“I (a boomer) recently read a survey asking old people on their deathbeds what was their biggest regret in life now that it was almost over. The vast majority said they regretted doing what others wanted them to do in life rather that what they wanted to do. This has always been one of the guiding principles in my life and I’d recommend it as about the best advice I can offer a young person.” – Reddit

“Being on time for things. F*, all of my friends think that showing up an hour late to EVERYTHING is just peachy. I had to practically threaten them with physical harm not to be late for my wedding.” – Reddit

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It’s hard to say, because a lot of how younger generations are viewed are through a distorted lens of social media.

In my own experience older generations were far more DIY when it came to pretty much everything. Building, repairing, cooking, etc. Whether that was a mindset based on a lack of finances, I am not sure.” – Reddit

“Both probably. I’m Gen-X and because I graduated during a recession there were lean years. I had no interest in DIY but had to learn out of necessity because we couldn’t afford pros. My parents (Boomers) couldn’t teach me much except some drywalling, so I learned just about everything from a Time-Life repair encyclopedia set my wife bought at a thrift store. I remember it being sold with one of those TV mail order ads in the 70s, when I was a kid.” – Reddit

“They generally see voting as an absolute must. They don’t need to be persuaded by someone like a particularly bad political candidate that they’re afraid of being elected, or by any other coaxing at all. They just vote every time there’s an election whether it’s local or federal. I wish that at least that tendency would have carried on more.” – Reddit

“Fixing things versus replacing them. Dunno if that’s actually a boomer generation thing or their parents. We are such victims of things being built to fail that most people don’t even considering trying to fix something.” – Reddit

“Just ‘be home by dinnertime’.. Gen X raised by boomers, and we’d just disappear into the neighborhood, woods, whatever for hours and no one raised a fuss As long as you were back for dinner. Or, summertime after dinner, home by dark. Which could really sneak up on you if you were outside in it.” – Reddit

“The ability to negotiate with car salesman.” – Reddit

“They prefer face-to-face interaction. This isn’t always a plus in every situation but it can cut down on miscommunication, especially in work settings.” – Reddit

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They have the ability to say, “Yeah, this person f*d up but that was 20 years ago.”

Today people dig for something that happened 20 years ago so we can use it against somebody.” – Reddit

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Commitment and willingness to donate blood.

Boomers have been the backbone of blood donation and as they can no longer donate due to health issues, we are not seeing replacement by younger generations.” – Reddit

“Wanting to take care of, and repair their possessions rather than just throwing away and buying a new one.

My parents still have a lot of the same things that they had when I lived at home 30 years ago. They’ve got a set of pans that they bought when they got married 50 years ago that they still use because “Theres nothing wrong with them so why would we get new ones”

My wife is very much one of the throwaway generation and it irks me just how much stuff she gets rid of just because she fancies a change.” – Reddit

“Re-using / non-disposable.

Like glass milk jars, paper shopping bags (you can check this one off, though, fabric bags are great). Refrigerators that you willed to your grandchildren.

The combination record player / TV / radio / record storage / liquor cabinet / lamp was top notch.

Also, don’t forget, most of the people who attended the original Woodstock were boomers.” – Reddit

“They’re better conversationalists. Like sometimes they talk too much to the point of rambling and going in circles, but I find my boomer coworkers are much better at just randomly talking up various people from outside our organization and making friends and small talk with strangers.” – Reddit

“As someone raised by boomers – letting your kids have free reign to go into the outside world to mess shit up/forcing them to socialize.

I know too many under-socialized, scared kids nowadays, who can’t be disconnected from their electronic devices without having a literal meltdown.” – Reddit

“The boomer generation was the driver of a lot of radical change. The 60’s-70’s were times of protest, innovation, and experimentation. They made massive contributions to music and art. Boomers were the young generation who marched for Civil Rights. Compared to their parents, the Greatest Generation, Boomers were far more individualistic and open-minded.

People love to shit on Boomers, but it’s the same Old People vs Young People debate for every generation.” – Reddit

“Perseverance.

They grew up with the real threat of nuclear war (not just rhetoric) hanging over their heads, building bomb shelters, having drills in classrooms, protesting in the Civil Rights movement, then fought a terribly unjust and poorly managed war in Vietnam, spent their prime years dealing with a recession and sky-high mortgage interest rates, then had to learn some form of digital fluency with technology that would have been the stuff of science fiction.

And they’re still here, still working, still trying to meet their goals, still staying involved in politics (for better or worse).

Meanwhile, I’ve seen Gen Zers sit out the vote and give up as some form of “protest” for not having enough progressive candidates on the ballot.” – Reddit

“10 years ago I was an electrician apprentice in a steel mill. I was a 23 year old kid. The average age of the electricians that trained me was 57, it was mostly all boomers.

Trade work in the US is dying and there is a huge demand for electricians. I feel like I learned more than any of my peers could have anywhere else. I learned how to have thick skin, and I gained a substantial amount of knowledge.

Since then I’ve moved to another company that pays more. I’ve compared my skills to others in the same field, most of the others I work with went to college. And I’m just as capable as them.

So thicker skin, no college debt, and exceptional work experience.

I think some people would have hated the experience I had. It was emotionally difficult at times, but I’m thankful for it.” – Reddit

“Boomers are more okay with mediocrity.

Millenials are obsessed with hustle culture and if you’re not working a job with two side gigs or pursuing your passion they think you’re not doing anything at all. Especially with the rise of social media, FOMO is insane. You think everyone is going on international trips or spending hundreds of dollars on shoes to the point where you feel anxious and depressed.

It’s okay to clock into a boring job, clock out, chill with a friend, and go to bed, rinse and repeat. A lot of younger people either have forgotten or haven’t learned how to enjoy the little things in life yet and appreciate life for what it is, instead of being sad about what it isn’t.” – Reddit

“When these people were growing up, speaking to strangers in public constantly was the only way to get literally anything done. as a young person (recent college grad) who grew up in a less technological and more social society than the US (where i live now), it astounds me how terrified people my age and below are of even talking to someone on the phone! My girlfriend, who’s 20, still refuses to ask grocery store workers where things are. she’ll wander aimlessly looking for her one thing for 20 mins while i check off our shopping list, then come find her, ask the nearest worker for her thing, and find it in literally a minute.” – Reddit

“Changing your own oil/brakes and fixing plumbing leaks is kind of a lost art to my generation.” – Reddit

“Not being offended by jokes, and generally speaking, observational comedy/comedians.” – Reddit

“Attention span. As a millennial with kids, I can’t help but feel the instant gratification of tik tok, continuously refreshing social media feeds and online competitive games have eroded this for the current generation.” – Reddit

“Maybe it’s not as common as I think it is, but I feel like older generations generally had more patience and the need for instant gratification was less common.” – Reddit

“Comfortable talking to strangers in public spaces.” – Reddit

“I still have this trait and it drives me nuts that others in this generation don’t: do what it takes to get the goal done.

I’m in Gen X, and it seems anyone younger I encounter has a definite “If it’s more than three steps it’s too difficult and not worth doing” thing going on. Not sure if it’s because they were born into instant gratification from technology or something else, but it’s completely incompatible with my mindset.” – Reddit

“Their work ethic is incredible and they have set routines that they actually follow.” – Reddit

“Teaching their kids to stand on their own two feet and face consequences of their own actions. I’m a Preschool Teacher (3 to 5year olds) and my roommates are a Kindergarten teacher and middle school teacher respectively. We’ve all seen it and it’s getting worse. I have had parents yell at me for not putting their child’s shoes on for them, the child was 4 and they were Crocs, as well as berating me because I wouldn’t force a child to give their kid a toy that the other child was actively playing with. My Kindergarten teacher roomate has had children, 5&6 year olds, come to her class who can’t dress and undress themselves or wipe their own butt. Then she gets yelled at for not doing it for them (where we live teachers aren’t allowed to help children do these things). Middle School teacher roomate has had children not hand in work all year then get screamed at by the kids parents because their child is failing. He has also called parents in for a meeting because their kid threw a desk at anouther student (the student had answered a question correctly that the kid had answered incorrectly a moment before in a oral practice quiz). My roomate and the principal brought up in school suspension and the parents flipped saying their child was misunderstood and it was my friends fault for asking a question their child didn’t know the answer too. I never experienced this when I was a kid, I was raised by boomers, and if I dared try any of this I would be in for a rude awakening. This has to change, kids need to be taught better.” – Reddit

“Confidence in themselves and the willingness to try new things. Yup, that led to lots of mistakes but if you don’t try you always fail.” – Reddit