Comment by monksy | Hacker News Reader

Comment by monksy | Hacker News Reader

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> I once read Baby Boomer culture described as an ugly toad squatting on the rest of society, holding it back. The truth turned out to be a bit different though. Even the younger generations still willingly embrace 20th century life (probably more than they realize).

This is a generational conflict that happens with every generation. (Each generation has issues with the other) The whole ok boomer thing has me pretty concerned. It's a hostile dismissive attitude towards a previous generation. (That's a terrible thing)

> I think social media will finally tip things over into a new era though. The narcissism that is its core feature is also an outgrowth of 20th century individualism and a quest for self actualization. Pushed to its limits, it destroys its participants and society at large.

Unfortunately it hasn't. It's tied to the economy. I would agree that it actively destroys it's participants and society at large. (I don't even think this is an extreme case of it)

I don't see 'ok boomer' as a hostile attitude, but rather as a response specifically towards the media that has been calling millennials lazy and entitled for the past decade, despite the fact that education, housing, and healthcare and much more expensive for them than they were for boomers. It is dismissive, but I would say those who spout these generalized, ill-informed complaints have earned it.

And I'm sure there are some who use the phrase to refer to every boomer, but I don't believe most do.

Ok poster.

(Easy there downvoters, I'm demonstrating why 'ok <label>' is dismissive and hostile to others by showing a similar dismissal statement.. read and see below for the argument)

Or I could respond with why I believe what the other party's response is incorrect and understand that the other party may hold conflicting beliefs. What you're stating about the beliefs held by millennials about others view them. (It may or may not be correct.. media representation of the belief is there)

My point is that the conflict is only surface level though. The underlying philosophy of both the boomers and the younger generations seem identical. That's quite a shift from how people thought pre-boomer and post-boomer. Boomers and younger generations still hold the individual at the pinnacle of society whereas pre-boomer cultures did not.

Is that really true of the US prior to the 1950s? I would say the US, at least, has been highly individualistic since the Revolutionary War.

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