Skip to content

OPINION: Boomers and the new world

Vernon senior on the ever-changing world
31717249_web1_How-to-Track-a-Cell-Phone-Location-for-Free-with-the-Number-of-the-Cell-Phone_1

Carole Fawcett

Boomer Talk

Boomers can be heard saying that our world has changed from when we grew up. So true and can be said for most generations.

The one change that I find intensely annoying is that nobody answers the phone anymore. We text instead of phoning. It may seem like a small thing, but trying to get information via the telephone can drive one crazy. Or, you phone a business and are lucky enough for them to answer the phone, but are put on hold. Forever. Apparently, they don’t know to keep returning to the call to assure the caller they have not been forgotten. It is called phone etiquette.

It seems that obtaining information about anything is a two- to three-day affair. I frequently drive to the business I want information from. Faster than the phone now. Ah – the irony.

In many respects it has never been easier to communicate, but yet it has become more difficult.

I am a speed typist so I have no desire to try to text with my arthritic thumbs, finger or stylus, because it can be very slow. So, I now use the talk-t0-text feature, but then autocorrect kicks in and doesn’t know how to spell (which can be hilarious – or not).

Who knew we would carry tiny computers in our pockets and purses, allowing us to look up information by pushing a tiny button. New words were invented (Google, face time, etc.). Not too many of us have home phones anymore, having switched to cell phones.

Attitudes are different now too. If you ask a question, it is sometimes misunderstood and taken as a criticism by someone younger. Or if you ask where something is in a big box store, the younger staff is likely to point and say ‘over there’ and the older staff take you to where it is (and yes, I realize this is a gross generalization, but it’s happened many times to me).

The word entitlement has reared its head and some of the younger set seem to feel they are entitled to the best of everything with less effort than the generations before them and even whine when they don’t get it.

The younger demographic has become jaded in their political views and as a result do not act to making change in our world. They barely vote and due to social media, tend to doubt the main media.

The work ethic has changed and depending on your view, not necessarily for the better. As Boomers, we have been criticized for being obsessed with work and money.

Then there’s the bureaucracy. Everything is a big deal. I phoned a school to find out if they still taught handwriting (oh, excuse me, cursive). At one school I was told it was up to the teacher whether it would be included in the curriculum.

At the second school I was told I had to speak to the administrator who told me that he could not make any comments. He said I had to speak to the school district. I tried, but they don’t answer the phone either.

Bureaucratic rules shut down discussion due to fear that the information will be skewed in some manner, even for the simplest things.

Our world has changed, for everyone, not just Boomers. It has become more racist and bigots seem to be lurking everywhere. I know a lot of us are grateful we live in Canada.

We don’t want to become like the U.S., with mass murders and violence on the news every night. Although our news covers the mayhem in the U.S., almost like we lived there.

Yes, it is definitely a new world.

In the meantime, please be kind to one another. Send loving energy out to our hurting world. It will help all of us.

Carole Fawcett is a retired counsellor, a clinical hypnotherapist and a freelance writer www.wordaffair.com

READ MORE: Kayaking not how Vernon boomer remembered it

READ MORE: What’s happening around the North Okanagan


@VernonNews
newsroom@vernonmorningstar.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

and subscribe to our daily newsletter.


Jennifer Smith

About the Author: Jennifer Smith

Vernon has always been my home, and I've been working at The Morning Star since 2004.
Read more