Boomer Yells At Woman For Being On Her Phone Instead Of Talking To Him — ‘I Was Taught To Not Speak To Strangers’
"I get you're probably lonely but that's not how you make friends."
Photoroyalty | Shutterstock Baby boomers have garnered a reputation for acting rude, selfish, and all-around entitled. One Gen X woman believed that the stories were a bit over-the-top — at least, until she met one of these notorious boomers herself.
The woman was yelled at by an angry boomer man for being on her phone.
The 45-year-old woman shared her story on the Boomers Being Fools forum on Reddit. “I’ve been lurking around [the subReddit] for a while and laughing at the posts thinking ‘it can’t be that bad,’” she wrote. “Karma proved me wrong.”
The woman explained that “it finally happened” — she met a boomer who acted rude and entitled, just like the stories she had read.
“I accompanied my friend to some appointments he had because they’re in a city I don’t get to go to much," she shared. While she was waiting for her friend during his appointments, she met the boomer.
“Anyway, here I am, minding my own business, surfing on my phone,” she recalled. “Boomer walks up to the desk, loudly [announces] his info, and takes a seat right across from me.”
The woman reacted kindly but not in any way that would encourage conversation.
“I glanced up and [smiled] because it’s polite, then [went] back to my phone,” she stated. “He then just as loudly starts explaining, ‘Ya know, that’s what I hate about you young people [nowadays].’”
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The man was upset that the woman was on her phone.
Understandably, she was “confused” by this seemingly random outburst.
“Sorry? What do you mean?” she asked.
“That,” he replied, pointing to the woman’s phone. “Everyone is on those [expletive] things now. No one talks to anyone anymore.”
“Maybe, but I was also taught not to talk to strangers, so…” she responded.
“But everyone is on those things,” he argued.
The woman didn’t understand since they were alone. “Who?" she asked. “I’m the only one here.”
The man felt that perfectly proved his point. “Exactly!” he responded. “We should be talking.’’
“Sir, I don’t know you,” she said, exasperated. “Why would I talk to you?”
After things didn’t go well with the woman, he moved on to anyone else he could find.
“He’s now wandering around the waiting room, grumbling loudly and talking to anyone who comes in,” she said. “Like, I get you’re probably lonely, but that’s not how you make friends.”
Despite what this man may believe, boomers actually spend a decent amount of time on phones.
Based on what this man said, it seems he thinks that boomers never even touch phones. This is statistically inaccurate, though.
Senior living community Provision Living performed a study comparing smartphone usage between millennials and boomers. They found that the two generations spend roughly the same amount of time on their phones each day, with boomers coming in at five hours and millennials at just over five and a half.
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Both groups also use their phones primarily for social media, especially Facebook, which was the most used app for both generations.
There is a common misconception that boomers don’t like, or just don’t use cell phones. Based on this evidence, that is not actually true. Boomers spend a significant amount of time on their phones. Those who don’t are just as unusual and rare as millennials who don't use their phones.
While it would be easy to judge this man and consider him to be just another boomer acting rudely, as the woman who posted on Reddit said, he was likely just lonely. Going to an appointment may have been his only form of socialization for the day. While he could have been nicer, we certainly can’t fault him for wanting to chat.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest stories.