5 Times A Stubborn Boomer Flatly Rejected Millennial Coolness

Here we go again! I have previously discussed some differences between millennials and baby boomers. There is no doubt that millennials have an edge when it comes to technology and electronic ways to make life easier and more efficient. I embraced some of these changes and accepted some of that millennial coolness.

Millennial coolness occurs because this young generation stays on the cutting edge. Always on the lookout for the next new thing. They are dreamers and want to save time, as well as save the world.  It can be refreshing and exhausting at the same time!

I have already highlighted that millennials are constantly looking for ways to fill their time to avoid boredom. Their extreme efficiency seems to be a double edge sword. There are more unfilled hours in the day and boredom sets in easily; therefore, every new app and technological advancement is explored.

There will never be an end to advancing technology or ways to make life more efficient, but I don’t always feel the need to explore them all. At some point, you need to ask WHY!

Millennials have added words to our vocabulary that are now extremely commonplace.  But one term that I cannot wrap my head around: WWoofing. 

It may not actually be a new term and perhaps has been around forever, but it seems millennial coolness has brought back excitement about it.  Another opportunity to explore the world. When my daughter announced she wanted to wwoof, I just looked at her. WHY? Yes, there is downtime in her life where it is possible, but again, WHY?

Right here is where I need to digress and take a moment to give a plug to varying parenting styles.  Each of us has a different approach to raising our kids, but we all want the same result. We want our children to be confident, independent and successful.  Shaming other parents for their chosen parenting style is ridiculous.  Despite my acknowledging that I was a Momma Addict and a Lawnmower Parent, my kids have continued to grown and soar past my wildest dreams.

You see, regardless of how involved I was in their lives, I made sure the focus was on teaching them how to make decisions that they will need in the future. The only shameful thing that can be said about ANY parenting style is that if your child grows to be an adult and does not have the confidence or skills to make independent decisions, then those parents have done a grave disservice to their kids.

Okay so back to the topic at hand.

Filling downtime seems to be a constant millennial quest. Why not enjoy the peace, comfort, and predictability of life for a moment?

Life is filled with ups and downs, so the calm parts are when you recharge and brace for the next challenge.

I encourage people to not look at downtime, bored time, non-thrilling time, as bad. I think it is an important part of life where we allow ourselves to mentally and physically rest. Millennials seem to not like to rest!

Millennials experience aspects of life that boomers may not have considered. They seem to be open to everything and end goals are not as concrete as boomers.  Boomers tend to ask WHY and millennials seem to ask WHY NOT!

Remember my post about how my kids shared their millennial coolness with me?  There is no doubt that I am a die-hard baby boomer; however, I have been open to learning their culture.

But their millennial coolness also has some features that I want no part of.  I have dug in my heels and like a toddler, I have become a stubborn boomer. Nope. Not gonna do it.

5 Times a Stubborn Boomer has Rejected Millennial Coolness

Snapchat

Seriously? Just why? Please share with me any reasons this would be meaningful in my life.

There are more than enough social media outlets to use that have some value. I don’t see any value here. Please help educate me.

 

Paying for Pandora or changing to Spotify.

My daughter has repeatedly told me that Pandora is not cool. But I have embraced it and do not see a reason to change to Spotify.  Please enlighten me on why I would need to make that change.

And, what is wrong with free? I sit for hours doing work and smiling while my favorite music entertains me. Do you think I even notice those brief commercials? That may not be good news for advertisers, but to me, it is part of life.

Money does not grow on trees, so you need to decide how you want to spend yours. Spending money to avoid a 1-minute commercial? Nope.

I smile each time a commercial comes on and my daughter is nearby. I can see her visibly tense up at the irritation of the music interruption. This is the millennial attitude at its finest where there is a need to keep things moving forward at a fast pace.  I am trying to show that extreme efficiency is not needed in all aspects of life. She is not buying it.

 

Venmo

I have PayPal.  I only use it on my laptop on secured networks because I want to reduce the risk of hacker involvement in my finances.

My daughters and their friends are fierce Venmo fans and seem to share money with each other all the time. In every country, city or public location. I silently cringe about the risks of hackers getting into their accounts.

Did I research it? No. But what would be wrong with waiting until they got home and using their laptop to PayPal their friends? Probably because that is just old school, baby boomer-like. But safer? Maybe.

 

Uber

Okay so I admit I may be standing over here alone, but I get anxious about jumping in an unmarked car with someone who just signed up to drive people around.

Of course, my daughters were early adopters of this new app service. There have been awesome changes to it, but I lived through their casual stories about getting into the wrong Uber. What? How did they even know it was an Uber at all?

Apparently, upgrades have included texting the driver’s picture for verification, but this was not an initial feature. I hesitate to be an explorer of new technologies where my safety becomes part of the learning curve.

I like to get into yellow cab #9926 where the driver’s name and ID are posted in my face.  Do bad things happen in cabs? Of course, but I get to text as soon as I am in the car so that I am leaving breadcrumbs to find me if something happens!

I was raised with stranger danger, and it has not gone away. I raised my kids with stranger danger but clearly, it did not stick!

 

Airbnb

Again, I may be in the minority, but I cannot imagine sharing a bathroom and sleeping in a room with random strangers next door. Didn’t anyone watch those horror movies where nice smiling people by day turn into crazy people in the middle of the night?

I should have changed my mind by now since my daughter lived overseas for two years and regularly stayed in strangers’ homes. Strangers from all walks of life: single, married, families, male and female. I did a lot of breath-holding each time she sent me her new confirmation.

Right now, the only way I can envision doing this is if my family rents the entire house, not a room. My stranger danger will never let me close my eyes to sleep in a house with strangers.

The generational differences between boomers and millennials are real.  For now, these are out of bounds for me. I will take my small dose of millennial coolness and feel good about myself compared to my fellow boomers who are not even on Twitter and Instagram.

We need to find self-pride and accept that we will never be everything to everybody. Own your awkward, uncool self and love it!  But keep your eyes open for the opportunity to grow. There will be other opportunities for boomers to partake in additional new millennial coolness. But for now, just no.

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