“Ok Boomer” is a catchphrase used by millennials and Generation Z
(people born between 1985 – 1999) for when older generations like boomers
appear dismissive of certain issues. Last week an MP in New Zealand won
over the internet with her calm response to being heckled over her age during a
climate change discussion. Do you think Ok boomer is ageist? Do you find it
insulting or is there always a generational divide?
Posted by on 11 Nov 2019
[0]
[0]
Tara
I'm 28 and I've never called anyone that, neither have I ever heard it before. I
was always taught to respect your elders by saying "Sir" or "Ma'am". The term
may be regarded as disrespectful, others may not care, it just depends. Stick
with Sir or Ma'am just to be safe and polite.
Yes it is. My mum was a solo parent with two of us and worked her fingers to the
bone providing for us. I worked school holidays in college and gave her a
percentage of my weekly pay. When I met my husband we had three jobs each in
order to save for our first home - a 2 bedroom own your own flat. No one gave us
anything and we worked for everything. I didn’t get fees free for the first
year I studied part time at university while working full time with two young
primary school aged children
Why can’t people say what they mean to each other without being nasty,
insulting, or aggressive...putting your thoughts and words forward without
raising your voice and others just listening and accepting of others views!!!!
I incline to think a total lack of respect and extremely immature if the comment
was reversed we the Boomers would be called racists, which really highlights
there ignorance and arrogance in this already PC world of moral correctness
its an immature way of saying "lets agree to disagree" its ok to disagree and
its ok to say that you disagree, i don't really think its a generational things
as people within ones' own generation can also be dismissive of each other and
you cannot always tell someone's age just by looking/speaking with them for a
few minutes anyway
its more about the sterotypical "Boomer" mindset than someone's age. if someone
is going to be willingly and arrogantly ignorant, it's only normal to be
condescending back
There’s no need for it. Just another ‘trendy’ way to be disrespectful.
Instead of creating new words disguised as insults get out there and help
someone less fortunate VOLUNTARILY
I don't think so. I wouldn't be offended but I think the younger gens would be
upset if we started calling them by their generation name. Why not think about
being curtious instead and keeping everyone happy
It's meaningless. Like trying to label anyone with anything based on simple
measures such as age, place, race, education etc. Only the foolish would use
such a phrase. There are people of any age that are wise beyond their years and
did much in youth, and there are people who are childish and silly and achieve
little over an entire lifetime. The appropriate response to someone trying to
heckle with 'OK boomer' is 'OK fool'. Ditto 'OK *insert generation label here*'.
"Ok Boomer" is just words, if you are offended then you must be quite thin
skinned. Ignore the people who use the Ok Boomer phrase, some day those people
will become adults themselves even if they don't act like it now.
nah, it's fun... every young generation disrespects their elders and I'd rather
be subjected to this phrase than be told I'm so old I don't know what it feels
like to be young!!
I have never heard the description referring to a senior citizen as a "Boomer'..
I have another description for a "boomer" not relevant here. But I guess it is
expected to have a somewhat dismissive attitude to the older generation.
It depends on the context. What concerns me more is that the attention being
paid to different age brackets and how they have been branded is creating
unnecessary divisiveness.
Without Boomers the precious little darlings wouldnt have all they demand. l may
have been born in non-PC ( personal computers/political correctness) times but l
have always been a bit of a greenie (mostly) and care about nature, the
envionment, wars, drought but l worked hard as well. Lucky computers, mobile
phones, trains, shopping centres, air-con, hospitals, centrelink etc appeared
out of no-where. To borrow from a now (in)famous young miillenial know-it-all
"How dare you". blame us when they want.demand more than we ever could have ever
had.
I agree with you and have "liked" your post. The thing is ..... somewhere
along the line the older generation started to want their kids to have things
easier than what they did, and therefore started to spoil them, without
realising it. I don't have kids, but I work with them. I'm 59 years old, when
I was a kid I didn't even have a fan in my room, neither did others my age. I am
old enough to have teenage grandkids. In my work with kids, every classroom has
air-conditioning, most of them have phones etc. etc. Ask yourself who have
given them these things and many other things .... it's the older generations
.... us !! The kids didn't invent air con or mobile phones, they weren't
born asking for, and expecting a lift to school, we gave it to them. At some
stage we also frowned upon corporal punishment, (dealt out in a measured way,
for punishment, and not given in anger). As a result of OUR actions, i.e. the
adults, our collective children are disrespectful, selfish spoiled brats that
can't hack a day without air-conditioning & don't know the meaning of the word
NO. YES of course there are exceptions, some kids are wonderful. Lets not
blame the kids for the predicament that we have gotten them into .... by
accident, wanting a better life for them, we have spoiled them & let them
dictate the rules.
No, there is very little that offends me, I choose not to let it. I chose to
work long hours all my life, without the benefit of universal super; it was
always believed that women would be covered by their husband's super, women
didn't need superannuation (too bad for those who divorced or were never
married). I am proud to be still alive when so many 'experts' declared I
couldn't possibly survive!!!
No it does not offend me at all. Most Boomers have worked hard all their lives
and are enjoying the spoils of their labours. Where as millenials believe the
world owes them a living.
It is extremely insulting but what else would we expect from these generations
of know-it-all Millenials. They disregard the fact that Boomers have worked for
all they have, didn't bewail having to wait to achieve milestones like buying
their first home or new car. What Boomers have was achieved over many years
whilst Millenials want those same things all at once. Just so over their
impertinence. Just like a 20 year old complaining about our rail service out in
a regional area not suiting her preferred travel times. She doesn't seem to be
able to comprehend that when you are in a town midway between two major cities,
the timetable is set to suit the departure from those points, not somewhere in
the middle. But like a lot of her kind it is all about ME.
If that little comment offended anyone, they really need to harden up because
honestly there are worse things to be called than “ok boomer”. laugh it off
people.....
I thought I was a Skippy,
Now I'm a BOOMER. ( Big Old Kangaroo.)
He said "Such is Life".
Rain on a Ducks back to me all this name calling.
Have a great day Folks. The Rain will fall and the Sun will shine.
And Tomorrow will be better than today, It's what we make it.
But wouldn't you be doing exactly what you don't want the millenials to do to
you? Engage with them, explain how everything they have comes from the hard work
of generations before - and then tell them that one day they too will be 'old
and wise' like us!!!
I am a Gen X and married to a boomer and he finds the term very insulting but
then again he does not have much patience for anything and don't get me started
on climate change which is something he clearly denies.
i also am gen x, have lived close to the land and climate change has been going
on for as long as the earth has been in existance. Our impact is infinitesimal.
Our impact is so small that one day of one single active volcano (just active
not in full blown eruption) is equal to 10 years of the entire modern human race
No, it sounds like an innocent joke. Millennials work hard in jobs I couldn't
handle and I respect them for it. Although they like crap music I've never found
them to be deliberately insulting.
I'd be amused, because I am older than the boomers! Would not be insulted. Most
younger people think they know more than all older people. They don't. That's
okay.
i am not a boomer but none the less dont feel this is an insulting word or
phrase. but everyone takes things differently.
i dont get offended by much at all
I am not insulted by this remark the generation making these remarks have enough
issues of there own to take care of and have a general disrespect for people
older than themselves.
Doesn't bother me. All words can be used to harm, hurt, embarrass or show care,
it all depends on the intonation. Obviously this was used in an insulting
manner but the MP handled it well. Perhaps the other person will think better
in future of how she conducts herself.
Only just recently heard this expression. I agree with senilesal. We did not get
all the benefits that are offered now. No baby bonus, no maternity leave, women
couldn’t get their own credit cards, interest rates were up to 18% at their
highest. We have worked hard, saved and paid taxes, no dole payments for us even
when in drought conditions on our far. We took responsibility for our actions
and were generally respectful to our elders and others. Boomer is my
daughter-in-law’s nickname, as she has a great happy laugh. Much prefer the
word in that context.
Verbal. Bashing of boomers is wrong. We worked hard. Some of us. Did it tough
and just got by we are not all property rich and have $$$ in the bank. So our
houses were cheaper. Our interest rates were higher. We lived with in our
means. We never had a I want it all now and then moaned when we couldn't pay
our bills I have been married for over 40 years lived a modest life I went
totally deaf in my mid 20s. With young children and babies my partner
supported us. There was no subsidised day care or family supliment. We just
made do with what we had getting a job in my 40s casual was hard I had no
skills. But I tried hard now in in my 60s and a carer for my partner. Who has
issued due to his military service now gets the aged pension. WWE would be
better off if he had gone overseas he would get a vets pension I think the
younger generation need to re adjust there wants and needs lists and join the
real world and stop blaming the older generation for there poor life choices
Cool. I agree with this, full heartedly. But also don’t be so ignorant about
the fact that some of the issues Gen Z is facing is caused by older generations.
So to say it’s ‘their* poor life choices’ is quite rude and stubborn
because, Gen Z didn’t invent plastic, or cause the hole in the ozone to
increase, create oil spills, cause animals to be endangered (least not
directly), proliferate racism, and all this among other issues.
Gen Z might seem to have it easier, but there are a lot of issues that NOT JUST
baby boomers, but also Gen X and millennials have left on us to resolve.
The worst some people might have done you ask? Or to me is what you connoté
through your tone, girls getting pregnant at a young age perhaps (even though
teen pregnancies have gone down significantly since 2005 to 2015 from 17.5 to
11.4 births in every 1000 women). I’m only saying this all because your tone
enunciated that these were some of the poor choices you’re referring Gen z to
be part of.
senilesal - might I suggest your husband contacts the Department of Veterans
Affairs? If he has issues related to his military service he may be entitled to
Veterans Affairs benefits even though he didn't go overseas. Anyone who has done
military service is now classed as a veteran.
It all depends on the context.. Australia is known for it use of slang language.
Boomer is a slang word for a particular generation of people. It can be use in
an affectionate matey manner or it can be a derogative insult.
ok boomer is a put down & a generalisation about a group of people. it is
disrespectful, unhelpful & bad manners. perhaps the word whippersnapper should
be used in response
In my town if some one addressed me that way it would be, because
they would be thoroughly confused. We have a well known local
football referee with that as his nick name, Half the town would not
know his given name but would know who you were talking about if
you said Boomer..
Otherwise i couldn't care less.
‘Ok boomer’ is a mindset. The phrase is generally used on those of Gen X. So
seemingly, you have Gen Z referring to Gen X as boomers; children and their
parents. Not always literally, but thats how the generational gap is situated
with the users and the ‘victim’ of the term. The term isn’t really used
directly towards baby boomers, maybe in a few memes but not as an insult. It’s
the same as saying ‘ugh millennials’ or ‘kids/youth these days’.
What I mean on the idea of boomer as a mindset is that anyone can be a boomer,
according to the slang term. That phrase connotes to acts that might be
considered traditional values and concepts of being raised as or by a baby
boomer, and being out of touch with current trends and/or issues. So, if you
said something about how climate change doesn’t exist or is irrelevant, then
it’s likely that a Gen Z would respond back ‘ok boomer’.
Usually it’s a response used for when Gen Z are attacked because of small
issues - boxed in to certain ideals. For example; what a person is wearing
(ripped jeans, slut shaming, or saying a girl is being too sexual by showing her
shoulders, stomach or too much leg - ok boomer), marching for equality, seeing a
person with tattoos and/or piercings (being thought as unprofessional), killing
dating culture, etc.
HOWEVER, its literally just A MEME.
All it is, is content to be laughed at. Not aimed directly at baby boomers but
Gen X, used by Gen Z and some millennials.
Don’t take it seriously. Have a laugh and move on.
Ok boomer?
I had to google it as I have never heard of it, here is what I found:
"OK boomer is a viral internet slang phrase used, often in a humorous or ironic
manner, to call out or dismiss out-of-touch or close-minded opinions associated
with the baby boomer generation and older people more generally."
I think it is unfair because no everyone in the same generation is like this, I
can say even younger people could have closed minds. I am a so called boomer
but I was and always have been open to change, and often cannot relate to my own
age group, but I do get what it means now. I still think it could be insulting
without knowing a person properly it is often just accusations without merit.
I never heard it. I'm not a boomer. I'm not surprised. I'm an immigrant and
looks to me that here, once you reach 30yo, you are automatically treated as
mentally impaired. Sometimes it hurts but, mostly it feels like yeah right,
whatever...
I am a (baby) boomer who has always trod lightly on the earth. You would have
difficulty finding a millennial who has done more regarding pollution reduction,
sustainability and climate change than I have. Why tar people with the same
brush based on an age bracket? See people for who they are. It is lazy to use
name calling to boost a fragile sense of self; rather, do something worth your
own respect. I don't take "OK Boomer" as an insult but think it sad that anyone
is being dismissed; everyone has something to offer and a different perspective
can be enlightening. We all need to have more tolerance and respect for one
another.
Sounds silly to me, but whatever. Everybody is to sensitive these days. Not
that I give a toss what I'm called. I suppose they will come up with something
eventually for us gen x'ers and then my generation will have its turn to
complain.
I'm a millennial (technically, though I don't really identify by generation) and
I find it problematic. I hear it a lot from people who have essentially become
so closed off to discussion about certain issues, especially when the rebuttal
is from an older person, that they use it as an automatic shut-down. The
implication is almost that the Baby-Boomers are solely responsible for every
stuff up we're currently facing, which is rubbish. Furthermore, the Baby Boomers
are currently being treated like they're the only older/aging population in
existence. My grand-parents and their assets (which are meager) got caught up in
some of the election nastiness targeted at self-funded retirees and yet they are
not Boomers, they're post-war (I hate the term Silent Generation) and I listened
to some pretty hateful stuff from my own generation during the election campaign
and after it (all about the climate crisis and Baby Boomer's attitudes to it).
So I feel like I've got a good handle on the tone of the whole thing and it
ranges from dismissive to mocking to unkind and I don't think that (even if we
disagree with each other) that is an appropriate tone to take to a whole
generation of people (especially our elders).
Who really cares we know who we are!! As a 1947 boomer we know how tough it was
to live in the (so called) boomer life. Millennials and Generation Z are once
again showing their ignorance and forgetting how easy it was for them to grow up
during those years (1985 to 1999) because of Boomers!!
I've never heard of it before, but my initial feeling is it's a bit rude &
disrespectful of an older generation. But having said that "baby boomers" can be
very set in their ways & views and I guess it depends on the comment intent
(jokingly or to be dismissive & disrespectful of someone else's opinion), how it
is said & in what circumstance.