“Ok Boomer”…The Baby Boomer Generation Still Thinks These Things Are Cool
Sometimes Baby Boomers and Millennials don't get along, but we can find humor in our differences. The Silent Generation didn't always agree with what their younger kids were doing, but that didn't stop Boomers from building an incredible post-war society.
For the most part, the Baby Boomer generation has kept up with changing trends and modernization. Still, they've kept up some habits that Millennials and Gen Z think are wildly uncool. Keep reading to learn about all the things that baby boomers still think are cool and decide for yourself whether you'll stick with them.
They Still Go To Chain Restaurants
Baby boomers love their Applebee's. There's something about a chain restaurant that just gets boomers excited. To them, eating at a chain restaurant is like going out for a fancy date. Millennials know that the food at places like Applebee's is full of unhealthy, poor quality ingredients. They're much more likely to try that hip new vegan gluten gree place by the pier.
Still, with so many better options out there these days, we can't understand why baby boomers would rather settle for something that probably has no more than two-and-a-half stars on Yelp.
They Still Shop In Malls
Ever since the Internet allowed us to buy nearly anything we needed and have it delivered straight to our doors, shopping malls have become obsolete. At first, malls were a retail mecca where department stores reigned supreme. You'll still find plenty of baby boomers roaming the mall, however, although we're not sure why.
Now, you can buy stuff from Amazon without having to spend the gas money or trudge through crowds of aimless teens. Ironically, malls are becoming more and more uncool for that very reason.
They Still Send Emails
Ok, so millennials send emails too, but really only when they're work or school related. Boomers send emails like millennials send texts. They'll send an email that has just one sentence in it. They'll send an email just to say "hi." They'll send an email that was forwarded to them by their friend Barry that contains only a jpeg of a New Yorker cartoon from thirty years ago.
You won't hear from a millennial unless it's through Facebook, Snapchat, Whatsapp, Tik Tok, or Text.
They Love Playing Golf
Golf may be a thrilling sport if you're in your 60s, which is where most baby boomers are at these days. This non-endurance sport is popular among wealthy folk who like to pretend to take the game seriously while they discuss business matters.
When you watch golf in person you must stay incredibly quiet and walk long distances to follow the golfers through 18 holes. It sounds boring to watch in person which is why we can't even fathom why anyone would enjoy watching the sport on television.
They Enjoy A Good Cruise
Cruises are great, but nowadays they're full of baby boomers. Millennials are much more likely to set off on their own adventures than to be tied to a boat for a whole week. You can't really argue with unlimited food all the time, though. Cruises really are magical.
We have to give you this one, boomers. It may not be cool to cruise anymore, but who cares about being cool when room service is included?
They're Attached To Cable TV
Millenials never buy cable TV packages. Cable is just so unnecessary in today's technological climate. With streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, coupled with the wide variety of shows that are available online for free (illegally, of course), there's really no need for it.
These cable TV packages only cater towards baby boomers, since most TV providers know that the internet is robbing most of their market. Pretty soon, cable isn't even going to exist.
They Love Wearing Diamonds
They say that diamonds are a girl's best friend – that is if she or someone she knows is wealthy enough to afford those diamonds. Baby boomers sold each other on the idea that "exclusive" and expensive diamonds were the only way to go.
Diamonds are actually quite common and easier to find than most precious gems. But demand increases as they're slowly released in the market, making them wildly expensive. Even some of the biggest diamonds aren't worth much if they don't pass in terms of clarity, color, and cut.
Who Uses Yahoo! Anymore?
Boomers do. Millennials know that it's all about Google, but for some reason, boomers are attached to that Yahoo! home page. If you're a baby boomer and you're reading this article right now, you probably clicked on it after seeing it on the Yahoo! homepage, right?
Look, we're not shading Yahoo! (or are we?), but it's not 1999 anymore. The world has moved on. Well, millennials have moved on. Boomers are still attached to what once was.
They Love A Good Game of Racquetball
If you have racquetball rooms in your local gym, chances are half of them are always occupied by a couple of middle-aged men throwing down in the spirit of some good old-fashioned competition.
We can't see why you'd want to give up the open space of a tennis court to be stuck in a sweat-scented room hitting a ball against the wall but at the very least, racquetball is a good calorie-burning sport, so there's that. But really, you hardly see anyone under the age of 50 playing this game.
They Have Physical Copies Of All Their Paperwork
Everyone knows that paperwork is messy. So why do baby boomers still shove all of their bills, finances, and medical forms into one overflowing box? It's probably because they were raised to do so, but with the spread of computers, millennials have learned a much cleaner way to handle all their bills.
Most businesses have online payments and contracts that you easily access without weeding through piles of paper-cut-inducing useless documents. Let's all face the truth and accept that online paperwork makes everything easier on everyone.
They Still Use Bar Soap
Bar soap: slippery, slimy, and sticky all at the same time. How is that possible? Nobody knows, but it somehow manages to become the most annoying way to wash your body in the planet's history. Somehow, though, baby boomers still buy it.
In 2014, CNN brought up that bar soap sales could be declining because of what they call the "Bar soap is for old people" theory, considering that 60% of people over 65 use it. Liquid soap is far easier either way.
They Won't Drop The Crocs Trend
Crocs weren't even cool when they were cool, you know? Now, nearly ten years after they were ever sort of in style, they are extremely uncool. Somehow, boomers still love this rubber footwear brand. Yeah, we get it, Crocs are comfortable. It's also comfortable to wear pajamas all day. That doesn't mean you should do it.
Doctors are wearing Crocs now. Actual medical doctors. What is this world coming to? Millennials would never be caught dead wearing Crocs.
They Watch The News Constantly
The '50s were considered the Golden Age of Television but even then, they still had to wait another 30 years for 24-hour news networks to come around. Most people waited until the evening to get the news from their favorite reporter but in 1980 that all changed when CNN was founded as a 24-hour cable news channel.
By then, most baby boomers were in the prime of their adulthood and loved that they could stay up to date at all times of the day. But these days, they're the only ones who ever watch those channels.
They Still Look Through Catalogs
Most shopping nowadays happens online, which means print catalogs are pretty much obsolete. All the information you need about how much an item costs and how much it's on sale for is available on the world wide web.
Still, baby boomers love their catalogs. There's something about flipping through those glossy pages that just gets them all excited to maybe spend money on a new coffee maker. Somebody needs to show them how Amazon Prime works.
Potpourri Is So Last Decade
What even is potpourri? It looks like dried flowers but it smells like Grandma's perfume. Nobody likes the way it smells, yet boomers insist on putting glass bowls of it in their bathrooms.
Haven't they ever heard of room sprays or candles or plug-in air fresheners? All of those options are way better than potpourri. These crunchy dried smelly flowers definitely aren't cool anymore. We aren't sure if they were ever cool to begin with.
They Still Read Reader's Digest
It's been almost 100 years since Reader's Digest became a thing and it's a wonder why they're even still around. How many people off the top of your head do you know actually read Reader's Digest?
If you actually did have an answer for that, then you likely thought of your Aunt Susan, your grandpa, or maybe even your own mother. Reader's Digest has filed for bankruptcy on numerous occasions over the last decade, yet somehow we still see new issues of it in line at the grocery store.
They Still Have A Fuzzy Toilet Seat Cover
Can we all agree that those fuzzy toilet seat covers from the '70s are just tacky? Although they're machine washable, many people still worry about their hygiene when their butts touch the same grimy carpet as many other butts before them.
While this should go without saying, baby boomers might need a reminder to not purchase the brown covers. Or the embroidered ones. Or the shaggy ones. Or the furry ones. Just don't buy anymore fuzzy toilet covers, okay?
They're intrigued By Conspiracy Theories
From the moon landing to JFK's assassination, conspiracy theories have long fed people the idea that these historic events and more were fake. While conspiracy theories are interesting, they're still only theories. Still, there are plenty of people who believe them and a good percentage of those people are baby boomers.
These days baby boomers are more likely to believe conspiracy theories and spread "fake news" simply because they didn't grow up with the technology that is available today, so they're easily fooled. We guess we know why they rely on 24-hour news networks so much.
They Watch Home Shopping Channels
If a baby boomer's television set doesn't have CNN or Fox News blaring out of it at all hours of the day, then it's likely on QVC or HSN. These home shopping networks used to be the prime platform to get great deals on neat gadgets or jewelry with a celebrity's name on it. But just like with shopping malls, online shopping has cut out the need for home shopping networks.
So why exactly are they still around? Apparently there's a handful of baby boomers out there who still tune in.
They Still Have A Landline
The U.S. Center for Disease Control National Health Information Survey reports that 42% of Americans still use landlines as of December 2017. When's the last time you saw a young person using a landline? Or even saw a landline in a movie that wasn't historical fiction?
Most millennials today don't even own home phones, much less a landline. Why have a phone that keeps you in one room when you can use your cellphone anywhere? Don't be surprised if Gen Z kids don't believe that phones with cords exist.
They Iron Everything Always
Ironing has its place in fashion. You may want to look sharp for a job interview or a new date, but both of those chores require owning an iron and having the time to iron. Millennials can barely afford their rent--why would they waste their time and money ironing pants?
Since the popularity of ironing has dunked, people don't care anymore if clothes appear a bit wrinkly. But baby boomers still think that everyone cares. "Look how wrinkly that is!" said no millennial ever.
They Keep Wearing Jorts
Jean shorts, or "jorts" combine the worst parts of jeans with the worst parts of shorts. These pants are a crime against fashion.
We know what you're thinking, But millennials wear denim shorts all the time! Sure, that's true, because people really only take issue with jorts when some old dad wearing socks with sandals — or worse, Crocs — is trying to making you laugh with his embarrassingly corny jokes all the time. Denim shorts are fine. It's these long jorts that are just wrong.
They Still Buy Makeup From Avon
For the millennials reading this right now, Avon is a cosmetics company that works via a pyramid scheme. It's a pretty good pyramid scheme, but it's a pyramid scheme nonetheless. A few decades ago, women who wanted to earn extra cash would sign up to sell Avon to their friends and families. The would also try to recruit other Avon sellers.
A lot of baby boomers still buy their makeup from Avon sellers rather than stores like Sephora or Ulta.
They Can't Stop Watching Procedural Police Shows
When they're not watching network news or home shopping, baby boomers are likely watching a procedural drama of some sort. They just love shows like NCIS, Law & Order, and all of those shows' spin-offs.
While these shows can spark a bit of interest when you first start watching them, after a while you realize that each episode pretty much follows the same formula. After all, baby boomers are at that age where they prefer to know what to expect and you really can't change their minds about it either.
They Love A Good Knickknack
If Marie Kondo was around when baby boomers were becoming adults, then we'd likely have very few knickknacks in this world. As is the case, Miss "Spark Joy" herself wasn't around back then to convince baby boomers they didn't need that mini Hawaiian hula dancer or that seventh hip-swinging Santa Claus.
This is why baby boomers often have a treasure trove of knickknacks lying around their house collecting dust. Unless they're rare collector's items, most of those knickknacks are uselessly taking up space too.
What's With All The China?
Another item on the list of useless home decor that baby boomers love is fine china. We can understand wanting to own an incredibly expensive set of dishes as some sort of status symbol, but what's the point if you're never going to use them?
Just like knickknacks and potpourri, baby boomers like to put fine china on display and let it collect dust for years on end. A lot of the time the china isn't even tasteful and some might say that it's just downright tacky.
They Think Toys (And Other Objects) Should Be Gendered
In baby boomer days, there was no talk of gender fluidity. If there were ever a child struggling with who they were or how they felt inside, they probably didn't speak up about it.
Back then, if you were a girl, then you were predisposed to like girly-themed items and the same went for little boys. While generations that follow baby boomers have become a little more sensitive about things, you have to understand where your Aunt Helen was coming from when she bought your daughter a princess coloring book when your daughter clearly only likes dinosaurs.
They're Into Processed Foods
The same can't be said of all baby boomers but many of them are entrapped in a world of processed foods. Baby boomers grew up in a time where supermarkets and food companies were trying to find out ways to make their products last longer on store shelves.
This is why a lot of food in the supermarket is chock-full of unnecessary preservatives and sugars. It's partly why there was an obesity epidemic for generations that came after them and why healthy food is now trendy.
They Can Stomach Dry Toast
How many times have we heard baby boomers joke about "millennials and their avocado toast?" Perhaps that's because they like to shove sandpaper down their throats in the form of toast without butter.
Sure, you might want to withhold the butter when you're sick or aim to lose weight. But if you're on a diet, why are you eating plain toast anyway? Wouldn't you want a healthier option, like toast with egg or the infamous avocado? Try uploading a picture of dry toast to Instagram and see how many likes you get.
They Still Wear Airbrushed T-Shirts
Those shirts that look like they've been spray-painted may have been "in" in the '70s and '80s. But let's be real: A lot of fashion trends in those look objectively ugly. Not everyone looks good in a perm, and not everyone is fashionable in an airbrushed t-shirt, either.
Actually, we take that back. Nobody looks good in an airbrush t-shirt. Elementary school kids might wear them while running laps for P.E., but if an adult walks up in an airbrush t-shirt, the words "baby boomer" will pop into everyone's mind like a fight-or-flight response.
They Love The Caps Lock Key
As people grow older, their eyesight fails over time. So it makes sense that baby boomers can read their texts and tweets easier when they type in all caps. However, most phones allow people to increase the size of their text font for this reason. Not to mention that baby boomers don't realize that all-caps sentences affects how people read their message.
IT'S A DRAMATIC CHANGE, ISN'T IT? SUDDENLY, IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE YELLING. BABY BOOMERS, YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT SEEING "HEY CAN YOU PICK UP SOME APPLES" AND HAVING THE VOICE IN YOUR HEAD YELL IS HILARIOUS.
They'll Never Stop Using Mrs. Dash
Millennials probably don't even know what this headline means. Mrs. Dash is a spice blend consisting of onion, pepper, thyme, parsley, and a whole bunch of others. Sound familiar? Of course not, because only baby boomers use it.
Spicing up meals can make a dish even tastier, providing that you're not using the same spice blend in every single dish. "Mmm, tastes the same as yesterday! Just what I wanted!" That quote gets attributed to no one, because who has said that? Millennials get more creative with their flavors by turning away from blends and experimenting with single spices.
They Love Patterned Wallpaper
Baby boomers can afford a lot more home design and furniture than most millennials can. And what do they do with that privilege? Erect hideous wallpaper everywhere, even in the bathroom.
Most people who tour a house and see patterned wallpaper immediately think, "This is old." Perhaps it wouldn't have become such an insult to interior design if the wallpaper didn't often feature brightly colored or invasive markings that knock the wind out of people, as if the wall could physically punch onlookers in the throat.
They Use Too Many Fossil Fuels
A 2017 Pew Research Center survey compared Republican millennials to Republican baby boomers, and found that more baby boomers support increased use of fossil fuels (75%) than millennials do (44%). In addition, 45% of millennials admit that they see notice some effect of global warming, in comparison to the 15% of baby boomers.
Not only do baby boomers use up more fossil fuels than any other generation, but many of them remain in denial about its toxic effects on our planet. But what else is new? They won't be around when the rest of us suffer from their practices.
They Pay Attention To Infomercials
Have you ever felt frustrated when waiting to skip a five-second ad on a Youtube video? Baby boomers still watch ads that are thirty minutes long. Infomercials may have been popular in the '80s, but they have largely disappeared, aside from baby boomer's favorite channels.
Today, millennials only watch infomercials for their meme-able moments ("Has THIS ever happened to you?"). But who would sit through a half an hour of an advertisement willingly and unironically? Baby boomers, that's who.
They Make The Weirdest Salads
You think oranges in salads is weird? How about broccoli and apples smothered in mayonnaise? There's a reason why kids hated eating their vegetables, and that might have to do less with the brussels sprouts and more with the mayonnaise. Have we mentioned that they use mayonnaise?
Who could forget Great Aunt Edna's marshmallow and Jell-O salad? We could. Weird baby boomer salads might die with the generation, along with fruit cake. And everyone will rejoice once they realize what they're missing.
They Have Way Too Many Throw Pillows
Pillows! Pillows everywhere! On chairs, on the couch, on the bed, in the car for some reason. Throw pillows aren't comfortable, interrupt the couch space, and take ten minutes to remove from the bed before you go to sleep. Millennials don't have time for that.
Comfort pillows and throw pillows have significantly different purposes here. A comfy pillow can pad a bed or couch, while decorative pillows transform your relaxation area into the back part of a sponge that isn't pleasant to squeeze.
They Use Juice Concentrate
Millennials and Gen Z know the juice experience as taking a bottle out of the fridge, pouring it into a glass, and putting it back in. Juicing can't be more complicated than that, can it? Well, baby boomers may juice their fruit, freeze it, let it thaw, put in ice, and then drink it. If they want more the next day, they have to repeat the entire process.
Sure, juice comes with sugar and fat that your body doesn't need. But why juice it yourself when you can buy a sugar-free variety?
They Love Metal Detectors
Oh boy! A whole weekend of swinging around a metal pole and finding literally nothing! You can't even talk or anything while you do it, or you might miss the beep. Like golf, millennials don't take metal detecting as seriously as baby boomers do.
Some baby boomers will go out metal detecting every weekend only to find old bottlecaps and scraps of miscellaneous metal. We can't all find ancient Viking treasure, so why keep trying?
They Still Eat TV Dinners
We all have the baby boomers to thank for TV dinners and canned food. Apparently, the more processed the meal was, the better it tasted. Millennials prefer fresh food and veggies so much that companies like General Mills have had to cut 575 jobs and stores.
Not only do fresh meals taste better, but they're also a lot healthier for people. Frozen meal trends have drifted toward just meat or main courses, which millennials cook alongside veggies and other fresh options. Even that's healthier than baby boomer TV dinners.
