Y’all missed out on the “Millenials killed the (insert here) industry, and are broke due to avocado toast” articles of yesteryear.
Comment on How to respond to the ‘Gen Z stare’ without looking like a total boomer | CNN
CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
Who the hell even writes articles like this? 🤣
Do people really think that people born between certain years invented…staring?
Seriously, you could change the dates on an article like this, make it about Gen X or Gen Y, and it would be the same thing. Or about boomers. Or fast forward a bit and it will be articles like this about Gen Alpha.
“The older people just don’t understand the ways of the younger people. It’s like this is a completely novel thing between these two generations.”
😒
gridlock@lemmy.blahaj.zone 14 hours ago
CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
LOL, Gen X here. We saw a lot of that kind hand-wringing about how we were a “slacker generation” that was not taking up ad campaigns in expected ways and/or playing video games too much and not being career-minded enough, etc. and how we thought there was “no future” because of things like the Cold War and nuclear annihilation, kids of broken homes and latchkey kids, homes needing to have two incomes to get by, and the dystopian movies we grew up on.
Then they mostly skipped over us because Gen X is not as large of a group as Gen Y.
That’s why when I see articles like this about Gen Y/Z/A, I just lauuuuuugh. It’s all so very unimaginative, but the people writing these galaxy-brained things seemingly have no fucking idea how recycled it all is.
Sergio@piefed.social 10 hours ago
ikr TFA says “…Gen X might have been taught to be overly friendly and polite in customer service settings…” and I was like: wat? Maybe they TRIED, but our stereotypical response was always “…meh.”
CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
LOL, right? Have any of these people even met Gen X or watched some of the media aimed at Gen X?
It’s not like we invented disaffected youth, but it’s like plenty of music and movies captured that and made it an aesthetic for us. I recommend anyone thinking otherwise watch something like Repo Man.
I’m sure plenty of boomers in their youth had some of the same fuck you attitudes. They were the people that said “don’t trust anyone over 30” and “hope I die before I get old”?
Does anyone really think they were super bubbly in their teens and twenties while carrying out McJobs for The Man?
echo@lemmy.today 11 hours ago
avocado toast
I really don’t get that one… I fucking love avocado toast. I make it at home quite often for my lunch. It costs me less than $3 for the meal which is really quite a bit cheaper than many/most of my other lunches and it’s more healthy than many other meals.
Malica@lemmy.zip 4 hours ago
The boomers think avocado toast is ridiculous. They think tuna and vegetable Jello monstrosities are food though so 🤷♀️
Alexstarfire@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
You seen the cost at restaurants? That’s the cost they are talking about. But that’s also true for most restaurant items. Memes are only tangentially based on reality.
echo@lemmy.today 3 hours ago
Nope… I rarely go to restaurants.
CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
I think at some point, someone noticed there was a bit of markup on it when eating at restaurants, associated Gen Y with it, and then the narrative took off from there?
It reminds me of the same finger-wagging that seemed to be aimed at probably Gen X in the 90s over things like lattes. If people at that time and at that age were struggling financially, it was not because of the occasional latte.
CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
Also, hearing people talk about spending is wild. Especially when it comes to things like toast, Netflix subs, smart phones, and televisions.
- Avocado toast. Okay, discretionary spending is something everyone needs to keep an eye on, sure. But I don’t think toast is why people are finding things unaffordable for things like housing, health care, transportation, etc…
- Netflix subscription is as low as something like $108/ year. Not even worth talking about.
- Smart phones are not really optional in today’s society. People that pretend that they are cannot even be serious. Also, you’ll see boomers glued to their fucking phones, too, so it’s not like “constantly scrolling” is some exclusive trait of {generation younger than mine}.
- Televisions. This is the one that seems to unhinged to me. Adjusted for inflation, TVs have never been cheaper, especially per square inch. Consider that the first color TVs were 12 inches in size and apparently $12,000+ in 2026 dollars. I think people that have their mind frozen on those kinds of economics are the ones talking about it. Suppose you had the room for it and splurged just a bit, and got a mid-range 85 inch television. That’s still $1000-$1600, and a one-time cost (well, not counting the electricity). That is not going to be the difference between a down payment on a house or not.
Cellery@quokk.au 14 hours ago
Gen Z? Boomers?
klankin@piefed.ca 14 hours ago
Cheesecake?
Tornadoes?
ZkhqrD5o@lemmy.world 11 hours ago
Its obvious clickbait, do not share it. They get money from that.
Pratai@piefed.ca 1 hour ago
What’s the odds that it’s a Gen-Z?