My boomer trait is that I frequently type in my password where the username is supposed to go. What’s yours?
Stop recording everything in your life.
i don’t record anything. people tell me i’m a selfish asshole or i’m a liar if i don’t have vids or pics of stuff that i did.
Owning a house
Being older that some people, which is apparently what 30% of people call a “boomer”
I’m often slow to adopt new tech. Unless that tech actually demonstrates a benefit to me, I don’t really want to deal with.
A lot of this is due to cynicism regarding things like privacy/security, planned obsolescence, and enshittification. I also don’t want to adopt something that is then discontinued (“unplanned” obsolescence?), so I often wait until something becomes well-established.
I’m a software engineer that is also deeply uninterested in chasing shiny new things. I think another factor is that tech that I did care about has somewhat stalled out.
I’ve had iPhones since a I think the iPhone 4. I’m on the iPhone 11 which released back in 2019, I only really upgraded because my iPhone 8s battery was crapping out.
There’s just nothing exciting about these newer devices, same form factor, same OS, same basic functionality. And in a similar fashion, anything new is stuff I don’t really give a shit about. Oh it can do some kind of ai thing I don’t want, no thanks.
I’ve tried to see it as a positive. I have lots of stuff that I’ve filled my life up with, things that are meaningful to me. I think that’s what took up the space I used to fill with reading about and getting excited about this new gadget or that one. Now I’m excited to go see my niece’s Christmas recital or bake cookies with my wife to take to a friends of the library event.
Doesn’t hurt that every company seems to be in a non stop contest to see how little they can give the consumer for the maximum price while installing as much revenue generating spyware as possible.
I’m also a software engineer who doesn’t care about most new tech. I strongly believe that human made objects and software can both reach a state of doneness. For example, books are a technology that’s “done”. Both physical and digital books do a great job at delivering written content, so there’s no need to keep buying the same damn thing every couple years. Phones are similar, yet the new ones just get shittier (no removable battery, no headphone jack). Kind of reminds me of how Microsoft keeps trying to solve the “problem” of programmers being needed to create programs. Powerapps being one of the latest examples.
I’m constantly ragged on for still calling remote controls “the clicker”.
The reason they were called that is becaus a lot of early models use ultrasonic rather than infrared or radio so they made a loud clicking noise. My grandparents and aunts were familiar with those so they still called all remotes the clicker.
The thing is, growing up we had a Bang & Olufsen TV remote that had clicky buttons - really, very satisfyingly clicky - even though it used RF, but I just assumed all remotes were like that and that’s why they were called clickers.
I miss physical buttons.
I despise overly-liberal and even overly progressive-minded young people who are absolutely naive and delusional about society, and can only view the world through their bubble that gets reinforced by their friends and online social groups. And I ain’t even talking just about tankies and people down at the bottom of internet brainrot barrels.
I am a progressive and believe in socialism and a borderless world and would fight to the death against fascism. But I’m seeing way, way too many young people tuning out of reality and supporting absolutely dumb-as-fuck takes and having unrealistic expectations about what’s going to happen in our world.
The lack of ability to recognize how and why a side you oppose wins and gains power is a biproduct of living with those blinders. The dismissal of millions of people who don’t think like you is just as bad as the millions of people who hate you for your identity. We have to get a lot smarter and accept a lot more hard truths about how we’re going to keep pushing the needle towards progress. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices like getting out and voting even if you don’t like the candidate. Supporting and physically getting involved with community and groups even if you’re a self-diagnosed introvert with autism.
For some screwball reason, the concept of forcing yourself to do hard things so you get better at them has become very conservative-coded but it’s how we’ve succeeded against evil for generations. We have to start being a lot tougher and stop balking at people who don’t share all your values. We win with community and organized resistance, not constant scolding and trying to be the smartest lefty in line for the camps.
I hear you and what you say sounds reasonable but I haven’t actually met any younger people in real life that do that shit. The kids seem to be fighting mighty hard to me.
Now, closely related but I think different (correct me if I misunderstood you) I do know some real-life accelerationists who felt that not voting would “bring down the system faster so it can be replaced by something better” which is horribly, laughably naive.
I have on a regular basis. So much so I quit a lot of stuff to avoid their endless insane stupidity and their raw emotional takes that are totally delusional.
nah this is exactly why i gave up a lot of social stuff. too many bubble-brain idiots who become violent the second they hear an opinion or an idea that they mildly disagree with. it’s not just young people either.
i never dealt with such craziness 10+ years ago, but it started exploding with social media growth and is rampant now.
Conservative-coding of things that are actually just healthy personality balance is a real thing. Bravery, duty and basic acceptance we’re mortals in an ugly world also come to mind.
There’s enough history written down to say for sure it’s going to self correct. Hopefully not in the “everyone like that went to a camp, but some of their ideas found a new audience a century later” way.
I am developing an increasing worry that with the way society is atomizing, that our progressive side is going to collapse under the tendency to make “everything I don’t like = conservatism and nazis” and I know that sounds a lot like the conservative complaint that the left calls everything they don’t like “nazis” but there is truth to it and the term “nazi” is just one word in a growing list of ideals and tools of power that are being discarded because “the other side” uses them.
For example: the US flag. It has become a stereotype in the US that if you fly an American flag on your house or car, you are a conservative/right-wing nationalist. “America bad” is a lefty stereotype for good reason.
Meanwhile, until we get to that post-scarcity Star Trek universe, we’re all still just tribes. And groups of nationalists have been the number one strongest force for change and power on our planet since we started drawing borders. It’s pure political capital to have the support of armed groups of “patriots” and this is why everyone in politics is so deferential to our orange clown president, because he commands a political nuclear weapon in the form of history’s oldest power source. January 6th was a weapons demonstration, not a real attempt at coup.
You simply do not get the massive global political machine to move with finger-wagging and lectures. You need force to back up your demands.
I wish I could get the left to reclaim the flag. I know America isn’t a source of pride for the people harmed by America, but if you’re here and you want to make the place better, you should show that you support at least it’s potential and promise.
Don’t get me started on guns.
Guns are a great example under “accepting we’re mortals in an ugly world”, actually. Nobody is seriously claiming they’re going away, but the way they’re talked about by the left, you would think undoing a technology is on the table.
I mean, you can still want more gun control, and most other nations have gone that way, but the only people mentioning they’ll still be around in some way tend to be on the right - because that’s ugly.
For example: the US flag. It has become a stereotype in the US that if you fly an American flag on your house or car, you are a conservative/right-wing nationalist. “America bad” is a lefty stereotype for good reason.
Fun fact, it was leaking into Canada for a while. Unnecessary maple leafs meant you probably didn’t like vaccines or Trudeau. Then you guys (well, Trump; we know there’s another party) talked about annexing us and made patriotism neutral again. Thanks?
January 6th was a weapons demonstration, not a real attempt at coup.
That’s an interesting way of looking at it, although I’m not convinced it wasn’t just stupidity on their part. The right also have hangups that will self-correct, in their own way.
That’s kind of what I was going to say about tribalism as a force, too. Nobody turns their noses up at an Irish name today, and nobody will be impressed by lifted pickups and ill-informed scriptural references in the future. The idea of elected representatives has been around for centuries, though.
I do believe we need gun controls, strict federal systems to track and manage people who shouldn’t have guns, all the authoritarian nightmare stuff to gun nuts. It would sting at first and people would worry, and I wouldn’t want to see it under the current leadership, but that’s what instills some level of societal respect for a thing. A generation later and suddenly everyone treats guns a lot more seriously, because humans are adaptable. That’s just a whole other massive can of worms, but I am glad that at least out of all this recent fascist takeover that it finally spurred a segment of the left to finally start arming up. I don’t want an armed revolution or standoff, but I don’t like the memes of how “easy” it would be for orcs to raid the villages and wipe out the enemy.
I’m not convinced it wasn’t just stupidity on their part.
I think I’ve learned to dance in the space that lay between stupid reactions to feelings and deeply-planned chess games, for the sake of understanding how large groups of people behave and operate.
I don’t think there was or is a single intelligent individual in the Trump administration, but if you get enough people together under a momentum of energy and fear and the power-rush of feeling invulnerable, I think they’re going to instinctively learn they need to whip out their sword and wave it around when they feel backed into a corner. At that time, a lot of fascists suddenly were worried they were going to get thrown in jail the moment Biden took over. (Sidenote: every single one of those fucks should have been thrown in jail.) It was an unplanned, unfocused display of power. Like a group of militants firing all their guns into the air, somewhere between rage and celebration. They had an idea that they were doing something extreme by egging the crowd on, maybe some had this idea forged ahead of time in the back of their mind that they could “use” the crowd to exert pressure but I doubt they really planned it until they got up there and Trump seemed to want to do it. It was a half-assed mess but it proved a point, which side you should be scared of on a basic, physical level. Political capital, original flavor.
I’m done waxing poetic about our political woes. Thank you for listening and understanding.
Totally agree. I hung a flag for the same reason, why should the right get to “own” the symbol of America. I ended up taking it down though since my wife thought it would give people the wrong impression of us…
The one time I got called a boomer online was because I didn’t understand why artists have “eras” now instead of just albums. I think at the time an artist removed all posts from their socials and the comments are “new era coming soon?” And I asked if that just means they’re dropping a new album
isn’t that because of taylor swift?
No idea. But it wasn’t Taylor Swift who I commented on. It was years ago now and I don’t remember who, but it was before the eras tour. I’m not sure when Taylor started using “eras” though
Dear god there doesn’t have to be an app for everything.
Make a website and if you really want an app-like experience, make a damn PWA. No, I don’t want to download your terribly optimized, huge app to get a receipt…
I’m sorry, but to get my UK ETA for traveling for work I had to download an app that I will literally use 1 time in 2 years because it is valid for 2 years. It could easily be done with a PWA.
It is not more secure, it is less secure for the end user as apps have been caught many many more times stealing data and being malware compared to a web page where you generally have to download malware.
Menus at restaurants are to be printed not via a QR code and a shitty website.
To be fair, telling people to scan QR codes with their phones is a huge phishing vector. I’ve seen a few places with new stickers over the first one, which is very easy to do. Is it an updated menu? Or a scam page for a session stealer?
☝️ this is it.
Related - I hate having that goddamned tablet at the table.
I’ll accept a tablet. But the first time it malfunctions, Miss Minimum Wage is standing at the table writing my order down on paper.
I’ll accept a tablet, but not that condescending attitude towards restaurant workers.
You misunderstood my comment if that’s what you walked away with.
points to self, former wait staff
Ms. would have come across a little better. Boomer feminism appreciates the distinction.
I FUCKING HATE QR CODE MENUS SO MUUUUCH!!!
If your wifi is bad or I just don’t want to wait to load a tiny goddamn webpage, I’m gone.
It’s really not hard to print a menu for a restaurant. The minimal amount of effort.
a shitty website
Or worse a PDF of the menu.
That is 500Mb+ because the ‘designer’ just stuffed the highest quality image in they could as a background on the whole thing
I’d be inclined to blame the restaurant for that one. The designer would normally be making it for print, in which case higher quality is better. If the restaurant wants a digital menu, they should ask for that.
The worst is the heavily compressed photo “scans” of the paper menu.
A date night is better when both leave their phones at home. Or at least away for the date.
This sucks.
I’ve seen restaurant where you need to order on a smartphone. That’s just ridiculous
That’s just less tip for the server if I have to do their job for them.
I feel like this is probably common sense. The council of people over 20 have decided this months ago, and it should become law any minute now.
I don’t mind the qr code thing if there are also paper menus available, but yeah.
I know a bar that does this but you can place orders for the table (your friends too and you can see their orders), call the waiter and pay the bill. I was impressed it was functional.
This is the most tech I want to see at the table:
- Call waiter - because if you snap your fingers I’m throwing something at you.
- I need the bill - because etiquette is different the world over
- Cancel request because buddy was being a dink and hit the button.
As a patron and as a former waiter, this is both the minimum and the maximum tech I want.
Ok, while we are on this one
If you have an online menu, why does it have M.P. instead of having the actual price?!?!
I get you can’t reprint the physical menu every day, but if you can update the point of sale computer, you can let me know how much it costs before I order it.
Mp? Mama points or multiplayer?
There is a psychological thing where removing the currency symbol from prices will make people more likely to pay more as they dont associatie the number with price.
I hate that every facet of human existence is being monetized.
You must have a very left-leaning sample of boomers.
I genuinely think you should be able to get a job interview by walking into a business and introducing yourself with a firm handshake
writing a billion versions of my resume with matching cover letters and manually inputting all the information already on my resume into individual application forms and then getting rejected by AI screening scripts is making me wish i was dead
I’d call that boomer-adjacent. You think you should be able to, but boomers believe you actually can.
It genuinely depends on what industry you are in. Every single job I’ve had has either been calling the companies in the area and letting them know I’m moving and want to have employment lined up before I move, or by calling a company and letting them know a shift in management has occurred and I’m looking to transition to a different company. The most I’ve had to do was email a resume, and if there’s an interview it’s a lunch interview that’s super casual.
Basically any trades based industry still operates that way, because most trades are still local businesses. When you get into the national or international businesses they streamline the humanity out of it.
That’s actually a viable tactic in my field. The first three jobs in my field of expertise I got by walking into the clinic/office and giving my resume to the manager/owner.
I would absolutely consider hiring somebody who walked in with a smile and a resume. Hell, I’ve hired somebody who did that. (He turned out to be a turd, but that’s beside the point.)
However, I do a job that it seems like most lemmings wouldn’t be looking for.
Whats the job?
Not sure but it involves walking up to a stranger, spontaneously making conversation with them, handing over a sheet of paper full of your personal information and they being judged for how well you did which sounds about as anti-Lenmy as it gets.
Warehouse in a commercial/industrial industry.
Sometimes I look old just by the way that I touch the screen of my phone. Wtf.
I have twice now tried to pinch to zoom a book or something I was reading. Is that the opposite of boomer? Or boomery because it’s so stupid?
Not alone.
Yeah, me too. I’m doing the smartphone equivalent of typing with two fingers.
I hate how tech is in everything now. Everything is IOT. Everything can expire because of software abandonment.
You know how you have those 70 year old fridges that still work? I’m sure that new Samsung IOT one will have planned obsolescence after 20 years tops.
You know how we have classic cars? Thing of the past. Locked firmware and phone home capabilities will brick new cars for similar reasons when they become old.
Caring about tech issues seems more like a gen X/Millennial thing to me. Most of gen Z hasn’t figured out the problem yet; most older people just see a magic box. Obviously there’s exceptions at both ends.
Edit: And gen Alpha might be old people all over again in a different way. We’ll see.
20 years is ambitious lol
You’re probably right 😅
My car’s radio busted last year. Instead of replacing it with a modern touchscreen, or paying $3000 for a manufacturer replacement, I’ve simply gone without it. Thing is, the radio includes the back-up camera screen. It also contains the controls to the car’s clock. So half the year the time is off by an hour, and I’ve gotten used to backing up my car “the old fashioned way.”
Thankfully, none of these are issues I can’t tolerate. But it does make me wonder what would’ve happened if I’d had a newer car. If so many functions can rely on a radio, how many more functions might somebody get screwed out of if this same issue were to happen in a newer vehicle?
I just put in a nice android auto one into my 25 year old vehicle. And added a backup camera 😂. My vehicle didn’t have the option back in the day. Did that for about 500$
20 years sounds incredibly optimistic for any Samsung appliance.
I’m sure that new Samsung IOT one will have planned obsolescence after 20 years tops.
Heh, you’re off by an order of 10.
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I don’t want to have to create an account for everything. Even when account creation was required in the past, it would be enough to have a username and password (sometimes email address). Now often times there are so many unnecessary mandatory fields.
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I like my devices and appliances to have one dedicated function and to do it well, without extra features, preferably available offline. Music is listened to on the mp3. The TV is only the display and never the content source.
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I still prefer in-person interactions, jobs, lessons, and shopping to online ones (but support having online options for those who prefer them).
I really don’t want to deal with two factor logins and email verification for an account that doesn’t have financial transactions.
On creating accounts everywhere, maybe it’s a GenX thing, but I just lie my arse off in all those extra fields. So many websites have my home address as 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500. I do wonder if it results in much extra junk mail for the processing faculty to deal with.
GenX here. I poison their data every chance I get.
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