OLDER, ENTITLED, & EXTREMELY OUT-OF-TOUCH: DOES “OK, BOOMER” SIGNIFY THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW OLDER ADULT STEREOTYPE?

Abstract

Abstract “OK, Boomer” is a phrase used online by younger adults to dismiss an older person for their perceived out-of-touch or offensive beliefs (Lorenz, 2019). An initial study utilizing content analysis techniques with a younger adult sample (N = 316) explored how two theoretical frameworks from the age stereotype literature, the Stereotype Content Model (Fiske et al., 2002) and Hummert et al.’s (1994) age stereotype categories, could explain this phenomenon and the enduring online references to “Boomers.” We found that neither theory adequately captured how younger adults view the titular “Boomer;” the low-competence/low-warmth quadrant of the Stereotype Content Model was the only quadrant with support (N = 32), albeit not a large amount, whereas the age stereotype category data revealed that “Boomers” partially overlapped with elements of the “Shrew/Curmudgeon,” the “Severely Impaired,” and the “John Wayne Conservative” to varying degrees. This necessitated a second study that used an open-ended, interpretative phenomenological analysis approach to better understand younger adults’ perceived age-related stereotypes of “Boomers.” Results identified seven unique characteristics ascribed to “Boomers” and older people in general: closed-minded, argumentative, out-of-touch, offensive, critical, nostalgic, and/or conservative, all of which seem to possess a decidedly hostile ageist undertone. Future work should examine exactly how synonymous “Boomers” are with older adulthood, the potential underlying hostile and/or benevolent ageism associated with using this phrase, and how derogatory age-based internet jargon influences age stereotype development and intergenerational relations given the heightened ageism following the COVID-19 pandemic.