Parents Stuck In The 20th Century Tend To Say 11 Phrases That Embarrass Their Grown Kids
Andrii Nekrasov | Shutterstock Baby boomers and Gen X are iconic generations that made major waves, but the world is changing fast. Even as a parent of grown kids, getting older can make you feel out-of-touch with what's considered cool.
Most of the time, this is a good thing. It frees you up from having to conform to society's expectations and you no longer care if you're popular. Still, if someone is stuck in the 20th century, they run the risk of saying things that make their adult kids laugh out of pure embarrassment.
Parents who seem stuck in the 20th century often say 11 things that embarrass their grown kids:
1. 'Wait, what do you mean this photo isn’t real?'
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If you have a parent over the age of 65, you've probably received a video of something truly bonkers from your parents made by AI. Usually they have no clue the pic or vid is fake.
I hate to say it, but AI has a reputation for fooling baby boomers (and even some Gen X and elder millennials!). This is especially true when it comes to bizarre, propaganda-laced “AI trap” posts on sites like Facebook. While everyone can get fooled by AI once in a while, the baby boomer generation seems to be far more likely to be taken in by images and videos that aren’t too slick about their fakeness.
This problem only gets worse as AI video and image creation gets easier, with various chatbots and video generators already living right on their phones and tablets.
2. 'Kids today need to toughen up'
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While many different generations feel this way in different ways, parents who are totally stuck in the 20th century seem to have a certain level of disdain for “softies.” Some younger generations even argue that boomers can dish out harsh words without being able to handle the same in return, but is this true?
Contrary to popular belief, some psychologists believe actual baby boomers are more resilient than other generations. Younger generations have their own issues, but trust me, you don’t have to keep reminding us that we need to toughen up.
3. 'We grew up respecting authority'
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As a millennial, I have heard this phrase from almost every elder generation parent I knew. I am also well aware that the baby boom generation, in particular, was part of one of the biggest social and cultural revolutions in the history of the United States, so it feels a little disingenuous to myself and my peers!
Sure, later generations were more likely to question the status quo or stand up to authority as part of their personal growth rather than as a revolution against oppression or injustice. But baby boomers need to remember that they were sort of the grandparents of refusing to give automatic respect to authority.
4. 'I voted Republican'
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I’m not going to get too deep into politics here, but it’s true. As people get older, they are more likely to vote Republican and baby boomers, in particular, are the generation most likely to self-identify as conservative and most likely to lean to the right.
Meanwhile, young people, particularly young women, are more likely to be liberals who vote Democrat. For these young people, hearing their parents talk about conservative topics and rooting on Republican candidates can be totally embarrassing. It can even cause serious rifts between family members.
5. 'Workin’ hard or hardly workin’?'
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There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking someone if they're workin' hard or hardly working, but you are absolutely going to be roasted by your Gen Z and younger millennial kids!
Every generation has its own cringey vernacular. Millennials invented the word cheugy (I'm still trying to block it out), the #BossBabe life, and more. Gen-Z invented 6-7 and rizz and dululu. Gen X repurposed "sick" to be positive and started using phat (with a ph!) in the 90s.
Baby boomers might still say things like “groovy” and “far out” once in a while and embarrass their grown kids by asking "You workin' hard or hardly working?" but you know that won't stop them!
6. 'Just go in there and ask the manager for a job'
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If you've had a Gen X or boomer parent tell you to just go into that place, shake their hand, and ask the manager for a job, you know how incredibly frustrating it can be.
As a Millennial who spent years unemployed after a rather vicious layoff, I’ve heard quite a few well-meaning Boomers offer up this advice. Unfortunately, this doesn’t really work anymore. Today, going into a building and demanding a job will likely result in you getting booted by security.
Saying stuff like this definitely shows a certain level of detachment from the current job market. It’s also become a bit of a meme on online forums. The job market is just different now, there are less full-time jobs and many people who are highly experienced are fighting for entry-level jobs while new technologies replace many jobs.
It's just the that simple anymore. And don't even get these 20th century parents started asking about why you don't have health insurance!
7. 'You don’t seem to check your messages'
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Maybe it’s just a tech geek thing, but most of my friends do not check their voicemails and they leave voicemails even more rarely. Their parents, however, are deeply entrenched in the last few decades of the 20th century and leave a message every single time.
Their kid would much rather receive a text with important info than listen to a message, which is probably why their voicemail accounts are always full. They don't even want to give their parents the opportunity to leave one!
8. 'Every kid seems to get a trophy these days for nothing'
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Self-esteem became a major part of every millennial’s childhood. It was a topic among child educators, school counselors, and parenting experts. One of the ways people tried to make self-esteem happen among millennials was to offer everyone a participation trophy at the end of certain challenges.
Most millennials I know were annoyed by this, but we’re even more annoyed to hear people disparage us for getting those trophies. After all, we were kids. It was our parents who were the ones demanding trophies. Even more to the point? Many experts believe participation trophies are good for young kids!
One of my favorite comebacks for boomers and Gen Xers who talk about us as the "participation trophy" generation is to remind that that every athlete that runs a 5K, 10K or marathon gets a participation metal. Do they have a problem with those, too?
9. 'Kids don’t go outside and play anymore'
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This is another one of those things that parents stuck in the 20th century often mention while observing today’s youth. The truth is they’re right. Kids don’t go out to play at the rates they used to, with many keeping themselves locked indoors almost all the time.
Much of this is due to the rise of tech as a form of entertainment. However, our society became far more fearful, too. Today, parents who leave their kids to play outside are likely to get a call from CPS. Even if parents wanted to get their kids to go outside, it’s a big risk.
10. 'Why don’t people want kids these days?'
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Baby Boomers grew up in a society where kids were just what happened. It was the next, socially mandatory step on the ladder of life. Today, people are starting to realize that having children is not a requirement for happiness.
In fact, many would-be parents are opting out of having kids due to their concerns about the way the world is going. They might have a point. How can you pay for a college education for your kid when you're living paycheck-to-paycheck and how can you get good health insurance when so few full-time jobs are available that offer it?
The list goes on and on, but boomer and Gen X parents should understand that it's a totally different world now, and being able to choose not to have kids is actually empowering, not depressing.
11. 'You gotta work hard to get ahead'
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Listen, it's true that hard work can get you places. But, these days, hard work doesn't guarantee Gen Zers and younger millennials anything near what it promised our parents. Unfortunately, this became a “Boomerism” after people started to notice that it’s more about working smart and knowing the right people.
If you see younger generations roll their eyes, understand that they may have seen great people burn out by the hopes of being recognized for their work.
It’s a tough world out there now, and if parents want to avoid embarrassing their parents, they need to face the facts that the 20th century is now, literally, last century. It's time to leave it behind.
Ossiana Tepfenhart is a writer whose work has been featured in Yahoo, BRIDES, Your Daily Dish, Newtheory Magazine, and others.
