Baby boomers, fair or unfairhave developed a reputation for acting rude, selfish and all over the place. One Gen-X woman thought the stories were a bit exaggerated — that is, until she met one of these infamous Boomers herself.
A Gen-Z woman was berated by an angry Boomer man for being on her phone
The 45 year old woman shared her story on Reddit. “I’ve been looking around the online forum for a while now and laughing at the posts, thinking ‘it can’t be that bad,'” she wrote. “Karma proved me wrong.”
The woman explained that “it finally happened” – she met a Boomer who acted rude and entitled, just like the stories she had read online.
“I accompanied my boyfriend to some appointments he had because they were in a city I don’t go to often,” she said. While waiting for her boyfriend during his appointments, she met the Boomer.
“Anyway, here I am, minding my own business, surfing my phone,” she recalled. “Boomer walks up to the desk, loudly announces his information and sits directly across from me.”
The woman responded kindly, but not in a way that would encourage conversation.
“I looked up and smiled because it was polite, and then went back to my phone,” she said. “He then starts explaining just as loudly, ‘You know, that’s what I hate about you young people these days.'”
The Boomer was angry that the woman was on the phone instead of talking to him
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She was understandably confused by this seemingly random outburst. “Sorry? What do you mean?” she asked.
“That,” he replied, pointing to the woman’s phone. “Everyone’s on that (expletive) stuff now. Nobody talks to anybody anymore.”
“Maybe, but I also learned not to talk to strangers, so…” she responded.
“But everyone is working on those things,” he argued.
The woman didn’t understand because they were alone. “WHO?” she asked. “I’m the only one here.”
The man thought this proved his point perfectly. “Precisely!” he replied. “We should talk.”
“Sir, I don’t know you,” she said irritably. “Why should I talk to you?”
After things didn’t work out with the woman, he moved on with someone else he could find.
“He now wanders around the waiting room, grumbling loudly and talking to everyone who comes in,” she said. “I understand you’re probably lonely, but that’s not how you make friends.”
Despite what this guy might think, Boomers also spend a fair amount of time on phones
Based on what this guy said, it seems like he thinks Boomers never even touch phones. This is however, statistically incorrect.
Senior living community The Housing Facility has conducted an investigation comparing smartphone use between millennials and boomers. They found that both generations spend about the same amount of time on their phones each day, with Boomers coming in at five and Millennials at just over five and a half.
Both groups also use their phones mainly for social media, especially Facebook, the most used app for both generations.
There is a common misconception that Boomers don’t like or just don’t use iPhones. Based on this evidence, that’s a misconception: Boomers actually spend a significant amount of time on their phones. Those who don’t are as unusual and rare as millennials who don’t use their phones.
Although it would be easy to judge this man and see him as just another Boomer who acts rudely, as the woman who posted on Reddit said: he was probably just lonely.
Going to an appointment might have been his only form of socialization that day. While he could have been nicer, we certainly can’t fault him for wanting to chat.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who writes entertainment, news and human interest stories.
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