People Raised In The 70s & 80s Usually Say 8 Phrases That Make Gen Z Roll Their Eyes
Ruslan Maiborodin / ShutterstockMuch of Gen Z has parents who were born and raised in the 1970s and 1980s, so they're no strangers to hearing things from that generation that simply don't resonate with them at all.
As a member of Gen Z myself, there are certain phrases that Gen X and older millennials say that honestly make me and the rest of my generation roll our eyes at just how out of touch they are.
Gen Z usually rolls their eyes at these phrases people raised in the 70s and 80s love to say
1. 'That's just how it's always been.'
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This one really makes us roll our eyes. Gen Z is a generation marked by its commitment to analyzing social issues and reinventing the wheel at a breakneck pace. We're just not as concerned with preserving tradition as our older counterparts are.
This phrase also lacks the kind of nuance that we crave. Yes, certain things haven't changed, but that doesn't mean that there were people at the time who were doing everything they possibly could to change things for the better.
2. 'Just deal with it.'
We've come a long way as far as mental health advocacy goes, and Gen Z is dedicated to bringing these issues into mainstream conversations. As a result, Gen Z is particularly tuned into mental and emotional well-being and how truly difficult it can be when it becomes disrupted by the chaos and dreary realities of life.
This doesn't mean we're incapable of dealing with hardship. Far from it, actually. We want to have open conversations about our inner thoughts and feelings without being dismissed, especially by our elders. While Gen X might have thought it was cool to look unfazed and stoic all the time, now it just comes off as heartless.
3. 'If you go to college you'll get a job.'
Older people who say this might as well announce that they are completely out of touch with reality. Statistically speaking, going to college can increase one's earnings throughout their lifetime. However, it does not guarantee that you get a job right away the way it might have once upon a time.
A lot of older people are coming around to thinking this way, but some are not. The job market is brutal right now, and for many Gen Zers who are either graduating high school soon or transitioning into life on their own, decisions on how to best secure financial freedom in the future are filled with complete uncertainty.
4. 'It's all because of social media.'
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Again, this statement misses the nuance. They're right that social media can become toxic if people aren't careful with what they post and comment, but blaming literally every single shortcoming of Gen Z, and society as a whole, on social media does way more harm than good.
As a generation that's barely known life without social media, we know that it also comes with many benefits. It's helped people secure an income. It connects like-minded individuals all over the world. It's a place to advocate for causes you care about and make plans for in-person activism. It's a way to express one's creativity. The list goes on and on. Basically, it's not an entirely terrible thing.
5. 'You need to be more realistic.'
Gen X in particular is known for being quite pragmatic compared to more idealistic boomers. They've always been characteristically more concerned with keeping their feet planted firmly on the ground, and that's also true of older millennials.
On the other hand, Gen Z is as idealistic as they come. With the world literally at our fingertips on our devices, we can be a little bit unrealistic with our expectations for life. But when we're told to be more realistic by older people, it genuinely makes us roll our eyes. If we've seen something happen for someone somewhere across the world, how could it not happen for us, too?
6. 'I don't like listening to today's new music.'
Admittedly, music from the 70s and 80s was objectively groundbreaking. From rock and roll to the birth of contemporary R&B, the music was awesome and fun to listen to. But just because the music was great back then doesn't mean there aren't gems to listen to today.
From 2000s R&B and 2010s recession pop to the now ever-changing musical landscape of the hyper-digitized 2020s, music hasn't stopped being awesome. It's just produced differently, and musical styles are always evolving. It's infuriating to many Gen Zers when older people don't want to listen to new music for no reason other than because it's not the same as it once was.
7. 'Everyone's so sensitive nowadays.'
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This phrase truly takes the cake. Gen Z genuinely can't stand it when older people talk about how sensitive people are nowadays compared to when they were younger. Whether they like to admit it or not, people have always been sensitive. We're all naturally emotional creatures. That's how we're able to form deep bonds with one another and develop the ethics and morality that make up a well-functioning society.
Gen Z is simply more aware of how deeply words can impact people and how they shape what we as a collective perceive as acceptable and unacceptable. We believe that the same words that might be heard as just jokes to one person might actually be the reason why laws and policies are put in place to marginalize another person or entire groups of people.
8. 'Things were different back in my day.'
Even though Gen Z is pretty tuned into the nuances of social issues and wants to respect people's personal lives, it's still rather annoying to hear our older counterparts justifying the conformity of their youth because that's just how it was.
We may not have been alive to feel the pressure of being told to man up, act like a lady, or be normal, but it doesn't mean we can't be a little disappointed that that's how things were. After all, Gen Z is doing its best to make some serious changes to places that are supposed to take longer to bend, such as workplaces, law and policy, and schools. We just don't have the time or energy to hear about the past when we're trying to secure our future in the here and now.
Luke Aliga is a writer with a degree in Technical Writing and Communication who covers relationships, culture, astrology, and human interest topics.
