We often turn to the older generations for guidance—after all, with old age comes wisdom. However, sometimes we might receive some unsolicited advice from them that isn’t helpful at all. In fact, it’s just a whiny complaint about young people and their new-fangled ways.
Maybe it’s due to feeling out of touch with the here-and-now, and desperately trying to cling onto old ways as they slowly slip into the past. Whatever it is, the older generations love to berate the younger ones, so an Ask Reddit thread got people to share the stupidest complaints and “problems” that they’ve heard about millennials.
Bored Panda has collected the most head-scratching and outright idiotic ones that made people say, “you can’t be serious”. Is buying avocado toast really the reason that we’re unable to afford a house in the worst economy since the Great Depression...? I don’t think so.
#1
I had an older customer at my restaurant tell me that millenials were ruining customer service, because we’re so laid back we don’t complain enough and pretty soon “the customer is always right” won’t mean anything anymore. So, what you’re saying is that entitled baby boomer snowflakes are dying out and being replaced with chill customers? I’m failing to see the problem here, Linda.Image credits: sweetrhymepurereason
#2
I think the worst one was a post where an older lady was saying that we were so impolite to say "No problem" when someone says thank you. Instead of saying "You're Welcome".Image credits: LosGalacticosStars
#3
Well not quite answering the question, my friends grandma made a comment yesterday about how millennials don't have china because we can't put it in the dishwasher and we don't like to hand wash dishes. I made a comment under my breath about how it's because china is expensive and not worth splurging on.Or my boss who made a comment about how millennials don't care about money. I've been looking for a new job since.
Image credits: tynorex
#4
That we don't buy silver flatware because we're too lazy to polish it, don't want to buy the stupid knick-knacks that they/their parents bought, etc. I work in the antiques field so I hear that a lot. They always quote that statistic that we want to spend our money on experiences rather than things and I fail to see how that is a bad thing.Image credits: DarthPandaBear
#5
That we received participation trophies. We didn't ask for them. They were given to us by the very generation complaining about it. Most of us threw them away and thought it was dumb to even hand them out. Why not spend that money on snacks or something? I, for one, would have been happier with orange slices or a cookie rather than a ribbon that basically said "you existed here today!" It's not like we weren't aware we didn't win. We still had to learn good sportsmanship and not be a sore loser or a sore winner.Then there's the work ethic complaint. I used to work with a guy that would complain about millennials and our desire to feel appreciated at work and how coddled and emotional we were. In the time we worked together, the only person I ever saw throw a temper tantrum or refuse to do something, was him. He would fly off in a rage and break things if something didn't go his way.
Image credits: SolipsisticRunt
#6
Avocado toast is the reason we aren't buying houses.Maybe it's because student loans are already as expensive as a mortgage...?
Image credits: purpleRN
#7
The one I always found weird was how we are "killing the diamond industry". And why this is so bad.Are we supposed to feel bad for not supporting one of the most blood-soaked monopolies in the history of the planet, which sells, literally, shiny rocks?
Image credits: [deleted]
#8
"Millennials are too obsessed with phones!"They're pocket devices that allow me to keep in contact with friends and access any information in the world. F*ck yeah, I'm going to use my phone.
My own mother went on a dinner date last week, took a picture of a couple my age on their phone during their date, and posted their picture on Facebook laughing at millennials. I told her that "maybe they simply enjoy each other's company, and the fact that they're sitting together is nice enough without taking pictures of other couples on a date and insulting them."
Image credits: DocOcarina
#9
I am a student dentist. Had a baby boomer patient say that my generation of doctors relied to heavily on technology. This was in response to me looking up their medication on my iPad.Image credits: Macabalony
#10
Literal conversation I had with a friend once.I don't understand, if school is so expensive why don't you get a job that will help you pay for it? Everyone's hiring!
Yes, Carol. They're hiring at minimum wage 20 hours a week. That doesn't cover rent, let alone an education.
Image credits: justhereforthepupper
#11
I was talking to my boss about HQ and the $50,000 prize they were giving out, and he was saying how he'd go on a grand vacation and buy a big shiny car if he won. I told him I'd pay off my school and car loans and start a savings account. He laughed and proceeded to make fun of stupid millennials for not knowing how to handle money...Image credits: MemberMurphysLaw
#12
“Millennials think the world owes them something and are always expecting a handout!” I work in social media for a food company. The only people who message and email us asking for free samples and products are firmly aged 40+.Image credits: [deleted]
#13
They call you disrespectful when you won't let them disrespect youImage credits: piperBOMBASTIC
#14
The one I will never understand is when they say "Millennials killed job retention and can't stay with a company for more than 3 years." Why would you stay at a company if they have a bad culture, horrible benefits, and low pay? I feel like the older generations just settled because they got comfortable.Image credits: Lerman07
#15
I'm always thoroughly annoyed by the "millennials are lazy" complaint that Boomers have. I've been called lazy and a free loader by so many people because I still live at home with my parents.What they fail to realize is that I'm neither. I live with my parents because I don't have a family of my own yet and my parents would be royally f*cked if I wasn't living there. I make more than my father does. I pay rent. I own and pay the insurance for the car that gets me to work, my father to work, my brother to work, and until recently my SIL to work (she lost her job). It also gets my mom back and forth to wherever she needs to go (groceries, etc) and was responsible for getting my grandmother to her doctors appointments prior to her passing.
I paid to replace the septic tank at our house. I paid for a new refrigerator, stove, washer, and drier when ours died. I paid to have our in shambles bathroom repaired. It's to the point that my parents have offered to put my name on the house as well.
I stay with my family because I don't need to be on my own, and I love my family and don't want to see them struggle financially if I can help it. It just makes sense for us to stay together for now.
Image credits: UnraveledMnd
#16
Somewhat related-my wife went to a generational differences seminar (ain’t that some PC sounding sh*t?) where they discussed basically how to co-exist with your co-workers decades older or younger than you to work effectively.The presenter read an article and it said “the current work force fears the incoming generation will enter the work force feeling entitled, demanding a higher wage, with a work life balance.” The presenter then went on to ask “can anyone guess which generation they were referring to?” Pretty much the entire room said “millennials” with much disdain.
The presenter corrected them and said “actually the article I just read was from 1948”.
Turns out people will always hate the incoming generation, forever, guaranteed.
Image credits: [deleted]
#17
That we are horribly disrepectful and paranoid to not force our kids to hug/kiss relatives when they say they don't want to. I'm not going to feel guilty for respecting my kids bodily autonomy. You'll get over it. Or you won't. Either way I don't care.Image credits: satanshonda
#18
The problem with your generation is... "You kids don't know how to get in trouble anymore. When I was your age we'd have someone buy us beer and we'd sneak off to the woods or the lake and have a good time. Someone always got caught of course. Then you'd get grounded and have no tv for a week. Kids just don't do that anymore."Umm okay but I'm 30.
Image credits: overtheN
#19
One I heard from a Vietnam Vet was that we 'never had a mandatory military draft to weed out the weak ones and the whiners' and that 'a war would do us millennials all a little goodImage credits: natureofmyreality
#20
I was walking down the hallway at work and overheard "The thing with Millenials is they come and go whenever they want. How are we supposed to schedule a meeting when they refuse to have set hours?" As a Millenial, I still work 8-5 like everyone else in the office. It was oddly specific, but generally incorrect. Maybe he was talking about an intern that's still in school?Image credits: liquid_ice56
#21
My old boss had three sons my age (early-mid twenties at the time) who didn't go to college and just worked part-time jobs and f*cked around all day on their parent's dime. She attributed that to the Millennial generation.She went on one day about how millennials just can't get out of bed and do work. They are opposed to do anything but play video games all day and get drunk at night with their friends.
I said, "Well, some maybe, but everyone I know is working full time on a career track"
She lost it. Made some vague threats about me being useless and how I should be thankful to have this job based on my abilities. 20 minutes later I was showing her how to copy and paste documents onto a flashdrive for the 10th time.
Image credits: Ganglebot
#22
My dad has blamed me for voting away all our rights since before I could voteImage credits: RoguePoet
#23
Anything that assumes millennials are still children/young teenagers.Image credits: Kra56457489
#24
That we don't want to work. Are you kidding me? First of all, we want to work, but it's hard to work when you need two unpaid internships to even get your foot in the door.Also that we don't want to buy houses. Many Millennials grew up during the housing crisis. Houses aren't a great investment, they mean taking more loans, and the average salary of a 30 year old hasn't increased in thirty years, while everything else has. It's not as if no one can buy homes, a few of my friends do, but it's not a matter of not wanting something.
Image credits: ConneryFTW
#25
Not a millennial but Toys R Us / Bain Capital blaming their bankruptcy on millennials not having children is absurd.Image credits: [deleted]
#26
Millennial are somehow both too sensitive and over-exposed to lewd and/or violent movies, shows, video games.Image credits: mrvectorabd
#27
They can talk about their struggles, but we're not allowed to talk about oursImage credits: fusionx_18
#28
That we're "killing" the chain restaurant industry. My boyfriend and I don't eat out that much so, if we are going to spend the money to sit down somewhere and eat, we want to go somewhere that has good, original food. Also, isn't it the industry's fault for not keeping up with their new market?Image credits: seeyasuburbia
#29
My dad in the 90s:"Going to college is one of the most important things you can do. It will open up doors for your future that are otherwise impossible to open."
My dad a few weeks ago:
"These f*ckin' kids think that just because they went to college, they're worth something and they know something. They don't know sh*t and they're no better than anyone else!"
MAKE UP YOUR MIND
Image credits: Dr_Insano_MD
#30
That if we don't like the price of college, shut up and go to trade school. Okay, now that everyone's flooding these jobs, now you're gonna whine that these people are terking yer jerbs.Not to mention that a lot (not all) of trade work environments have a much higher likelihood of sexual harassment.
Image credits: SharpieScentedSoap
#31
I am personally a fan of the complaints about Millennials being too incompetent to get a job, especially when it's coming from a person who has stubbornly held onto a position well past retirement age with an irrelevant, outdated skill set that would not get them hired if they were searching now. How long am I going to have to contend with superiors who can't figure out Microsoft Office?Image credits: DamnDialectics
#32
A coworker from a different department resigned, and a group of managers was trashing the decision, "that generation has no loyalty, just a bunch of lazy millennials." I spoke up and said I was part of that generation, I was in fact a bit younger, and that it was kind of dumb to make generalizations based on age alone. One said something about how the former employee had seniority over me, so it was probably a matter of time for me. I pointed out that I had more seniority than the employee AND that manager combined. She didn't believe me but asked the director later to confirm.She hopped jobs every three years (and actually was working there when I first started and left for eight years), yet blamed age and perceived laziness, and didn't want to be challenged on her mindset.
Image credits: Manleather
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