I am a millennial who retains listening to the identical clueless boomer takes—here is the truth examine they want – VegOut

I’ll begin by saying this: I don’t hate boomers.

Some of them are my dad and mom, mentors, and even associates. They’ve lived by issues my era can solely examine — recessions, cultural revolutions, the rise of rock ‘n’ roll, and a time when you might purchase a home for lower than a used automobile at present.

But as a millennial who’s needed to navigate maturity by financial instability, skyrocketing lease, and a consistently shifting digital panorama, I can’t assist however cringe each time I hear sure boomer “truths” about life, work, or cash.

It’s not that they imply hurt — it’s that their recommendation is anchored in a world that not exists.

So contemplate this text much less of a generational rant and extra of a respectful actuality examine. Because should you’ve ever stated considered one of these items to a millennial — or thought them silently — you may be due for an replace.

Here are the commonest boomer takes I hear, and the trendy realities that should be heard in response.

1. “You just need to work hard, and everything will fall into place.”

This might be essentially the most well-intentioned recommendation of all — and likewise essentially the most outdated.

Yes, exhausting work issues. But in 2025, exhausting work doesn’t assure stability, not to mention success.

When boomers had been coming into the workforce, a gentle job might really get you someplace. You might pay your payments, purchase a house, elevate youngsters, and retire — all on one wage.

Today, many millennials are working more durable than ever — typically juggling a number of jobs, freelancing, or working nights to make ends meet. And even then, the maths doesn’t add up.

We’re not lazy. We’re exhausted.
We’re grinding in a system that rewards infinite hustle however hardly ever delivers safety.

Boomers see an absence of “work ethic.” Millennials see an financial system that punishes loyalty and glorifies burnout.

The reality: exhausting work nonetheless issues — nevertheless it’s not sufficient by itself.

2. “You should just buy a house instead of wasting money on rent.”

Ah sure, the traditional.

Every millennial I do know has heard this one — normally whereas quietly calculating what number of many years it might take to save lots of for a down cost whereas paying off scholar loans and surviving in a metropolis the place lease is 70% of their earnings.

Let’s be clear: boomers purchased houses in a completely completely different actuality. In 1980, the typical house value within the U.S. was round $47,000. Today, it’s over $400,000 — whereas wages have barely budged as compared.

Meanwhile, the price of residing — from medical health insurance to groceries — has skyrocketed.

We’re not avoiding house possession as a result of we love avocado toast. We’re avoiding it as a result of we actually can’t afford it.

For most millennials, homeownership isn’t a alternative — it’s a fantasy.

The actuality examine: should you’re below 40 and renting, you’re not financially irresponsible — you’re surviving in one of the crucial costly eras in trendy historical past.

3. “When I was your age, I had a wife, two kids, and a mortgage.”

And if you had been my age, a single earnings might really assist that way of life.

Boomers typically use this as a refined approach to say we’re “delaying adulthood.” But the reality is, maturity has modified — not as a result of millennials are immature, however as a result of the world is structurally completely different.

We’re marrying later as a result of we would like stability earlier than beginning a household — not as a result of we’re commitment-phobic.
We’re having fewer youngsters as a result of childcare prices greater than a college diploma.
And we’re ready on mortgages as a result of housing costs have gone interstellar.

We’re not behind. We’re simply enjoying a very completely different sport.

The new maturity doesn’t include a white picket fence — it comes with scholar debt, distant jobs, and a dream of perhaps someday proudly owning a plant that doesn’t die.

4. “Why don’t you just get a better job?”

Boomers say this like there’s a secret again door to steady, high-paying work that we’re too lazy to make use of.

But the reality is, many millennials did go to varsity. We did get levels. We did work unpaid internships to “gain experience.”

And nonetheless, we graduated into recessions, automation, and an period the place “entry-level” means “three years of experience and a master’s degree.”

The job market isn’t damaged — it’s remodeled.

Today, getting a “better job” typically means studying totally new abilities, beginning over in a unique business, or risking stability for entrepreneurship.

That’s not laziness — that’s adaptation.

The boomer actuality examine: we’re not entitled — we’re evolving in a system that retains shifting the goalposts.

5. “You all spend too much on lattes and takeout.”

This one has develop into nearly a meme at this level.

Boomers like to level at our each day espresso runs or DoorDash orders as the rationale we’re broke.

Sure, perhaps skipping that $6 oat milk latte on occasion helps — nevertheless it’s not what’s holding millennials again.

We’re not broke due to espresso. We’re broke as a result of housing, training, and healthcare have outpaced wages by many years.

And right here’s the factor — boomers typically had their very own “luxuries” too. They simply didn’t need to justify them in opposition to crippling debt and financial precarity.

If we need to get pleasure from small comforts in a world the place every part else feels unstable, are you able to blame us?

A each day latte isn’t monetary recklessness — it’s remedy in a cup.

6. “You’re too sensitive — we didn’t complain this much.”

This one normally reveals up when millennials discuss psychological well being, burnout, or social justice.

Boomers are likely to see openness about emotions as weak spot. But let’s be trustworthy — that’s not stoicism. That’s repression.

Our era grew up watching folks bottle up stress, nervousness, and trauma till it exploded. We’re not “too sensitive.” We’re simply refusing to fake every part’s wonderful when it isn’t.

We discuss remedy as a result of we need to break the cycle.
We discuss inequality as a result of silence doesn’t repair programs.
We discuss burnout as a result of pretending it’s regular practically destroyed us.

Boomers endured. Millennials try to heal.

And if that appears like oversharing to older generations, so be it — at the very least we’re lastly being trustworthy.

7. “You kids are always on your phones.”

Guilty as charged — however context issues.

Our telephones aren’t simply toys; they’re our workspaces, calendars, maps, banks, and generally our social lifelines.

When boomers had been our age, they’d bodily communities — associates down the road, household close by, jobs that lasted many years. Millennials have digital ones — as a result of we’ve needed to transfer, adapt, and rebuild connection throughout screens.

That’s not obsession. That’s evolution.

And for each “phone zombie” stereotype, there’s a reality: the identical know-how that will get mocked has allowed folks to construct careers, discover love, keep knowledgeable, and even begin actions which have modified the world.

We’re not hooked on screens — we’re plugged into actuality because it now exists.

8. “We had it harder growing up.”

This one at all times makes me pause.

Because sure, boomers confronted their very own struggles — wars, inflation, discrimination, and political upheaval. No one’s denying that.

But what makes this assertion irritating is the implication that ache is a contest.

Different eras include completely different challenges. Boomers grew up with much less security and extra handbook labor. Millennials grew up with extra nervousness and fewer safety.

You can’t examine struggles that exist in utterly completely different worlds.

Boomers handled shortage. Millennials take care of instability.

Boomers feared failure. Millennials worry irrelevance.

It’s not about who had it worse. It’s about recognizing that each era faces its personal model of exhausting — and that empathy, not judgment, is the bridge between them.

9. “You need to toughen up — the world doesn’t owe you anything.”

This one at all times seems like a reflex greater than recommendation.

And in some methods, it’s true: the world doesn’t owe us something. But the identical will be stated in reverse — we don’t owe blind loyalty to a damaged system.

Millennials aren’t fragile as a result of we would like equity or psychological well being days. We’re reasonable. We see burnout as a warning signal, not a badge of honor.

We’re not asking for participation trophies. We’re asking for livable wages, equal alternative, and a society that values folks over revenue.

That’s not entitlement. That’s widespread sense.

10. “We didn’t have it easy either — we just didn’t complain.”

Maybe that’s true. But perhaps that’s additionally the issue.

Because if you don’t discuss what’s unsuitable, nothing ever modifications.

The boomer era endured large challenges — however in addition they constructed programs that not serve the world we reside in. From housing insurance policies to environmental selections, we’re now residing with these penalties.

So when millennials “complain,” we’re not whining — we’re confronting actuality. We’re attempting to repair what silence left behind.

If talking up makes us appear ungrateful, that’s a danger price taking.

So what’s the purpose of all this?

It’s to not assault boomers or glorify millennials. It’s to bridge understanding.

Because beneath all of the frustration, I feel each generations really need the identical factor: stability, objective, and dignity.

Boomers discovered it in construction. Millennials are looking for it in chaos.

We inherited a world that strikes quicker, prices extra, and modifications each six months. So sure — we’d look “different.” But we’re additionally resilient in ways in which the world typically overlooks.

We’re not lazy — we’re rethinking work.
We’re not broke — we’re surviving financial absurdity.
We’re not entitled — we’re attempting to reside with integrity in a system constructed for one more time.

Final ideas: understanding, not superiority

At the tip of the day, each era thinks the following one “has it easier” or “doesn’t get it.” But the reality is, progress at all times appears like insurrection to those that got here earlier than.

Millennials aren’t rejecting knowledge — we’re reinterpreting it.

We nonetheless consider in exhausting work, group, and development. We simply consider these issues ought to exist in a world that’s fairer, kinder, and fewer obsessive about infinite consumption.

So to my boomer associates: we’re not right here to complain. We’re right here to evolve.

And perhaps — simply perhaps — if we each pay attention just a little extra and lecture rather less, we’d really construct the form of future we’ve each been hoping for all alongside.