maybe only 10 of them would be millennials.
8. Times have changed.
I hate that argument “I only made this much money when I was younger” like people don’t understand inflation at all.
I was complaining about minimum wage a few years ago and my mom said “well I only made two dollars an hour at my first job!” and then I had to point out to her that 2 bucks back then is $15/hr now.
7. Kind of hurts your head…and your heart.
“You must go to college and get a degree. You don’t want to be flipping burgers or changing the oil in some rich guy’s car.”
does that, incurs a lot of debt
“These irresponsible millennials and their elitist liberal educations! If they’d been smart, they’d go to community college and transfer/go to trade school. They won’t just take a job, any job to pay the bills. They could flip burgers. Why should we pay for their mistakes?”
6. Just do the math.
I work at a law firm. One of the senior attorneys tried to tell me that young people today shouldn’t be complaining about wages because when he got his first job as an attorney he only made $15k a year. That was in the early 1960’s.
Today, that salary is equivalent to… $132k. That’s over 2.5 times what I make. He was able to buy a house and support a wife and two children on his salary, where I and my husband both work and still aren’t able to afford the down payment on a house.
But heaven forbid we have a problem with it.
5. You can’t have it both ways.
THIS!!
Boomers: Stupid lazy millennials. Going to school and going into debt. Stop being entitled. Work any job!! Flip burgers/ Do retail work if it pays the bills.
Also Boomers: Burger flippers/Retail work are jobs for High School aged people! They deserve slave wages and if they don’t like it go to school and get a better job.
4. No time to fight the man.
That we don’t work hard. We’re the most overworked and underpaid generation, I have a bachelor’s and master’s and $30k of debt and I worked TWO jobs while in school and couldn’t afford to pay for it. I’ve been busting my ass for a decade making $10-$13 an hour, working over 40 hours a week. No benefits.
And the younger generation can suck my d*ck for claiming we aren’t radical enough, for the love of God we are simply trying to survive.
3. No easy solution.
Being blamed for not buying things. Like, Millennials are killing X product line. Welp, the Boomers who won’t retire are clinging to the top level jobs, so we don’t have the opportunities they did to move up and earn more money, so we have to be choosy about the things we spend our money on.
Not to mention, most of us are trying to be mindful of our consumerism as a whole, not buying tons of stuff for the sake of having tons of stuff.
2. A puddle of milk.
We are what the previous generation made us and we have been shaped by the world we were raised in and then we are attacked for who we’ve (been perceived to) become as a result. It’s like getting angry at the puddle of milk because you threw the carton on the floor.
1. They’re adults now, too.
The lack of respect we get really.
Older generations getting upset that we are starting to get into politics at the National level.
Y’all realize we are in our mid-late 30’s now right? And we straddle the cultural divide. We grew up without the internet and cell phones. Sure, the more well off amongst us had a computer and internet maybe by the mid 90’s but the younger generation can’t grasp how different it was.
We spent our formative years with a budding technology and a lot of us figured it out and embraced it. So, why shouldn’t we be the ones who are helping to move it forward? We see both ends, the magic of it because of how new it was and how ever changing, and we also know how to fix things.
We started with command lines and UNIX, Atari’s and Nintendo’s, chat rooms, IRC, some of the first online multiplayer game’s (thank you half life and quake), but we also grew up being able to go outside with friends all day without anyone worrying about us. We were the last generation to get that experience.
As a young Generation Xer, I feel these sentiments.
What’s a stereotype you can’t stand about your generation? Tell us about it in the comments!
