Boomer parents being judgemental about gig economy income

[Cupofteaandnewspaper]

This is something I’ve noticed with myself but also a close friend. Our parents don’t understand our gig economy incomes and are very against it all, and only encourage us to have one job that’s a salaried thing they understand (e.g. run of the mill admin for a large company they’ve heard of).

I’m very into diversifying my income and developing a trickle portfolio through multiple platforms, all I get is negativity when I discuss this! I’m doing the safe thing of having a salary and building up on the side, I really see a lot of potential in what I’m doing and I wish my parents could see that it’s paying for various things. All I want is positive encouragement rather than being told it’s a bad idea!

Much depends on whether you are running your trickle portfolio lifestyle off their wifi while living at home.

I am a freelance Gen X-er parent, and have been freelance my whole working life. So I do get it. But while my DC are full of great ideas about this brave new world, they're also weirdly deaf to any kind of advice. Weirdly deaf. With a fresh side order of outrage which I genuinely don't remember adding to my own adolescent dismissal of old people's stupid opinions.

You might get the approval you are seeking from your parents if you speak to them in English and not incomprehensible drivel. And don't be so bloody ageist.

Interesting. I guess I have a portfolio trickle platform thingy too then.
I have a day job, a side-line I do online (NOT OnlyFans, no one would wish to see that haha) and an occasional casual job where they call me for emergency cover.
I always had a few things on the go as a single mum, I think the only new thing about this is that it's easier to do stuff online and make a "passive income" eg through advertising if you generate a lot of web traffic .
I actually think when you are young is the perfect time top experiment with different strands of income. You have time to mess about and not worry about pensions too much (unpopular MN opinion I know!).

Oh and I am 40 plus (but obviously not the op) , the "gig economy" (not that anyone who uses it with any integrity calls it that) is quite effective when you have a level of seniority but you have to earn that in my industry through many years of salaried jobs, training and ability to run businesses (actual businesses not MLM). You wouldn't hear any of us spout the wording in the OP.

Gen Jones. God yes! The epitome of conspicuous consumption.

AKA PoisonousSIL. God could that woman need to be seen to have all sorts of stuff.

@DrSbaitso

"Freelancer Merry Seo, whose real name is Seo Eu-ra, is one of these N-jobbers. She is identified professionally with six different jobs: she is the author of several books, a self-publisher, a translator, an illustrator, a lecturer and a content creator with her own YouTube channel, which has 76,000 subscribers."

Thanks DrS

Author & self-publisher is 1 job.
YouTube promotes the self-publishing etc.
Illustrator & translator - traditionally freelance work.
Lecturer - again traditionally something those with specialties (e.g. illustration) can pick up work.

Nothing new under the sun, as another PP said.

None of it gives you pensions and benefits, which is the main issue freelancers have had forever, and which the evil retired Boomers are trying to warn about, now they realise how lucky they were themselves to not have to worry so much about retirement…

I’m very into diversifying my income and developing a trickle portfolio through multiple platforms

It's what used to be called freelance or self-employed, in several different projects. Not unusual or new. Lots of people do something professionally, eg performing or sewing, and also teach it and sell related items (books on the subject, costumes, props, tools). Perhaps they also work as couriers or market research interviewers. It just means having a number of different jobs, usually freelance or self-employed.

Your parents are probably just worried about your financial security, pension provision, etc. If you’re happy just try and reassure them a bit.

Oh OP you'll get zero sympathy here, on a website full of Boomers

@summersun29

Oh OP you'll get zero sympathy here, on a website full of Boomers

Isn't MN mostly Gen X?

I think generational issues where one generation thinks differently are time eternal. To give them benefit of the doubt they're probably just concerned for you. You sound like you've got a strategy so why don't you explain it to them. I think managing multiple things is both impressive but also potentially quite challenging so it would be good to get support. My parents weren't supportive of my ambitions as they were just too far from their own frame of consciousness. Explain it slowly and tell them what you want from them (i.e. is it emotional support? Just a well done youre working hard?)

@summersun29

Oh OP you'll get zero sympathy here, on a website full of Boomers

You want GransNet.

We're Gen X here.

I'm a millennial and was completely lost by the terminology in your post. Gig economy and trickle portfolio means nothing to me. The article you linked to however was clearer about what this means and It was helpful

I think the problem is this statement below.

"Living in the gig economy, in which large numbers of people are part-timers, independent contractors or freelancers, they know all too well about job insecurity in the labor market, thus they try to prepare for their own future by diversifying their income sources"

As nice an idea as it sounds, this can only really be done successfully if you already have stable housing and income already. If you don't then it just reeks of instability and 'the boomers' are no doubt are worried for your future and your ability to afford all the things in life they worked hard for and hold dear. If however you don't value a mortgage and security then please tell them that. Because it does have an impact. Even those who are self employed in one stable role can find financing life difficult with mortgages etc so somebody with many different hats will have no chance at a conventional life as many see it.

As long as you aren't expecting them to subsidise or support you, none of their business.

Nothing wrong with running side hustles on top of your regular job. If you've got stable employment and you're doing freelance work on the side and you're managing to juggle it all sustainably, yay. If your freelance work brings in useful money, that's great. If your freelance work is mostly for exposure, that's less great, and you should probably think about whether to consider it a job or a hobby.

I agree with PPs that I did find your wording a bit eye-rolly. For me it's a bit like calling yourself an 'entrepreneur in the digital space'.

I think whether or not YABU really depends on what kind of side hustles you are running. Anything to do with an MLM, YABU. I'm not quite sure where influencing stops and content creation starts, but if it's at the influencer end of things, I'd be pretty sceptical. If it's in a part of the gig economy which is contributing to the lowering of rates and the rise in exploitation, that's not a great look either.

Mostly though, it sounds to this MN reader as though you're very young, and kind of pretentious. In my experience, the only thing that works for youthful pretentiousness is time. In the future you will probably cringe about your wording, but meanwhile I hope you've built a good life and a stable living for yourself! Good luck!

They’re probably worried you haven’t got a decent pension provision going.

Maybe your parents are judging you because of your corporate bollocks speak which flags "I don't know what I'm talking about and I'm overcompensating with language to make myself sound very important" and they can see right through it? So they have valid concerns about how stable your finances or living situation is?

If that's not the case then please speak in plain English, for the love of god.

As a member of Gen Jones (thanks @ArseInTheCoOpWindow), I worked freelance for many years and my DC (craft-tech in TV/film) will also work freelance. I might think a long career with the BBC (which my boomer aunt and uncle had) would be preferable but there are few such positions on offer now.

Several relatives work in TV and earn well, but it's all sequential contracts for a few weeks/months at a time, on a day rate that's reasonable. At 21, DC's summer's project was paid at industry rates as a runner for the camera teams. Invaluable hands-on experience that immediately puts them at a massive advantage post-university.

I'm from the boomer generation. My kids are around 40. They don't care what I think about where they earn their money.
I wouldn't be giving them "positive encouragement" though for leaving themselves with no security.
I accept it wouldn't be any of my business as long as they weren't asking me to subsidise them.
If you're asking what they think you will get their honest opinion.

All I want is positive encouragement rather than being told it’s a bad idea!

You need to be confident and happy with your decisions and don't worry what anyone else thinks about it. Presumably you are an adult so stop discussing it with people who are going to be negative about it.

I am a 1962 Boomer, my children are in their 30's. When they were small and mortgage interest rates were 18% I had a number of part-time jobs; I did wraparound childcare for school age kids, did the books for a couple of local businesses on weekends, had an evening job in a video store and a Saturday afternoon in a pub, let a room in our house to a lodger. I didn't have one full day off for about 18 months. Still couldn't get an overdraft with the bank.

No, I know nothing about the gig economy.

Isn't 'boomer' just a new way of calling people 'old'?! Evidence: my 10 y/o calls me boomer, no matter how much I explain, that's my parents - I'm gen X.

See, the thing about folk who lived through the seventies is that we remember galloping inflation, power strikes etc. we have first hand experience of what it is like when an economy goes tits up.

And we remember the slow death of our tradition industries like coal mining, shipbuilding etc. We have seen the impact on whole communities.

We know all about living in changing and difficult times. Because we have had to adapt the whole of our lives.

As an aside, the use of “trickle” conjures up an image of a very slow leak of urine. Or is that just me?

To be fair, OPs parents sound a bit straight laced, and may not have experienced the old style gig economy, which my boomer parents certainly occupied.