The oldest millennials are about to be 40 and the media is still somehow telling the entire generation to 'grow the eff up'—a tall order in the midst of constant ecological, financial and health crises. Not to mention war, unemployment, non-existent job security, housing market collapse, student debt, and on and on and on. Yesterday, journalist Jennifer Rosner got dragged by Twitter after the Chicago Tribune plugged her op-ed piece about millennials. When you read the article itself however, it becomes clear that the Chicago Tribune's tweet was a bit misleading. The post that riled up thousands of millennials read, 'writer Jennifer Rosner predicts COVID-19 lockdowns will force easy-breezy millennials to grow up.' In the actual op-ed, Rosner covers her ass by framing the various criticisms of millennials as her boomer dad's opinions. She simply suggests that the pandemic may have something to do with her fellow millennials suddenly embracing a more suburban sort of life that her father's generation might approve of. In any case, the Tribune's tweet was more than enough to hit a nerve. We've collected some of the spiciest roasts from before the controversial tweet got deleted.
baby boomers
If you've ever wondered what Facebook would be like if everyone under the age of 65 abandoned the social network, there's a special little corner of Facebook called 'a group where we all pretend to be boomers,' and it's pretty much what it sounds like. Members of the private group mustn't break character while they hilariously role play and post as technologically challenged baby boomers. We've collected some of the best recent posts and comments so you can get a taste of some pure internet comedy.
Anyone who's on Facebook likely has boomer relative somewhere who uses the social network to ask for advice about creating PDFs, or accidentally makes public events instead of sending private messages, or complains about innocuous problems, like the neighbor's dog barking too loudly. Well there's a Facebook group called 'a group where we all pretend to be boomers' and it's exactly what it sounds like. Everyone in the group must stay in character at all times, making for an absolutely spot on parody of the Facebook world of boomers. We've captured some gold moments from the group to give you a taste of what it's like.
For the past several years, the media has dubbed Millennials the lazy, entitled, 'snowflake' generation who go around killing entire industries with their discriminating taste. Despite the fact that Millennials are now between the ages of 25 and 40, they still get blamed for things like Covid-19 super-spreader events on college campuses. With how generously the term gets used as a general pejorative, you'd think 'Millennial' could just mean 'youngish person who I don't like.' Well many are sick and tired of taking crap from out-of-touch people who seem to consider their own generation to be completely blameless. One redditor asked the internet to vent about the most annoying stereotypes about Millennials they've heard, and the replies are pretty spicy. If you're a disgruntled Millennial who's over all the slander, these top responses from the Reddit thread will probably resonate with you.
As millennials and zoomers abandon Facebook for younger and hipper apps such as Instagram and TikTok, the Zuckerberg site is quickly becoming a soapbox for baby boomers and the silent generation. They are out there sharing death announcements on gleeful, happy posts, or worse - posts that for some reason show off dirty nails or a picture of a well-manicured lawn. They are using the site's happy banner and avatar features to share bad news or frustration. And, as has pretty much always been the case, they are sharing many, many mysterious non sequiturs that they absolutely refuse to explain.
While it may seem like we are cruelly mocking these well-meaning Facebook users, that could not be any farther from the truth. We actually find their eagerness to share their feelings with the world to be sweet and wholesome. We also find their dedication to staying current to be admirable. While it's generally more fun to spot a clueless boomer-post in the wild, there are some excellent internet destinations that take great care in collecting these amusing social media moments.
The first of our favorite sources lives on Reddit, a place we have yet to see the elderly flexing their keyboard skills. The subreddit r/oldpeoplefacebook is exactly what it sounds like - an absolute mecca of disjointed posts from older folks who have yet to get the hang of the site. The community has been around since February 2013, and has amassed an impressive 1 million members in the eight years since its inception. This staggering membership really comes as no surprise - a lot of people have Facebook, and a lot of people know old people. While most of the submissions stay very true to the Facebook theme, there are a few amusing texts from elderly grandparents and nonsensical DMs thrown into the mix for good measure.
The Facebook group "Please show to Jim ! ! HA ! ! HA ! !" is another wonderful place to take in the utter majesty of geriatrics on social media. While browsing the contributions of the group requires actually logging into the cursed site, we think it's well worth the sacrifice. This group is a little more varied in its offerings than r/oldpeoplefacebook. The group, which requires an invitation or a membership application, includes everything from amusing product reviews to actual letters (composed on a computer) and YouTube comments. While this group was created three years after their Reddit competitor, its members post a lot, which is convenient for very bored people who need to be on Facebook for work. We've put together some quality old-person-posts from both of the groups for your easy enjoyment, but we implore you to join and get in on the fun yourself. This kind of content doesn't last forever. Soon, the old people on the internet will have been using it for years. And things will probably be a lot less fun.
Instagram memelord @middleclassfancy figured out a long time ago that the banality of suburbia and the absurd mundanities of existence are total meme fodder, and we couldn't be more pleased. Under this 'middle class fancy' theme, the meme possibilities are endless. From dad jokes to normie problems, these memes are both relatable to a huge sector of the population and amusingly novel to coastal city-slickers. Crack open a cold one with the boys and enjoy some 'middle class fancy' memes.
It feels like lots of young people have abandoned Facebook for Instagram and TikTok over the past couple years. This makes Facebook more of a site for those older family members who share cringeworthy content and think it's funny as hell. For a while it felt like the site was ruled by Minion mom memes, but those seem to have died down - making room for boomer conspiracy memes and tired jokes about marriage and the younger generations. The subreddit r/terriblefacebookmemes is an amazing archive of this corny content. And it helps us enjoy the cringe without having to log onto the cursed Zuckerberg site.
You gotta love old people. They may not understand social media etiquette at all, but that's okay because their blunders thoroughly entertain the rest of us. Check out some of our favorite cringey posts from /r/OldPeopleFacebook below, and then head on over to eBaum's World for more gold content! We're pretty confident that you'll get a kick out of it.
Since the dawn of marketing, businesses have bent over backwards to appeal to the hottest demographic cohorts of the decades. There's nothing they won't co-opt, no 'hip slang' they won't butcher just to sell you a bag of chips. It's fun to imagine a highly neurotic social media marketing 'expert' in 2020 studying Urban Dictionary, furiously scribbling 'thicc' and 'mad sus bro' into a giant ledger. Brands aren't the only ones attempting to communicate with Zoomers through memes. Parents and teachers are putting on their 'fellow kids' hats in a desperate move to appeal to distracted students—though we think these attempts can be somewhat wholesome.
We've put together some of our favorite examples of corporate marketing teams and distressed teachers taking a stab at memeing. Most of the time they totally fail, but a few of these made us chuckle.
Earlier this month dairy giants Land O Lakes announced the removal of the Native American 'butter maiden' from their packaging. The symbol, which some loyal fans viewed as iconic, has long received criticism after nearly 100 years of its use. The Native American woman was seen by many as an offensive and stereotypical depiction of North America's indigenous peoples. The move, despite its good intentions, has been met with a surprising and, frankly, ridiculous amount of backlash - mostly from boomers with Facebook accounts and lots of time on their hands. Angry users have been angrily spamming the Land O Lakes page, telling the brand they'll never buy the butter again, and shaming them for people "woke snowflakes." These people are, unsurprisingly, being mocked and chided on Twitter, both for being absolutely unhinged and for refusing to sympathize with the plight of real Native American women in the states.
On the other end of the spectrum, some people have taken it upon themselves to 'shop the butter packaging. The memes range from low-effort (Land-O Lakes...get it??) to the very easy political jab of replacing the maiden with Elizabeth Warren. The whole thing is pretty ludicrous, but in times like this, we just have to sit back, relax, and enjoy the memes.
When the National Cowboy Museum was forced to close down due to coronavirus concerns, head of museum security Tim took on the role of social media manager. Let's just say, his naive and innocent tweets are about as adorable as they come! Check out some of them below!
