“Older, Entitled, and Extremely Out-of-Touch”: Does “OK, Boomer” Signify the Emergence of a New Older Adult Stereotype?

“OK, Boomer” is a phrase used to dismiss an older person for their perceived out-of-touch or offensive beliefs. The popularity of this retort suggests the presence of intergenerational tension; this study explores how the use of “OK, Boomer” relates to the current age stereotype literature. Results...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of applied gerontology Vol. 42; no. 6; pp. 1200 - 1211
Main Authors Frey, Katelyn T., Bisconti, Toni L.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.06.2023
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Age discrimination
Aged
Ageism
Humans
Intergenerational Relations
Intergenerational relationships
Older people
Stereotypes
Stereotyping
Touch
baby boomers
microaggressions
age stereotypes
intergenerational communication
ageism
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Summary:“OK, Boomer” is a phrase used to dismiss an older person for their perceived out-of-touch or offensive beliefs. The popularity of this retort suggests the presence of intergenerational tension; this study explores how the use of “OK, Boomer” relates to the current age stereotype literature. Results indicated that this literature base does not adequately capture how younger adults perceived the titular “Boomer,” and therefore, we used interpretive phenomenological analysis to identify seven unique characteristics ascribed to “Boomers”: closed-minded, argumentative, out-of-touch, offensive, critical, nostalgic, and/or conservative. Future work should monitor how derogatory age-based internet jargon influences ageism and intergenerational relations.
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ISSN:0733-4648
1552-4523
DOI:10.1177/07334648231154044