Generation X, Y, Z

 

Generation X, Y, Z August 22, 2026 By admin Wooden cubes spelling gen z alongside x and y blocks on a solid yellow surfaceI’m confused, and you can’t say that it’s because I’m a baby boomer and we’re all in a confused pre-Alzheimers state. I just heard that there is a new demographic known as Generation Z, AKA the Silent Generation, and I’m worried that they have run out of letters for the next generations. Generation X I get. Supposedly, it came from a study of British youth who “sleep together before they are married, don’t believe in God, dislike the Queen, and don’t respect parents.” Sound like nice kids. Then Douglas Coupland picked it up in his book Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture and the term was off and running. Then came the term “twenty something,” but however you slice it, Gen X refers to the demo that was born between 1964 and 1979, although many will and do argue about the exact dates. So just as surely as night follows day, Gen X has to be followed by Gen Y, and you can begin to see how we are going to run out the alphabet here. Also referred to as the Millenials or Internet generation, they would be the Class of 2000, having been born in 1982. They also have been referred to as the Second Baby Boom, because as I don’t need to tell you, they are our kids. You could hardly call Gen Y rebels, but it would be safe to say that authority figures have only marginal success with Gen Yers. That brings us to Z, and it would appear, the end of the line, the 26th letter, the last straw, good old Zed. Born mid to late 1990s, the Zeds are being called the new silent generation if you read Generations, the book by Struass and Howe. Their theory is that generations are cyclical and this current crop is going to behave more like the first silent generation (many of whom were our parents). It’s sad to know that they are already being called the Homeland Generation because they must grow up with a hyper ventilating sense that we are fighting terrorists “there” so that they won’t come “here.” For some reason Gen Z is also known as the Alpha Generation, and while that may not be cause for celebration, it does give me hope that at least there’s room at the head of the alphabet for many more generations to come. 

From the Best of BoomSpeak. 2007. Even back then the generation appellations were confusing. Now it’s worse. 

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

We're Not Alone

 

You know there are things that baby boomers say sometimes that make them sound like old fogies (Whatever a fogey is. It’s from the French word fougeux and is similar to but unrelated to old codger). It turns out that millennials have many of the same complaints. Someone on redditor asked the Millennial community to share their fogie/old adult opinions, and the following is a brief sampling of what was received. You’ll feel better about your favorite millennial after seeing what they had to say. “No, you cannot listen to music/videos/calls/whatever in public without headphones.” “I was sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office and a woman (likely another millennial) was FaceTiming without headphones!!” “New car headlights are too damn bright!” ”It’s like everyone has their high beams on all the time. Add to that the fact that every car is a dang SUV, so they’re all shining RIGHT IN YOUR EYEBALLS.” “Not everything needs to be recorded/photographed and posted online, whether it’s for good, like taking excessive vacation pictures, or for bad, like recording arguments between strangers.” “Please give me a real menu. I really hate having to try to scroll through a whole menu on my tiny ass phone… If you’re going to have a QR code for a menu, at least make sure it’s mobile-friendly.” “Manners go a long way. Having and using manners makes you feel good. It is about respecting other human beings and showing them that you do. It feels good to be polite, respectful, and generous. Manners are not disingenuous. They help others feel welcome, comfortable, appreciated, and at ease.” “Stop speeding in neighborhoods! Also, stop blatantly running red lights. We all got places to be… stop trying to kill everyone else to get there.” “I am not instantly available at any waking moment just because it is technically possible for me to see your message immediately on my electronic device.” “If I say something to you, I’d like an acknowledgment that you heard me.” “The way that Gen Z makes hearts with their hands makes me deeply unsettled.” “I get so angry when I see people using their phone in their hand while driving and not paying attention to the road. Get a phone mount.” 

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

Boomer Energy

 

There. I said it. Boomer energy. Until just recently, I was totally unaware that there was such a thing. But there is and if I’m the first one to relate this to you, it’s time to get on board.

Apparently, boomer energy is rubbing other Gens the wrong way. In my book, that’s okay because some GenX and Millennials are driving us around the bend. But boomer energy goes beyond disputed techniques for how to load a dishwasher.

Let’s start with the unsolicited phone call. The WHAT you say?? Yes, boomers were comfortable with landlines and then cell phones came along. So? Apparently, just picking up the cell phone to call a Millennial or a GenZ is a faux pas. What? Out of the blue you’re calling to see what’s up and how’s the family? That’s what texting is for you idiot!

If you think that unnerves younger Gens, try showing up in person without advance notice. The unannounced drop-bye might as well be a bomb dropped on unsuspecting civilians. It’s another case where an advance text is appropriate. That will give them time to clear out and go to the beach or mountains before you show.

Next on the list of bad energy generation are comments about personal appearance. You might think it’s okay to note someone’s weight loss or new hair style. DON’T. Younger gens guard aspects of self and body image in a way that is foreign to the boomer desire to show interest and caring in a direct manner. You’ve been warned.

Right on the heels of personal appearance comments comes unsolicited advice. I can give you some unsolicited advice right now because I’m assuming we’re speaking boomer to boomer. It’s best that you just restrain yourself from offering any advice to a younger Gen unless you’ve been asked for an opinion. Even then, there’s a high risk of blowback that your advice will go unappreciated – or worse.

If all this bad energy on our part is disheartening to you, know this. Someday soon, the Gens that find our behavior irritating, will be irritating some generation that does not even have a name yet, and that is the kind of Karma we can all appreciate.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His most recent mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

Milestones

 

Is there some award for reaching the 20^th anniversary of a blog? Is that a thing? If so, sign me up because BoomSpeak was launched around this time in 2006. What were you doing in 2006? What were any of us doing?

The term “weblog” was coined in 1997 and within two years shortened to just “blog.” Soon there was a spate of blogs being published and many new software platforms to help you publish your personal journal. Specialization brought new contributors in niches such as technology, travel, fashion, food, computing and many more. Many bloggers attempted to monetize their blog by selling ads but that required proof that your blog was reaching a huge audience.

Ad sales never took hold for BoomSpeak, not that we didn’t try (the dreaded Google Adsense). In retrospect, the blog remained pure by not having ads. From the start it was a place where boomer contributors could express their thoughts (and relevant fiction) about our shared experience of growing up as part of a generation of unprecedented scale. We used the tagline “Your whole life’s in front of you” because it tapped into the potential and optimism that our generation shared. We had – make that have – great potential still, even in hard times.

The arrival of Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Podcasts, and TikTok has exploded the channels for content creators to share stories and perspectives. Despite that proliferation, there’s still a niche for the humble blog. You most likely have noticed the arrival of Substacks by well-known and not so well-known authors. For many of us who hang on to the humble blog, a Substack is long-form blogging by another name, and I’m okay with that. More than okay, because it’s opened the door for some great writing by talented people.

Boomers have taken a lot of hits in recent years and that’s to be expected because of the scale of our generation and the resulting influence we’ve had over politics, science, the arts and more. The bigger the target the more arrows you draw. Part of my mission as a BoomSpeak blogger is to put the emphasis on the shared experience of growing up as a boomer, and remembering the many altruistic contributions we made and continue to make.

If you are a boomer and have something to say about it (or read what others are saying), BoomSpeak continues to be the place to come. If you’ve never contributed, now might be a good time. If you’re a past contributor, it’s time to write for us again. We still have something to say and this blog is the place to say it.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

Milestones

When it comes to age milestones, baby boomers have racked up quite a few momentous ones. For the sake of historical reference, I am referring to the leading edge of boomers born in 46 thru 51. For those of us in that group, sixteen years old meant you could get a drivers license (in many states) and that was a big deal because it gave us almost unbridled mobility. Hell, we didn’t even have drivers’ education in those days, which meant lots of white-knuckle experiences for our parents. It did inspire a ton of popular songs about car culture (Little Old Lady from Pasadena, Mustang Sally, Dead Mans Curve, and Little Deuce Coupe to name only a few).

Twenty-one? A perilous time. There was a war on and we could be drafted even before we were eligible to vote. Looking back, it’s almost comical that we thought we would change our world, but with the sheer size of our cohort’s impact, we did change it. There are still arguments about whether the change was for better or worse.

Thirty. So momentous it spawned the TV show Thirtysomething. A show about life in Philadelphia for boomers turning 30 was fascinating enough to last for 4 seasons. For many boomers, 30 marked a moment of self-awareness…Hey, we’re actually grown-ups. It also marked the beginning of our inevitable dominance of culture and politics. It had to happen because there were just so many of us. (In 1964, Boomers represented 37% of the total U.S. populaton)

Fifty is our next biggest milestone and a wake-up call. Our bodies are no longer as limber as they once were. We’re the dominant influence in culture and politics (including a few boomer Presidents), and the groundswell of complaints about our generation began to grow louder and more persistent. These days you cannot avoid our bad press, as it has become clear to the generations that followed that we have messed up their world completely. You could argue that point but there’s just too many Gens with letters after the term who will push back on the argument.

And now – the Big 80. The oldest baby boomers will turn age 80 in 2026. We’re down to 20% of the total population and shrinking fast (in number and stature). From 79 million in 1964 to 67 million in 2024. Now we have to wonder if we are moving from milestone to millstone. Once we were celebrants and soon we may be seen as burdens (if we haven’t already made that transition).

I like to think that it’s a positive transition. We made it! Life expectancy in 1947 was 66. Now, it’s close to 79. If you really want to take the long and positive view, our next milestone may just be 100 and let’s hope we stick the landing.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

 

Lost Reservation

It’s been quite a while since I have done a celebrity interview. I think it was Leo Davinci. Sometimes you can’t ignore a coincidence. Case in point, I ran into Tony Bourdain as I was leaving my local dumpling carry-out place. Coincidence or karma? Who knows? Or doesn’t know?

Tony? Is that you? I bet you miss the biz.

Regret is something you’ve got to just live with, you can’t drink it away. You can’t run away from it. You can’t trick yourself out of it. You’ve just got to own it.

That sounds like classic Tony Bourdain. Everyone misses your take on travel.

As you move through this life…you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life – and travel – leaves marks on you.

Well, you covered a lot of ground with the Parts Unknown show.

If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food, it’s a plus for everybody. Open your mind, get up off the couch, move.

You wouldn’t believe how many imitators are out there trying to do what you did.

Skills can be taught. Character you either have or you don’t have.

There are so many cooking shows on TV now.

Food is everything we are. It’s an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma. It’s inseparable from those from the get-go.

What do you look for when choosing where to eat?

I’m excited by any food that’s prepared by someone who’s proud of what they’re doing, who puts a personal imprint on food.

Where you off to next?

It seems that the more places I see and experience, the bigger I realize the world to be. The more I become aware of, the more I realize how relatively little I know of it, how many places I have still to go, how much more there is to learn. Perhaps wisdom, at least for me, means realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go.

Very cool. Any parting advice for us foodies?

Drink heavily with locals whenever possible. 

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

In the Soup

There’s a line in the Marx Brothers’ Duck Soup when Groucho (appearing as a dictator of Fredonia named Rufus T. Firefly) says:

Why a four-year-old child could understand this report. Run out and find me a four-year-old child. I can’t make head nor tail out of it.

That can sum up how many of us feel about the current state of technology. I say this as someone who has just come off spending way too much time trying to install a new printer for my computer (many, many tries finally yielded result but there was a lot swearing along the way).

It’s often noted that technology is changing too fast. Just when you adjust and adapt to a new interface or peripheral, they change it. Along comes verification codes followed by two-factor authentication. We adapt as fast as we can, but as many boomers have pointed out, it shouldn’t be this hard to complete what used to be simple tasks. We are rapidly losing proprietary control over our affairs because we are getting technologically inept.

I share the same frustration as Rufus, only now what I would really like to have is a twelve-year old tech guru to help me navigate the daily barrage of technical hurdles. Of course, I want her/him to be bonded in order to protect the nest egg. If that sounds like an extreme step, you have not peeked around the bend to see the next level of encrypted paperless online transactions that will be coming to a computer near you.

The irony here is that most of us naively thought that technology would help us simplify our lives and make them less complex. The true effect has been just the opposite. From banking to borrowing a book, the technology gatekeepers demand more of us every day. If you have not experienced a technical melt-down trying to complete what was once a simple task, you are the rare exception indeed.

Change is inevitable. I accept that. Just wish that it would not come at us at terminal velocity. No such luck. Tech acceleration is here to stay. And don’t even think of trying lure away my 12-year old guru.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

Richie Rich

Feel like you’re a baby boomer with a target on your back? It’s real. The blame game is alive and well and boomers are once again (or should I say still) a target for the critics. The knives have come out along with the OpEds that declare we’ve effed the whole thing up…again.

The current argument is that boomers hold all the wealth in the U.S. and we won’t give it up yet. Forget for a moment the accusation that we won’t part with our spondulicks, and let’s explore the accusation that we’re rich.

If you’re a baby boomer, the question is simple but uncomfortable: are you “rich,” or are you just average? The answer depends on how you stack up against your peers—and the numbers show there’s a massive gap between the middle class and the elite.

In the aptly named Wealth Ladder, what rung are we on? According to an analysis of Federal Reserve data, the top 10% of boomers has a net worth just under $3 million. Experts say that’s the line between comfortable and rich. Meanwhile, the median net worth for boomers is far lower. Think somewhere between $364k and $410k. Or what you could call not rich. Also known as middle class.

Are we holding on to homes as our primary asset. Guilty. But can average baby boomers really be called rich? Don’t think so. You need at least $3 million to be in that class, and retiring with assets like that is far different than retiring when you’re worth $350k.

Don’t forget there’s a fairly large number of boomers who for a variety of reasons/setbacks have not managed to save more than $30,000 towards retirement, and are falsely hoping that social security will rescue if not sustain them.

To summarize, younger generations shouldn’t picture the vast majority of baby boomers pulling up the ladder to shortchange younger gens. We’ve got our own retirement issues to deal with and will eventually be passing along whatever assets remain.

When it comes to the battle of the gens, I wish everyone would appreciate my favorite fortune cookie saying: It’s nice to be important, but it’s important to be nice.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

Going for Broke

If you are one of those baby boomers who thought they had enough savings to retire on but now are scared of going broke….join the club. Boomers who considered themselves wealthy because they are sitting on six figures in savings are now thinking they may not have enough.

There was a time when retirees could spend 4 percent of their savings per annum without the risk of running out in the last 30 years of their lives. The new number according to the latest research – is down to 2.1 percent.

What happened? For one thing, we may live to upwards of 95 years old. Put that factor on top of rising housing, health and food costs and you have the perfect storm scenario that makes retirees resort to strategies that used to be reserved for not so rich boomers. Instead of enjoying their retirement funds, they are still squirreling away savings.

The general perception that boomers, who own half the nation’s wealth, are kicking back and having a ball, is not really the case. Federal Reserve data indicates fewer than half of all boomers have enough savings for retirement and 43 percent of 55 to 64-year olds had no savings at all in 2022.

Now you can understand why the new retirement plan is the no retirement plan. It also explains why so many boomers are coming out of retirement to go back to earning money to live on. Around 20 percent of Americans over 65 are employed. That’s about 11 million people, and they pull in about 7 percent of all wages and salaries paid by U.S. employers. Back in 1987, they made up only 2 percent.

Spending below your means may be the new lifestyle of the “I thought we were wealthy” crowd. If you’re feeling sorry for yourself, spare some sympathy for Gen Xers who are worrying about financial insecurity right now, never mind worrying about retirement woes ahead.

But, as Buddha advised, “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” Or as many fathers said to their sons, “Get a job!”

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

The Signs

Here’s a new game. You know you’re old when ______ (fill in the blank…you know, the blank).

When asked what was something about aging that no one warned you about (or maybe they did and you forgot) baby boomers have a lot to say.

“The slow loss of everything, your abilities, your health, your friends, relatives, places you loved, etc. Just the eroding away of everything.”

Ouch.

“The invisibility.”

Ouch again.

“Aches and pains don’t go away in a day. Sometimes it takes a week.”

Ouch. Ouch. Really, that hurts.

” …eventually you will end up in that CVS aisle you always skipped because it didn’t pertain to you.”

“How fast time goes by. I was 21 yesterday. Now I’m 69. Time went by way too quickly.”

“All the napping! I’ve never needed so many naps…”

“When you hear a song or band from your youth that you absolutely hated because they were so cheesy and god-awful bad, but now when you hear it.. it brings back smiles and memories…. that’s the cleansing power of nostalgia!”

“How precious time will feel. Every moment matters to me now and I have no patience for squandering it. I consider myself very laid back but if there is anything that will trigger me, it’s someone wasting my time. Feels like they’re stealing my most precious resource.”

“As a male. The crazy ear and nose hairs that grow.”

“I wish they had warned me that it’s OKAY ‘not to do anything’ when you retire. My husband and I have been retired about two years now, and it’s been wonderful. But we’re not jetting around the world. We are just relaxing, enjoying being home. And that’s okay, it doesn’t mean we have a worse life now.”

“That I would feel this great. And content. And so much more in love with my SO, decade after decade…that for all the travail I’ve had a wonderful life.”

It might be a useful exercise for boomers to sit down and write a brief declaration of what’s right about this time in their life. Be it closeness to a mate, a sense of having lived a productive life, or the ability to look back on your good works. It may also be helpful to shelve the complaints and focus on what turned out right.

That being said, not every boomer is in a happy place right now, and no amount of buffing is going to make their lot any better.

Count yourself lucky if that’s not you.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

Anna Log

It’s just a little disturbing to realize that baby boomers are the last living generation to know a world without social media. There was no way for us to leave the house and have someone be able to contact us. The notion that someone could call us on a small communication instrument was not even in our minds. Following each other on Facebook or TikTok as seemingly everyone does now was not on our radar in 1965. We were still using landlines and if you called someone and the line was busy (just the term sounds so old school), you had to try again later. Try explaining this experience to a GenZer and you get the blankest of blank looks. Answering machines were the height of our technology and did not come into popular use until the mid-eighties.

If we did get into trouble while out and about, it was important to know your home phone number because that was the only way we were going to get help. It also meant we had to knock on someone’s door or go into a place of business to ask if we might use their phone. We were not low-tech – we were no-tech!

And yet…we survived. Some would say we thrived. It’s safe to assume that every generation looks back on their youth with a fondness and nostalgia for those simpler times. But when you tell Gen Xers and Millennials about making mix tapes or Sadie Hawkins dances, they think our simpler times were some very sweet times.

And they were, but not totally devoid of angst. Teen years in particular could be brutal but compared to the way adolescents are tortured on social media now, we escaped with minimal psychic damage. Our mistakes were not posted online for all to see (and live on forever). We were not obsessed about who was following us on social media. We had actual friends. We did things together. In person. Sometimes we did stupid things but we survived. In fact, we made it to the point where we’ve dived into the technology that younger generations take for granted. I could have used Microsoft Copilot to write this BoomSpeak post, but I’m saving AI for a day when I’ve lost all reasoning. Hope I’m still sentient.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

 

Driveway Moment

I’m sitting in the car that is parked in my driveway because I don’t want to go inside my house – at least not yet. Because when I walk through that door I have to be an adult who worries about my spouse (who thinks I take our marriage for granted), about my grown children (who won’t leave home), and about my parents (who may soon need to go into a home), and about planning for retirement (a train that has long since left the station).

Driving home from work I was able to find respite from all these wonderful topics, but now that I’m in the driveway, the only thing between me and the boogey man is the sanctity of my car. It may be old and have over 150,000 miles on it, but the seats still smell leathery and I am comfortable behind the wheel. I know everything about this car. The new tires on the back, each of the disc brake rotors I’ve had replaced, the new radiator hoses, it’s all documented in my mind. Really, when I think about it, I realize I have replaced 50-60% of the car by now. But the sound system is still A-1 so I can listen to some soothing classical music while working up the courage to leave the comfort of my “cabin.” Might as well put the seat in the reclining position to see if that will lessen the throbbing sensation in my frontal lobe. That’s working. I can already feel my heart rate slowing down, my hands have stopped clenching, and the damp brow is drying off.

I feel transported to a better place – a place where no demands are made of me. When I’m hungry, food appears. When I’m drowsy, a soft bed is there for me. Everyone speaks softly and we are gentle with one another. The sense is that everyone is solicitous without verging on obsequious. This is good – very good.

A loud rapping noise on my window shatters the reverie into a thousand tiny pieces. My son is staring at me through the fogged up window and mouthing some words. I’m confused – I don’t know what he’s trying to tell me. He makes a motion that I should lower the window, and I comply.

“Can you move your car so I can get mine out?”

No hello. No how are you. Doesn’t ask if I’m okay. Just stands there looking idiotic wearing a backward ballcap, waiting for me to move on, so that he can move on.

Fine. Until tomorrow then. This driveway moment is over.

(From the Best of BoomSpeak, 2017)

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

Dead Reckoning

Boomers once gave their kids the sex talk. Now it’s time for them to speak frankly about dying.

Baby boomers who have children may remember with fondness or embarrassment having the “sex talk” with their offspring. They were more embarrassed than you were, but you got through it and life moved on.

Speaking of life, the roles may be reversed now. Well, not the roles actually. More like the final assignments. It might be time for boomers to let their children know exactly what they have in mind for the final disposition. That is, what do you want your kids to with you when you’re gone. So that would be the “death talk” as opposed to the “sex talk.”

It’s time to recognize the next boom for the baby boomers, and that would be the illness, dependency and death boom, and that is NOT in the distant future. It’s a good time to communicate with the offspring/caretakers exactly how you want to go out of this world.

Just like the sex talk, it should be the time for candor as opposed to squirming. Sit the kids/caretakers down, take a big breath and tell them straight up what to do if/when you slide into dementia and how you want to be buried, cremated or rebooted. Do you have a plot for the time when you’ve lost the plot? If you’re going the ecologically sound cremation route, where do you want the ashes flung?

Do you know what a DNR is? It stands for Do Not Resuscitate and if you are near death’s door in a hospital, your near and dears ought to know that is the acronym you prefer. Gen Xers and Millennials have enough aggro in their lives right now, so it would be so kind of boomers to spell out exactly what we want in sickness and in death.

Thinking about the unthinkable kind of sucks. Leaving your offspring or designated caretakers in the dark about what to do when you go dark sucks even more. It’s time to get over it and do what baby boomers have always done – marched to a different drum. Let everyone know that when the “beat doesn’t go on,” here’s the plan. As soldiers going into battle were told, “goodbye and good luck.”

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

Enuf with the AI

If you do any sort of email blasts and/or marketing, you are most likely getting inundated with entreaties to use A.I. to create your message. Really. Really?? How does that work? Does A.I. know what I want to say? Will A.I. read my mind? Can A.I. write an essay or fiction that somehow represents what is in my brain?

Here’s some samples of what A.I. promises:

Constant Contact’s new AI Content Generator leverages artificial intelligence to automate the copy drafting process for marketing campaigns.
Get instant ideas, create emails and social posts in seconds, and have all your messages written for you.

Beat writer’s block for good.  Plug in a few words and get fully written content — all with the tone you want.

I’m tempted to take them up on it just to see what an A.I. robot would come up with, but the downside is it could be brilliant, albeit way off topic. So just for the hell of it, I asked ChatGPT to give me a blog post about the trials of being a baby boomer. Result? Decent. It combed the internet and discussed how we’ve gone from stability to uncertainty and struggle to keep up with relentless technology as well as ageism in the workplace.

So yes, by absorbing anything ever written about baby boomers, it produced a darn good summary of the challenges we face. By the way, it did it in about 20 seconds which was equally impressive.

But – a huge caveat here – it wasn’t what I was thinking. It wasn’t my viewpoint. It wasn’t the work of my brain. It was a mechanized harvest of what thousands of people on the internet and elsewhere had written on the topic. And don’t forget, some of us consider much of this harvesting to be theft. If you create any type of art, you must already be aware that A.I. may steal it.

If that wasn’t sad enough for me, I’m writing this on the same day that the New York Times ran an op-ed about the suicidal young woman who used a ChatGPT A.I. therapist called Harry. It did not end well.

A.I. most likely has a brilliant future ahead, but it will be of no use to me when it comes to producing BoomSpeak, writing original content, or featuring other baby boomer authors. We may have to add a line to our submission requirements stating that A.I. produced work cannot and will not be accepted.

As Walter Cronkite used to say, “And that’s the way it is.”

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

Boomer Panic

Have you heard about Boomer panic? Really. It’s apparently a thing. Someone coined the phrase when a Lowes hardware cashier was tagged on TikTok for getting all screechy and panicked when faced with dowels that did not have price tags.

That’s how these memes start. A baby boomer is called out for “boomer panic” which in turn becomes a condition the entire internet can jump on and voice their concurring opinion. Then the amateur psychoanalysis begins.

Here’s a direct quote from a commenter: “Boomers grew up when they had to bottle up their feelings to show their resilience. This can lead to growing anger, frustration with situations and people, chronic stress, and anxiety—all conditions that can lead to panicky, unhinged behavior.”

Another commenter opined “From conversations with my mother, they weren’t allowed to make mistakes and were harshly punished if they did.”

Holy cow! We really had it bad and we’re so effed up that we’re still paying for it today. Fear not, however, because experts (using that term loosely) advise younger generations to sympathize with boomers who are unable to regulate their emotions. Phew! I thought we were done for but apparently it’s all the fault of our parents. They never taught us how to regulate our emotions.

The irony here is that if you spend any time watching Instagram or Facebook videos posted by GenXers, Millennials or GenZers, it’s very clear that many of them (not going to generalize here) are totally clueless about how regulate their emotions and should not be held up as proof that they had better (i.e. less effed up parenting) emotional balance.

I would put my clueless parents up against any of today’s clueless parents and we’ll see who is more emotionally well-balanced. Wait a second. It’s too late! Now I really am panicking! The amateur psychologists may be right.

Nah. This boomer panic thing isn’t really a thing. It’s just a manifestation of younger gens watching entirely too many TikTok videos and coming up with dumb conclusions. Maybe they would be better off reading the classics and analyzing why Macbeth’s mother found it so easy to manipulate him. Bet you he would be a riot buying dowels at Lowes.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that's not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

Get Some Sleep

Am I the only baby boomer wandering around at 3:30 in the morning? I don’t think so. Apparently baby boomers are more susceptible to sleep apnea at this stage of their lives. If your blood pressure has been dropping and you’re tired all the time, or (you’ll love this one!) you stop breathing momentarily in your sleep, you should see a doctor.

Insomnia and sleep apnea occur more often as you get a bit older and heavier. Things get flabby and the parts start to loosen up – like your airways!! Yikes.

If none of these symptoms hit home, maybe you’re just as stressed out as the rest of us who are awake in the early hours. According to those who measure things, about three fourths of baby boomers surveyed say that they get less than eight hours of sleep a night, and one in six has difficulty falling asleep. You made it through crying infants and out–all-night teenagers and now this?

Just the noise of the cat puking in the living room can wake you from a sound sleep. Then as long as you’re up cleaning the floor you might as well get a glass of water. And after the water it only makes sense to go to the bathroom. Maybe then it’s a good time to plan that fantasy trip to the Greek Islands. Should you go with two or three days in London on the way to Athens? Has anyone sent you email in the middle of the night? You never know. If I’m up they could be up. It’s only midnight in LA…but they go to bed at 8 pm don’t they? You could get off the computer and go out on the sofa to watch TV. Home improvement shows are perfect for putting you to sleep. You start watching Amy the carpenter on Sweat Equity reruns and wake up twenty minutes later with drool on your chin (sorry about that Amy).

All the health gurus say you should get eight hours of sleep but what if you never slept that much? What if you’ve been getting by for years on six hours?

I’d like to help you with this problem, but I’m going back to bed.

(This is a Best of BoomSpeak post from some time around 2014)

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

Early Bird Pact

More important than “to love and cherish” or “in sickness and health” is the vow we made to each other many years ago – no early bird dinners. I’m not sure how it all began, but it may have had something to do with watching some seniors shuffle into the local Horn and Horn Smorgasbord Cafeteria at 4 o’clock in order to get the cheaper Early Bird dinner. One of us looked at the other and we vowed at that moment, to never, ever go to one of those things.

It’s a lot like the “shoot me if I get like that” promise that spouses extract from each other. There’s something about a herd of seniors being corralled into a cafeteria to eat at 4 pm (whether they’re hungry or not) that’s very unsettling. The restaurant views them as a captive audience that can be manipulated easily by the promise of a discount because they’re living on fixed incomes. Maybe that’s why there are so few guys wearing ascots or women wearing diamonds at an early bird dinner.

Does eating dinner at 4 pm mean you’re in bed under the covers by 8? Why does being older mean you have to miss all the fun? We want to eat at 8 pm and stay out until 10 or 11. Where’s the fun in sitting at home watching reruns? I would rather eat less and pay less than be rounded up like docile cattle for the chow line because the restaurant wants to fill some seats and get me out before the high rollers show up (if there areany high rollers going to cafeterias).

Even the elder hostels give me pause. Sure, the programs are great and they take the guesswork out of the planning, but there’s that herding thing going on again. Like lemmings following the lady with the red umbrella at the museum. I’m too much the nonconformist to go there.

I’ll take the discount for seniors at the movie theatre, museums, for bus/train fare, and at the supermarket. That’s only fair. We paid our dues by paying full price all these years. And it’s okay if a younger person allows me to go ahead of them (age before beauty is a reasonable accommodation). But, we have promised ourselves that there are no Early Bird dinners in our future, and it’s a promise we intend to keep.

(Best of BoomSpeak from 2009) 

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

Peak Burden

No one would blame you if you’re one of the people who thought “peak burden” is when you’re exhausted from carrying around a mountain. Alas (a word that should be used more often), the phrase refers to rapidly approaching “peak 65” when the youngest boomers turn age 65.

Who cares? Maybe you should if you’re on the leading edge of the generation. We (the leading edge we) are mostly prepared for retirement if we have not already done so. The peak 65 group? Not so much.

Around 53% of “peak boomers,” who will turn 65 between 2024 and 2030, have less than $250,000 in assets, a new study found. Research also indicates that more than a quarter of the workers that are nearing retirement have no savings and few years left to put some money away.

Bottom line, peak boomers will be hard pressed to maintain their standard of living in retirement. That in turn means they will rely on Social Security as their primary source of income. It’s estimated that one-third of these younger boomers will rely on Social Security benefits for at least 90% of their retirement income when they are 70.

You should already know that Social Security was never meant to be a retiree’s total income. More like 40%. The idea was that it would supplement what retirees had managed to save over the years in a bank account or 401k. The average benefit is $23,000 per year, which is hardly enough for a comfortable retirement. It’s more like a small step up from sleeping on the street in a cardboard box.

How or why should the peak burden worry older boomers? The stress put on the economy by these peak burden retirees will impact everyone. Productivity could slow as they leave the workforce. Likewise, consumer spending could decrease as they lack the funds to spend. In effect, everyone could feel some pain, not just the peak burden people.

There’s a saying that pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. Not buying it. Many retirees could be seeing some hard times ahead.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

Thanks Smartphones

Turns out that smartphones have ruined us. Maybe not baby boomers so much, but smartphones have had an adverse effect on us as well. According to a boatload of different studies, many of the skills we had have bitten the dust. Here’s a sampling.

Great Memory – We used to know other people’s phone numbers and addresses. Now, we’re lucky if we can recall our own. Excessive screen time (you’re watching TV while scrolling on your phone – we all do it now) has a negative affect on cognitive ability, memory, concentration and focus.

Reading Social Cues – Boomers grew up with many face-to-face experiences. Our ability to read body language helped us to make friends in-person, and feel comfortable in social situations and job interviews. Younger generations avoid in-person interaction and hide behind those little screens.

Focus – Growing up before smartphones came along, we were able to be more productive when it came to truly concentrating on a task. That was before a harmless notification “ding” could sabotage whatever we were trying to focus on and drop everything to check on who was contacting us.

Patience – It should be obvious, but the immediacy of smartphones has killed our ability to wait things out. It’s a now world now. We have to respond ASAP to every email and text.

Silence – We were capable of sitting in solitude without external stimuli but younger generations raised on smartphones have no clue what that was like.

Entertaining oneself – We had no choice. There were often times when reading a book or taking a walk was a far better experience than checking in on Facebook.

Great handwriting – We’ve been here before. There’s hardly anyone left who can write longhand (or knows what that word means).

Independent thinking – There was a time when we came to our opinions based on discussion and debate along with a healthy serving of news. Social media promotes a groupthink that stifles original thought.

Delayed gratification – Social media is in the moment so what’s the point of waiting to do something if you can have it NOW.

Storytelling – Sure, there is storytelling on line, but it’s not the same as face to face sharing that can bond people together.

Resourcefulness – It’s just too hard to ignore the allure of social media when that distraction is so tempting. Boomers had to overcome problems and develop a routine on their own, without cribbing ideas off the internet.

The bottom line is that we may have been better off in terms of intellectual and personal development, but we’re just as vulnerable when it comes to the harm a life lived on top of smartphone can do. It could be time to put it down for a whole day and see what happens (after you get over the panic of not knowing where it is).

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.

The Real Deal

I never stopped to think about it, but apparently the baby boomer generation has been labeled as more “authentic” in how we relate to our world.

Really? Yes, we are more real. Okay, I can think of worse things that we’ve been labeled but how did psychologists come to this conclusion?

First off, we grew up with fewer distractions. No social media, no digital anything really. Without all that chatter we had to focus on real interactions. That won’t be the last time you see the word real. We listened to each other and had to communicate face-to-face.

Next, we grew up without Google. That meant we had to look things up and learned a lot of things by trial and error. So add self-reliance to how we are more authentic.

We also grew up with a lot more face to face contacts than later generations. That was how we played and socialized and it helped us entertain ourselves.

We never had to experience the performance pressure that later generations felt. The absence of social media meant we could figure out who we were and who we wanted to be without excessive external pressures.

Another major factor in our world view were the major societal changes that affected our maturation. Womens’ liberation, the civil rights movement, and the war in Vietnam all had an impact on our world view. These events helped us clarify our values and world view.

In the absence of social media, we were able to develop a sense of self that didn’t rely on some curated views. We modeled ourselves on people we knew and admired in real life. It helped us remain true to ourselves and gave us a sense of security.

There wasn’t much oversharing as we grew up. We kept a lot more of our lives private than generations do now. We were a lot more measured when it came to deciding what we would share and what would remain private.

The last factor cited for boomer authenticity is trust. We met and encountered people for many years and really got to know them. Because we stayed in the same neighborhoods or with the same company/organization, the bonds formed could run very deep.

Ultimately, many boomers sense that they are more authentic because we are less filtered – less influenced by digital distractions. Boomers can’t claim to be the most authentic generation, but being nurtured in a world without social media and digital diversions certainly helped. As someone observed, the lesson we can take from the way we grew up is that being genuine means being present.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.