There’s something both endearing and frustrating about baby boomers.
On one hand, they’ve lived through immense change—rotary phones to smartphones, handwritten letters to instant messages, and a world without the internet to one where AI writes poetry.

But let’s be honest: sometimes, boomers still do things that make it obvious they’re out of sync with the way the world now works.

This isn’t about mocking them—it’s about recognizing how different the modern mindset has become. Many of these habits come from a time when life was slower, more predictable, and less connected. But in 2025, some of those habits make them seem like they’re still living in 1985.

Here are eight things boomers still do that show just how out of touch they can be with modern life.

1. Complaining about people being “on their phones all the time”

If there’s one universal boomer complaint, it’s that “young people are always on their phones.”
They say it like the phone is a toy, not a tool.

But today, your phone is your life—your map, your bank, your business, your news, your social circle.
For many younger people, being “on their phone” means managing their career, connecting with family across continents, or learning something new.

When boomers scoff at screen time, they’re missing how digital fluency has become the new literacy.
To them, phones symbolize distraction. To younger generations, they symbolize efficiency.

Ironically, many boomers spend just as much time scrolling Facebook—but because it’s on a computer instead of a phone, they don’t see the hypocrisy.

2. Paying bills with checks and waiting in line at the bank

There’s something nostalgic about balancing a checkbook—but it’s also a reminder of how painfully slow life used to be.
Many boomers still insist on writing physical checks, standing in queues to pay bills, or calling customer service instead of using an app.

To younger generations, that’s like voluntarily living in the Stone Age.

Online banking, mobile wallets, and autopay exist for a reason—they save time, reduce stress, and let you manage your entire financial life from your couch.

But for boomers, there’s comfort in paper. They trust a handwritten signature more than a digital transaction.
What they don’t realize is that the digital world now runs on encryption stronger than any ink could ever be.

3. Thinking hard work automatically leads to success

Boomers grew up with a linear formula for life: work hard, stay loyal, buy a house, retire comfortably.
For decades, that formula actually worked.

But the modern world doesn’t follow that script anymore. You can work 60 hours a week and still struggle to buy a home, especially in major cities. You can stay loyal to a company for years and still be laid off by algorithmic “efficiency.”

When boomers tell younger people to “just work harder,” it misses the complexity of the new economy. Success today isn’t just about effort—it’s about adaptability, creativity, and sometimes, sheer luck.

That’s not something hard work alone can guarantee anymore.

4. Treating mental health like a weakness

One of the biggest generational divides is how people talk about mental health.
Boomers were taught to “tough it out.” Depression, anxiety, or burnout weren’t discussed—they were hidden.

You didn’t go to therapy. You went to work.

But in today’s world, mental health isn’t a luxury—it’s survival.
You can’t navigate the speed, pressure, and uncertainty of modern life without self-awareness and emotional regulation.

When boomers dismiss therapy or mindfulness as “soft,” they reveal how outdated that old “just get on with it” mindset really is.
Because ignoring your emotions doesn’t make you strong—it just makes you quietly miserable.

5. Believing home ownership defines success

Ask a boomer what success looks like, and chances are, they’ll mention buying a house.
In their era, owning a home was the ultimate symbol of stability and adulthood.

But times have changed. Housing prices have exploded while wages have stagnated. Many young people have realized that chasing a 30-year mortgage just to prove you’re “doing well” is madness.

Freedom now means flexibility—being able to move cities, change careers, or travel without being tied to debt.

Boomers sometimes call renters “irresponsible,” but that’s an outdated lens. In 2025, the truly out-of-touch thing isn’t renting—
it’s assuming that success can still be measured by square footage.

6. Dismissing new forms of work as “not real jobs”

Tell a boomer you make money from YouTube, TikTok, or a remote freelance gig, and watch their eyebrows lift halfway off their forehead.

Many still think “real work” means showing up at an office, clocking in, and having a boss.
But the digital economy has rewritten the rules. Millions now make a living entirely online—building businesses, running newsletters, creating content, trading crypto, or consulting remotely.

What boomers often don’t see is the complexity behind that work: the marketing, analytics, branding, and audience psychology involved.

It’s ironic, because boomers once prided themselves on innovation—yet they often dismiss the modern entrepreneurial world simply because it doesn’t fit their old definitions of “work.”

7. Expecting everyone to share their exact moral and cultural values

Boomers came from a time when society had clearer consensus on what was “normal.”
There were strict gender roles, traditional family expectations, and a one-size-fits-all path to a respectable life.

But modern life is far more fluid. People now build careers without college, relationships without marriage, families without children, and identities that don’t fit neat labels.

To many boomers, this freedom feels like chaos. They see it as “the world going downhill.”
But to younger generations, it’s progress—a world finally wide enough to let everyone live honestly.

When boomers scoff at pronouns, modern dating, or remote parenting, what they’re really struggling with is the loss of predictability.
The world they grew up in is gone, and that’s hard to accept.

8. Talking about “kids these days” while ignoring their own contradictions

Every generation complains about the one that comes next, but boomers have perfected it.
They roll their eyes at younger people “not wanting to work,” while ignoring that they’re the ones who dismantled affordable education, housing, and job security.

They complain about “cancel culture” but were the original pioneers of boycotts.
They criticize people for “participation trophies,” yet they invented helicopter parenting.

In other words, many boomers don’t see how they helped shape the very culture they now mock.

And maybe that’s the real irony: being out of touch isn’t just about refusing to adapt—it’s about refusing to recognize your role in the world that evolved without you.

A deeper look: why boomers struggle with change

It’s easy to laugh at these quirks, but it’s worth understanding where they come from.
Boomers lived through a time of extraordinary stability—where jobs were for life, communities were local, and news came from one or two trusted sources.

That stability created security, but it also bred rigidity. The world rewarded routine, not reinvention.

So when the internet exploded and the rules changed overnight, it wasn’t just a technological shift—it was an identity crisis.
Imagine being told that everything that made you “successful” for 40 years—your work ethic, your loyalty, your skepticism toward risk—was suddenly irrelevant.

In that context, boomer behavior isn’t just stubborn—it’s protective.
They’re trying to hold on to the world they understood, even as it slips away.

The generational empathy gap

The truth is, every generation thinks the one after it is doing life “wrong.”
Boomers thought Gen X was lazy. Gen X thought millennials were entitled. Millennials think Gen Z is addicted to dopamine.

But beneath that judgment is a simple fear: the world is changing faster than we can adapt.

Boomers lived through unprecedented technological and social transformation. It’s not surprising that some of them cling to old ways—it’s how they make sense of a world that no longer resembles the one they built.

Still, empathy goes both ways.
Younger people can acknowledge that boomers faced struggles too—war, inflation, cultural upheaval. But that doesn’t mean we should excuse outdated attitudes or habits that no longer serve anyone.

Progress requires letting go. And for boomers, letting go might mean realizing that the modern world isn’t worse—it’s just different.

Final thoughts: from frustration to understanding

At the end of the day, it’s not about mocking boomers for being behind the times.
It’s about recognizing how fast the world moves—and how easy it is for any of us to fall out of step.

Because truthfully, we’re all future boomers in the making.
The habits we think are “normal” today will look outdated to the next generation—whether it’s our obsession with AI, social media, or minimalist living.

The key isn’t to cling to the past—it’s to stay curious.
That’s the difference between growing old and just getting old.