Nostalgia for the Good Old Days: 22 Things Boomers Got Right That We Need More Of Today
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Have you ever gazed upon the world and yearned for a sojourn back to the year 1946? The adage “old is gold” holds a particular significance for the baby boomer generation. With age comes a steadfast companion in the form of wisdom, and in our current era, there lies a wealth of knowledge waiting to be gleaned from the Baby Boomers and the older generations, who have traversed the entire spectrum of life’s experiences.
The younger generation may boast of agility and youth, but most of the other virtues had their flights delayed. Online commenter discussed their most, “I’m with the Boomers on this” opinions, and it’s a head-nodding conversation.
1. No Touch Screens In Cars
Some cars today look like blooper scenes straight out of a sci-fi movie. While this makes for a “cool” experience, it’s also a major distraction. What happened to ordinary physical controls?
A user says, “Distracted driving is at an all-time high. Touchscreen controls literally require you to take your eyes off the road and can create a longer time of inattention due to their complexity.”
Someone adds, “Touchscreens [not just in car] are a fundamentally bad idea & physical buttons [or similar controls] need to be brought back.”
2. No Subscribing to Everything
An online contributor says, “Every da**ed thing is a subscription. Music? Subscription. Movies? Subscription. TV shows? Subscription. Heat your a** while you’re driving? Subscription. REALLY? Oh, sorry—I’m a boomer. I’ll leave now.”
We feel you on every subscribe button level.
3. Where are the Humans?
We need to have a lengthy conversation with whoever discovered bots, especially those representing customer service.
One user says, “I want a human customer service operator, not an automated operator or chat bot.”
4. Digital vs Analogue
There’s so much movement of everything from analogue to digital, we’re surprised the Wildebeests in the Serengeti (an African national park) aren’t having an E-migration. One user doesn’t like it one bit.
He says, “Physical media: owning books, movies, and music, is far superior to a subscription service, or digital content.”
5. No Wi-Fi Powered Everything
A long time ago, gadgets just needed to connect to a power socket, and we were good to go. Today, we need to connect to the internet for anything to operate.
Someone says, “Not everything needs to connect to the internet or have an app attached to it. I just want my fridge to keep s**t cold, I don’t understand why we have to bring WiFi into this situation.”
The vacuum cleaner joined this conversation.
6. Clothes that Lasted
The Boomer fashion gurus knew how to make clothes that lasted generations. Nowadays, clothes evaporate faster than the surgical spirit on a counter.
A frustrated online forum contributor says, “Screw fast fashion, my clothes should be made to last.”
Someone else adds, “I want to buy a pair of jeans that will last more than 2 years.”
Now we know why grandma’s wedding dress still looks new.
7. Life Behind Screens
There’s a strong, urgent need for the generations today to let the world know every little detail of their lives. We even have people recording themselves crying, and you wonder, how many takes did that take?
One user says, “I don’t really know if this is a boomer opinion per [se] but you don’t need to document everything thing you do and post it to your social media. Sometimes it’s better to just live in the moment and enjoy what’s happening around you.”
We need to learn to enjoy life Boomer style.
8. Respect
Technology gave us gadgets that fit in our pockets, and we seem to have paid for them with our respect for others and decorum.
A user narrates, “When you’re in a public place you should respect others around you but not be disruptive with your behavior. For example, not playing music on your phone without headphones…”
Respect is generally becoming extinct.
9. Kids and Screens
The Boomers parented well, with lots of outdoor play and creativity (although kids snuck in plenty of Nintendo and MTV). Some parents today are co-parenting with screens, and it’s sad.
One user says, “Kids shouldn’t touch any electronic devices until a certain age. I work in tech but if I ever have kids I will still enforce this rule. It makes me sad to see 1-year-old babies glued to phones.”
10. Less Texting, More Talking
Communication gets complicated and easy to misunderstand with all the texting happening. Emojis aren’t making the situation any better because who really understands them?
A user says, “Millennial (here). I agree that sometimes at work you need to pick up the phone because it’s easier than sending text messages back and forth.”
Another one agrees, “I’m a millennial as well. I can’t count the number of miscommunications I’ve had with people because a conversation took place via text instead of via phone.”
11. Good Social Skills
The amount of time today’s generation spends buried in their screens has bred people with extremely poor social skills.
“An online conversation contributor says, “The sheer amount of younger people I’ve seen with horrible people/social/conversational skills blow my mind, and I firmly believe it is greatly in part due to phones and social media.”
He adds, “Boomers always say s**t like “go play outside, interact with the world, spend less time on your phone” etc etc and I wholehearted agree.”
12. Plastic and More Plastic
How did we get to this point when almost all beverages are in plastic bottles? Many people aren’t impressed.
One online user says, “Coca-Cola tastes better out of glass bottles than plastic bottles.”
Someone adds, “Is this a boomer opinion? I’d say is an absolute truth, for all sodas and beer.”
13. Learning by Experience
Kids today get a certificate of participation, even if they didn’t achieve much. This was not the way of the Boomers; we could borrow a leaf (or the whole tree) from them.
“Not everyone deserves a trophy. You SHOULD experience failure and disappointment in life. It’s a teaching experience, stop getting so pi**y when you don’t automatically get your way.” An online contributor says.
14. Cook Books
Recipes are easier to flow now with the click of a button, or are they?
One contributor says, “Googling recipes while cooking and having to read everyone’s life story and family history to get to the ingredients drives me batsh** insane. I’ve gone back to cookbooks.”
15. Enjoying the Moment
Before phones had cameras, people used to enjoy things with more presence.
One user says, “You are a clueless idiot if you pay 150$ for a concert ticket and spend the whole time watching it on your cell phone.”
He said it, not me.
16. Better Times, Generally
There seems to be a general consensus that the Boomers had a better time growing up than most generations after them.
One says, “It was the best time to grow up before social media came in and infected everyone’s lives. We went out together and had a good time. No one was glued to a da** phone!”
Show us your ways, Boomers.
17. An App for Everything
Some things don’t need to be complicated with unnecessary tech. Someone writes, “Certain things shouldn’t require you to download an app and/or create a whole account, including, ordering food in a restaurant, paying for parking, buying something online, sending a parcel.
18. Loud Music
While older generations tend to get a reputation for complaining about “loud” music, many agreed that loud music is a problem. Clothing stores, bars, coffee shops, etc… why do people have to yell at each other to be heard?
19. Life Without Alexa
Does Alexa or any other similar advice really need to be listening to our conversations and tracking our every move? Is it worth the convenience of playing music and asking what the weather is? Many agree not.
20. Simpler Times
When did everything get so complicated? From software to cars. Someone shares, “Just because you can make something super flashy/complicated/intriguing or otherwise impressive, doesn’t mean you should.” So true.
21. Tipping for Literally Everything
Remember the days when we weren’t constantly badgered for tips? What great times. A user writes, “I’m always confused by the option to tip at the SELF SERVE frozen yogurt place… I’m also suspicious that it won’t even go to the cashier, it’ll just go to the owner because it’s from my debit card….”
22. Headphone Jacks
People have spoken, and they are so over Bluetooth headphones that are supposed to be the way of the future. A frustrated consumer writes, “GIVE ME BACK MY HEADPHONE JACK.”
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