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By definition, baby boomers are people born between 1946 and 1964. They’ve lived through significant historical events like the end of World War II, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Moon Landing.
However, the term “boomer” took on a different context during the social media era in 2019. It became more of a derisive statement for anyone older who doesn’t share the same beliefs.
The “OK, boomer” catchphrase came as a response from millennials who are tired of hearing older people tell them about how things were in their day. As author Caitlin Fisher pointed out in an interview with NBC News, older folks fail to understand the struggles of millennials who are burdened with student loan debt and rising living costs.
“We’re tired of being told we aren’t allowed to complain,” said Fisher, who wrote The Gaslighting of the Millennial Generation.
Others took the criticisms a step further. Author Bruce Gibney, who wrote A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America, went so far as to say that boomers “gradually bankrupted” the United States.
“They’ve spent virtually all our money and assets on themselves and, in the process, have left a financial disaster for their children, Gibney told Vox in a 2019 interview.
Many who have aged enough to experience significant changes in how they do things will likely show some resistance to the “newer way.” And according to business communications professor Carla Bevins, curiosity is always the best response to avoid any form of conflict.
“If someone calls you a 'boomer' and it feels like the burn it was intended to be, ask yourself, 'Why did that hurt? Why did I get an 'OK boomer'?” Bevins said in the same NBC interview.
Regardless of how you say it, many may interpret “OK, boomer” as a passive-aggressive insult. If you’re a younger person trying to make yourself feel heard and understood by older people, Bevins says shunning them isn’t the way to go.
“Figure out where you can make the most difference and go from there,” she advises.
