New Jersey boomers are misunderstood

Ok, boomer!

You may have heard this dismissive phrase when you speak your mind or express your opinion on something. Baby boomers cover a large portion of the population, those born between 1946 and 1964.

This means the youngest of this group is 61 this year and the oldest is 79. That covers an entire generation. The outlooks and experiences can vary widely in that age range.

The term baby boom refers to a noticeable increase in the birth rate. The post-World War II population increase was described as a "boom" by various newspaper reporters, including Sylvia F. Porter in a column in the May 4, 1951, edition of the New York Post, based on the increase of 2,357,000 in the population of the U.S. from 1940 to 1950.

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The first recorded use of "baby boomer" is in a January 1963 Daily Press article by Leslie J. Nason describing a massive surge of college enrollments approaching as the oldest boomers were coming of age.

So, of course, there are bound to be misrepresentations of people in this group. We have a whole list coming up later in this post. One of the misconceptions is that we boomers are bad with technology. Not so fast. Many of us were in the prime of our lives when technology took large leaps, and we were forced to adapt and we did just fine.

Go to any ShopRite on senior discount day and see the countless numbers of older folks carefully going through their cell phones for the latest coupons.

Another misrepresentation of us boomers is that we are set in our ways. Well, any generation that has past the age of 60 is going to rely on their life experiences to make judgments on what is the best way to do things or think about things.

One more of these misconceptions is that we all want to retire. Sure, if you've already put in 50 or more years of working you want to take a break. I know a lot of people in their 30s and 40s who talk about retirement far more than I remember my contemporaries thinking the same way when we were that age.

The most offensive one on this list is that we don't care about the younger generations. Totally not true. Many of us have strong opinions and feelings about politics and the future of this country and the world because of our concern for our kids and grandkids.

We won't be around for the mess that might be in the future if things go sideways in the years to come, but our offspring will. So, don't be so quick to judge this group of people called baby boomers. Rather than dismiss them as out of touch, listen to what they have to say. I mean really listen.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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