"Not Everything Needs To Connect To The Internet": 40 Young People Share What Things Boomers Might Be Right About

I love technology as much as the next person, and I really am not sure how I would have functioned had I been born several decades earlier than I was. Traveling to foreign countries or taking road trips without having Google Maps and the option to text or call for help in the palm of my hand? Yeah, no thanks. But even I have to admit that the boomers are right about some things. 

Menus do not need to be a QR code. Music in businesses should not be so loud that I have to shout across the table to my partner, and oh my god, no I will not get a smart watch. I don’t care how many steps you’ve walked today, Brenda. I look at my watch to see what time it is. We’re all going to be old one day, so there’s no need to judge our elders (aka the boomers) for not understanding or getting on board with certain technological advances. After all, some people might find it charming that they couldn’t meet their significant others on Tinder and that they might have no idea what a TikTok is. 

To gain some insight on this topic, we reached out to Wendy Green, host of the Hey, Boomer! podcast. Wendy is a boomer herself, but she told Bored Panda, "I think we actually have a lot in common with the younger generation, particularly the Gen Z group who (at least from my perspective) seem to be more focused on activism."

She also shared that Hey, Boomer! was born 3-weeks after the pandemic shut everything down. "I knew that people in the Boomer generation were going to be hit particularly hard by the loss of jobs, and there is an ageist bias that makes it much more difficult to find a new job as you get older. So, my intention was to help people in the 55-75 year old range to recognize that we are still relevant, we still have a lot to give and encourage them to stay engaged."

"Many of us were very active politically when we were younger," Wendy explained. "Many of us are re-engaging in that activism and working with young people is a win for all of us. My show also features guests that are reinventing themselves after leaving full time careers, finding adventures and facing challenges. It is a pretty cool show."

But Wendy is not a fan of using our generational titles to divide us. "I do think we put too much emphasis on the differences between generations," she told Bored Panda. "Each generation is shaped by the events that occurred in their life times. I think learning from each other is the better approach rather that isolating and making fun or different generations. I always cringe when I hear people speak negatively about any one generation. We are all individuals. It does not make sense to generalize. I encourage people to look at their own internal biases and attempt to build conversations and relationships with all age groups. It takes away the feelings of 'the other'.”

If you'd like to hear more words of wisdom from Wendy and check out her podcast Hey, Boomer!, be sure to visit her website right here!

We also reached out to Jean Mader and Laura Bettinger to learn more about this topic. Jean and Laura are two sisters, best friends and boomers who host a podcast called OK Boomer. Awhile back, (hard for Boomers to keep track of time as the years go by so fast, they noted!) Laura started listening to podcasts and announced to Jean, "This seems like fun, we already chat for hours so why not start a podcast?"

"We are blessed with seven Millennial children and their Millennial partners between us," Jean and Laura told Bored Panda. "We consider ourselves experts regarding 'Boomers and Millennials and everyone in between', so boom, the OK Boomer Podcast was born. We launched our podcast in early 2020, thanks to Pat Rullo at SpeakUpTalkRadio."

"The name of our podcast is based on the retort, 'OK, Boomer' which is often used to mock Baby Boomers and those who are perceived as old-fashioned and being out-of-touch," Jean and Laura shared. "We podcast twice a month, and we try to find the humor and joy of living this life. Listen in as we encourage all Boomers, Millennials and everyone in between to be happily okay together."

We were curious if there's anything boomers typically get made fun of for that Jean and Laura actually agree with. "Hey, we love to make fun of ourselves," they shared. "And we understand that Millennials are spot-on about many things we Boomers do our say. But no matter what our Millennials tell us, we are still going to carry cash, because electronic wallets befuddle us."

"Yes, we know we can text businesses and restaurants, but we would rather call a person," Jean and Laura noted. "Uber and Lyft are indeed beyond us. Ordering fast food online and picking it up, or having it delivered is very confusing and stressful for us. We’ve had computers and smartphones for 25 years now, and we still need our kids to help us reboot them. Or explain what those funny symbols are that we can’t really see without our glasses. And don’t put us in a Granny Flat!"

We also asked Jean and Laura if they disagree with anything Boomers often say or believe. "At this point in our lives, we are ready to love everyone," they told Bored Panda. "But we do think Boomers should be more like Millennials when it comes to taking care of your physical and mental health. Millennials are not 'snowflakes', they are just not as 'seasoned' as us oldies."

Jean and Laura just want to see all generations living in harmony. "We put too much emphasis on generational differences, we can all learn and grow from each other. We truly adore our Millennial children and friends and love learning from them, keeps life interesting, maybe keeps us young! And 'Wordle' unites us all!"

"We live in beautiful Ohio," they also shared. "In fact, Laura played the piano and recorded the opening music you hear at the start of each podcast episode. The song is 'Beautiful Ohio'- the official song of our state. We want everyone to have a beautiful life. Oh and we tried the Tik Tok Balsamic Vinegar & Sparkling Water Coke Hack challenge on our podcast!"

If you'd like to hear more from these fun ladies, be sure to check out the OK, Boomer podcast right here!