Bridging the gap between generations: the benefits and lessons of interacting with Baby Boomers

By J.E. Nickerson

Recently while sorting through the mail and separating bills from junk mail, I began reading the latest edition of the AARP magazine that had arrived for my mother who is a Baby Boomer. While many people from her generation are familiar with the contents of this magazine, many Millennials might not be familiar with this magazine. The magazine offers many articles on how to live a healthy life, save money when shopping at the store and tips on how to avoid common scams. One of the many contributing writers to this publication, is the author and speaker Frank Willian Abagnale Jr. In his youth, Abagnale spent time as a con artist. After serving time for his crimes, he became a consultant and popular writer, who spends his time warning people, including the readers of AAPR, about the various scams and con jobs that target people of every age. Millennials who enjoy watching movies on their phones or tablets, might be interested to note that the 2002 Steven Spielberg movie, “Catch Me If You Can”, that starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, was based on the real life exploits and adventures of Frank Abagnale Jr. The movie chronicles his early years and how he was eventually caught by authorities in several countries, including the United States Treasury Department. 

Many Millennials are familiar with different celebrities and enjoy reading about their life in magazines and websites. This enjoyment is not limited to the younger generation though. As I continued to read the issue of AARP that had arrived for my mother, I also read a multipage interview with Liam Neeson, the actor who starred in the popular “Taken” series of movies. Most millennials who follow celebrity news, would be surprised to learn that the magazine designed for their parents and grandparents, also features frequent interviews with celebrities from movies they purchase on their smart phones. Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to purchase the CSI series on my Apple TV box. As my mother and I watched the various episodes and enjoyed the music in the series, she told me that many years before I was born, she and my father attended a concert performed by the same group who sang the theme song for the CSI series.

Awhile ago I heard a young woman declare that Baby Boomers don’t do anything in society. But this is a false statement said out of ignorance. As a young millennial in his 30’s living in a household of baby boomers, I have spent my life being influenced by the wisdom, advice and love of my parents and older family members. I have learned how to paint rooms in my house, use lawn equipment and work with online banking apps. Because my Baby Boomer parents worked for many years before adopting me and made wise choices with their finances, they were able to give me the opportunity to spend the last 12 years working from home as an author. Instead of having to work a traditional 9 to 5 job like many young people, I was able to spend time taking care of my family while I wrote over 20 books, learned how to self publish books, create websites and obtain a real estate license online. In addition to obtaining various educational skills and certificates in life, I have also obtained a unique understanding of history from my family. Because my mother was born in the 1950’s, she is able to tell me stories about her experiences with racial riots in society, people’s reaction and disapproval of American soldiers fighting wars in other countries and the difficulties that people experienced when inflation impacted prices in the 1970’s. You can read more about what I learned from my family about society in my article “Millennials and baby boomers: Living in a multigenerational family during the pandemic” at the bottom of this article.

The benefits of interacting with Baby Boomers does not stop with my family though. Like many people my age, I enjoy using social media to talk to people and share movies. Many of the people I interact with online, also fit into the Baby Boomer generation. Because I have spent so much time with my older family members, I am able to easily relate to people online, who are older than me and have meaningful relationships with them. One of the many people I enjoy spending time with online, is from the same generation as my family members and lives in the Philippines. Through my interaction with her, I am able to learn about life in her country and culture. 

As Millennials living in a country dealing with high inflation and the stress and isolation of covid strains, we should reach out to the Baby Boomers and other people in our life. Many Millennials have never experienced the kind of society we are living in. But our parents and grandparents have seen similar situations in their life. Talking to my mother and grandmother about current and past world events, has been a source of comfort and encouragement to me, as I watch the news and go about my daily routine. My family and friends online have helped me to not feel isolated and lonely, as I read about covid and the world that we are living in. 

If you are able to talk to someone who is older than you and who experienced things that you have only heard of on social media, I encourage you to ask them questions. Seek out relationships with people from older generations. As I said before, people who think that members of older generations don’t have anything to offer, are not considering the breadth of life experience these people have or the wisdom that they are able to pass on to younger generations. When describing multigenerational interaction in society, King David, who spent many years under the guidance of older individuals, penned the following words, “One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.” While he was referring to one generation telling another of the works of God, the principle of multigenerational mentoring and interaction, also applies to people outside of the church world. Wether you are a Christian or not, interacting with and being mentored by older people has many advantages, beyond what we have covered in this article. Solomon, often considered the wisest man who lived, spent his early years under his father, King David’s guidance. When he became king, he wrote about the importance of young men being guided by the wisdom of older people. One of the many proverbs, or wise sayings he wrote says the following, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”

In closing, I would encourage you, the young reader, to reach out to members of the older generations. Develop relationships with them. Download or pick up a copy of their favorite magazines, read an issue of AARP and learn more about the experiences that Baby Boomers have gone through. It is often said that history repeats itself. therefore, the wisdom and experiences of older generations can give us the tools and skills we need for similar situations we will experience in life. 

Link to my article “Millennials and baby boomers: Living in a multigenerational family during the pandemic”:

 https://wearewisethinkers.wordpress.com/2021/11/15/millennials-and-baby-boomers-living-in-a-multigenerational-family-during-the-pandemic/