Young people of today are more boring than boomers, Gen X and Millennials

[heartofglass23]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/03/beige-fluencers-life-surprises-young-people-aspiration?CMP=fbgu&utmmmedium=Social&utmsource=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR0PxKouPrXgwdoLlNIulkPxkAZfMF55TNjqjE7yd6x1Kqe4ulSSDRj2ogcaemmAfMVqhItFWdAqtFw9PTAFfXSSXQn74reNvZAThFxOOakwicv-_oDAF7fE3xTokI5GU#Echobox=1688374866

This guardian article points to what I've been observing for a while: really boring youngsters.

They shun sex,drugs and rock 'n' roll.

My young adult DC drink less than I did at their age, go out less, holiday less, work harder, save more, go to fewer gigs, hardly ever go to the cinema. They have boring haircuts, wear minimal make up, are very serious in demeanour.

Then there's the social conservatism. I've heard young people being more anti abortion, pro death penalty, anti benefits, pro marriage, slut shaming, more law abiding, more individualistic.

It's a different world they're making for us and I don't think I like it!

I think it's really immature to label Gen Z as boring because they don't drink or smoke. It's like something a 17 year old from 1999 would say

So true! Or they’d call them a keener 😂

How come all the schoolkids are doing weed? Drugs and vaping are more rife than ever among the young.

I think they must have taken a incredibly small section of age group to come up with this nonsense.

My lodger is 19 and the experience ive had with her is very different

Lots of drug taking, drinking (albeit that one i can agree with that its less prevalent), make up obsessed, out most weekends at raves or parties, not at all environmentally concerned (if it means they have to do something additional then definitely not for example use a seperate bin for recycling)
And the drama, they can no longer just ignore people or ignore issues everything has to be analysed in minute detail and argued about via snapchat, her and her friends love "cutting each other out of their lives" multiple times a month. Also everything is about 'trauma'. This is my lodgers favourite word at the moment. Childhood trauma always meant to me something serious like a parent dying or losing a limb but she uses it for arguments she has had with her dad in the past.

And spending money? They spend so much money. If its on tiktok and the tiktok shop then its likely they have bought it. Trainers are another big spending item (lodger and friends all sit around looking for x trainers buying them at £00's a pair)

Its a very different world.

What a load of bollocks. It's just research and education - the younger gens know that licking asbestos is bad for you, eating beef everyday is going to kill the planet and alcohol is pretty bad for you

I actually heard my younger colleagues discussing how alcohol makes you puffy and red. Which is not a good look for photos. Her words, not mine.

Nothing wrong with generational changes. They are learning from our mistakes!

I'm a millennial and I still eat beef.

They’re more sensible than those that came before them.

They drink and smoke less, take less drugs and sleep around with random people less - that’s not boring that’s just being smart.

They obviously don’t rely on alcohol or drugs to have fun as much as we did and that’s not a negative thing.

Doesn't describe the young people I know. DS1 drinks like any student from my generation, and is currently off on holiday around Europe with mates. DS2 doesn't drink as often or as much, but knows how to party. He goes to Europe with mates and is always at gigs. All their friends who I know, both from their school days and their uni days are similar.

Because young people are having to live with consequences of older generations “ Living for today”.

What a nonsense claim

Just a bollocks, click bait article. I suspect there are a variety of behaviours amongst Gen Z just as there were amongst previous generations.

I'm Gen X - there are lots of cultural things I personally think were better in the 80s/90s but it's normal for people to like the things of their own youth, it doesn't mean they are objectively better.

My Gen x is hilarious, not at all boring. She doesn’t do social media, alcohol or drugs.

She kills me with laughter though.

They're held to ransom by their finances, but so were we (80s teenager). But they've got way more to deal with in the way of social pressures and expectations, with social media etc. I think they're doing all right, considering what they're up against.

I wouldn't say boring but definitely a lot more serious and self-confident than we were as kids. I work with a couple of people in their late teens and I'm blown away with how self assured they are in the work place compared to millennials who came in wide-eyed and full of naivity at that age

I haven’t read the article, does it mention that they hug more and tell each other and their parents they love them? That’s a good thing.

Why is it boring not to drink alcohol and take drugs?

Are you forgetting the stats about alcohol and drug use and the knowledge that we have now about its effects? Many have probably seen it firsthand from the issues it has caused within their families like previous generations.

There’s also safety in mind especially when it comes to teen girls and women in an age that assaults and SA is still not taken serious as it should be and they’re constantly told that they shouldn’t get drunk and put themselves in such situations.

Yes, going to the cinema is down because there’s no need when you can stream movies from home and invite people over to watch without spending extortionate prices for snacks, movies and also getting there.

They are still travelling if they can afford to like most of us.

Minimal make-up, boring haircuts?

It wasn’t long ago that people were moaning about unnatural colours and tattoos and how such people couldn’t get jobs looking like that as well as make-up trends like contouring and now that some (I still see lots of different hairstyles and different colours around worn by all ages, it’s just normal so isn’t as surprising ) aren’t doing that, it’s also a problem.

People are more aware of things now, good and bad, pros and cons so they are able to make more informed choices about their well-being.

They do drink a lot less, and don’t seem to go out as much as previous generations.
However, with all the surveillance with social media, smart phones and that one moment can destroy your life.I don’t blame them for being a little bit boring.
It is a shame as I often wonder what happens to adults who don’t get all the extra energy and risk taking out of their system as youths, it can’t be healthy.

I have noticed they drink
less and go out less. Now they can stay in and socialise online whereas i used to hang out with my friends in parks, street corners etc.

God the young are damned if they do and damned if they don't, aren't they?

When I was young all I got from boomers was "don't do drugs or you'll get pregnant and die", now it's "why aren't the young doing drugs anymore the boring squares?"

What a load of nonsense.

Agree with AbsoIutelyLovely. I am late 50s and life was a lot easier for young people when I were a yoof. You could upsticks to London, get a job and somewhere to live quite easily. Degrees weren't needed for everything.

I’m in my early 60s and in my yoof, if you could type you could get a job and you could work your way up.

Social media has changed the way young people behave. Social media is used to bully people.

FTR I'm a millennial so didn't make the world we live in.

I'll admit my life was easier than GenZ but harder than GenX.

Drinking less is good but they just don't have the stories my peers had that would only come from drunken nights out.

I don't think they are healthier though. They are more obese because they are staying in rather than out dancing, walking to local cinemas, walking to friends houses etc.

No one's mentioned the slut shaming which is telling. You don't get ladettes now like the turn of the century.

High school girls all have long straightish hair. If they have short hair they are 'boys'. That is social conservatism.

My young adult DC drink less than I did at their age, go out less, holiday less, work harder, save more, go to fewer gigs, hardly ever go to the cinema. They have boring haircuts, wear minimal make up, are very serious in demeanour....It's a different world they're making for us and I don't think I like it!

Feel free to fund all their holidays, gigs, clothes, drinks, drugs etc then.

Young people get ridiculed for 'wasting money' on renting, ridiculed for wasting money at the pub and on avocado but then ridiculed for being boring and drinking less than the previous generation did. Pick a lane.

*No one's mentioned the slut shaming which is telling. You don't get ladettes now like the turn of the century.

High school girls all have long straightish hair. If they have short hair they are 'boys'. That is social conservatism.*

What are you even talking about?? Every girl had long hair when I was in school 20 years ago.

It's always been that way though, periods of debauchery followed by periods of puritanism - pendulum swings too far one way, then too far the other.

Totally agree with this.

They can’t afford to be rebellious, poor fuckers.

I am Gen X and have always lived my life in a similar way . I don't think younger people are boring I think they are more cautious and many have fuck all opportunities anyway . I would hate to be in my 20s now.
My life is great because I had more opportunities but I also lived a beige/boring but hard working life which has now paid off and I potter around like Margot from "The Good Life" . Yes it may be boring to some , but it's stable .