The age-old rivalry between generations continues to create communication gaps, leading to unfair comments, remarks, and perceptions. In between all the chaos, younger people nowadays feel like they aren’t understood by their older counterparts, the boomers, which causes differences to flare up even more. Beneath all the arguments lie hidden reasons why today’s generation feels misunderstood.
1. They Are Labeled as Entitled
Everyone is different, so putting an entire generation into one box seems extremely unfair. The youth feel like they’re often criticized for thinking that they deserve more than what they’re getting, whether it’s related to the climate, jobs, economy, or anything else.
2. Wrong Association of Traits
The majority of people just bash the newer generation without being aware of the world around them, and they don’t even make an effort to try to learn. This is something today’s youth feels contributes to the association of traits and attributes that might be more fitted towards certain societies rather than an entire age group.
3. Distasteful Attitude
Times keep changing, which means people born at different times will, of course, have different behaviors, outlooks, and problems that correspond to the era in which they grew up. However, older people seem to think that something is fundamentally wrong with the youth, which causes problems between the two.
4. They Are Called Sensitive
One of the worst things that older people tend to do is minimize the gravity of problems by calling younger individuals too sensitive. When it comes to unfamiliar situations that boomers had grown used to during their times, they tend to push the notion that everyone else should have power through the same struggles because it taught them a lot, but you don’t have to suffer through it for it to teach you a lesson.
5. Destruction of the Planet
The world given to millennials and Gen Z is far from perfect, which is why even if they complain or whine about it, they believe boomers should not be quick to judge since they caused all the havoc. So, when the old blame them, they feel like they don’t understand the consequences of their own actions.
6. Increasing Pressure
With the world evolving at a rapid pace, it’s hard for everyone to keep up. At the age of eighteen, you’re thrown into the deep end, and a ton of pressure is placed on your shoulders. This causes youth today to feel like no one really understands their struggles.
7. Poor Parenting
While it was boomers who passed down their terrible parenting skills, the young take the fall for it, which they find to be unfair. Instead of taking accountability, they just seem to point fingers at everyone else, which can be infuriating.
8. Scapegoating
What will you do when something goes wrong? Blame millennials and Gen Z for it! People think that often, the news and media contribute to fueling the blame game by using them as a scapegoat for almost anything that goes wrong. This helps in solidifying preconceived notions about young people, leading to misunderstandings between the generations.
9. Business Changes With Time
One user goes on to say, “The internet afforded an openness and ease of information that literally changed economics.” and he’s not wrong. When youngsters are blamed for business failings and lower profits, it’s essential to keep in touch with the current market before assuming that it’s all their fault.
10. Glorifying War
If I had a penny for every time an older adult talked about their war struggles, I’d be a billionaire. There’s no denying that times were tough for boomers, too, but to the young, it feels like they’re almost glorifying fistfights and battles, which is why they don’t tend to see today’s problems as real.
11. Social Media
The classic blame game where social media and phones are what’s wrong with the world. Everyone acknowledges the harm it’s causing, including Gen Z; however, with accessibility, it’s so much easier to learn new skills, communicate with people, and discover the hidden corners of the world, which is something some people don’t seem to understand.
12. Family Values
When young people don’t want to sit through hours of gossiping aunts and small talk, boomers generally call them out for their lack of family values. Several people now define family very differently than what the older generation used to, which causes friction between the generations.
13. They Are Called Lazy
A recruiter explains, “I am not a millennial, but I hire them. I’ve witnessed first-hand their passion and their talent.” Everyone fuels the idea that Millennials are lazy and don’t want to work hard to earn their money, which makes them feel incompetent.
14. Individuality
People today value their individuality far more than what used to happen in previous decades. This means that they have a fierce desire to be unique, to do things their own way, and to think of the unthinkable, which is frowned upon, increasing the generational divide.
15. They Value the Destination, Not the Chase
Well, what’s wrong with that? You can work hard and still hate it, but it doesn’t mean you’re not going to do it anyway. A common misconception that boomers have is that people now want to be rich without working hard, but isn’t that simply human nature?
16. They Dream Too Big
If you don’t dream big, then what really is the point of life? Older adults weren’t able to have aspirations like people today have, but this leads to unwanted hostility that makes today’s generation feel like they’re not being heard. Wanting more from life should be celebrated, yet it’s criticized.
17. Changing Times
The biggest complaint millennials and Gen Z both have for boomers is that they refuse to understand the changing times. As a result, they also don’t seem to understand why individuals are making the decisions they are today. If everyone still acted the same way, there would have been no growth.
18. Lack of Manners
Outspoken Gen Z is often criticized for being disrespectful and not having proper mannerisms. This is why they feel like they’re misunderstood because, to them, respect has to be earned. Just because someone is older doesn’t automatically mean that they’re a fantastic human being.
