17 Of Gen Z's Favorite "Older People" Things That Will Make You Laugh And Warm Your Heart
Recently, I asked the Gen Z members of our BuzzFeed Community what things they appreciate or love about older generations. Here are some of their responses:
1."I like that, with older generations, they’re able to keep up conversations with each other and create real connections without a screen between them. Some Gen-Z’ers do it too, don’t get me wrong, but the amount of people unable to strike up a conversation and keep it is interesting, to say the least."
2."The thing I'm most jealous about is that older generations got to grow up with 'third places' to meet and hang out in. There's nothing like that anymore. If we go to a coffee shop, it's $10 cups of coffee, and we're expected to drink it quietly and leave. And if we want to go hang out in the park, there are always Karens yelling at us for just being kids. It's like there's a constant helicopter of surveillance and anger towards teenagers that's just completely kept us from having that kind of experience you got."
3."Sometimes the insight of 'Hey, here's how we handled XYZ back in the day' when the XYZ is something like a craft project or a recipe. Like, the sewing and general clothing tricks you learn from older folks (hairspray or nail polish on snagged nylons, a line of stitching around the top of your sleeve before you sew it into the shirt so it curves and fits in the armhole a little nicer) are really nice."
4."The toys, tbh. I always thought the Beanie Babies were cool (even though they were never worth anything)."
5."I loved the wall phone the most. It was my favorite thing in my grandparents' house."
6."Recipe cards and cookbooks."
7."Their music taste. My dad is a Gen Xer, and he’s the reason I got to see Iron Maiden live in 2023. My mum is a Boomer, and she got me into Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers, and Elvis. My sister is a millennial, and she’s taken me to see bands like Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Bowling For Soup, Less Than Jake, and Sum 41. Their music tastes helped shape my music taste, and I have to give credit where it’s due, they did a pretty good job."
–Anonymous, 22, England
8."I absolutely love '80s pop culture. The music, no internet, the TV shows, the big hair, the MOVIES!!! Only my mom knows this, but, in my spare time, I enjoy watching old WWF matches on YouTube. I couldn’t give you a rational reason I enjoy it other than it makes me happy."
–20, United States
9."I love how, with the older generations, you’re not expected to respond back to a text within .7 seconds. I have things to do that require that I don’t get right back to you. I might be in the shower. I might just want to ignore you. Just chill!"
–Anonymous, 15, California
10."I like that my Gen X parents and Boomer grandparents aren’t chronically online. For one, it’s refreshing that they don’t have dumb controversies and influencer moments in their mind all the time. And I get to explain silly internet drama to them and have a fun conversation about it. I know a lot of older folks are on Facebook and there are problems there, but the extent of my grandma’s online activity is sending me cat reels on Instagram. It’s sweet."
11."Quality shopping experiences. You could go into a store and actually get something that will last you just as much as you use it. Hell, the more you use it, the better it gets! I hate online shopping, and even when I receive the item, it's not as good as I expect it to be."
20, Missouri
–Anonymous
12."Older generations had such cute fashion! Like honestly, the reason Gen Z is so big on throwback culture is because we are going back to appreciate what once was."
13."The fact that kids could simply go outside and play anywhere as long as they were back by dinner. Now, kids have prearranged play dates and are constantly supervised."
–Anonymous, United States
14."I appreciate how family-loving they are."
–Anonymous,15, United States
15."They keep us down to earth."
16."Their organization. They know how to do things without using technology. It’s amazing. I have to search everything up!"
–Anonymous, 14, London
17."Being able to record music off the radio for your voicemail. Someone create a time machine so I can go back."
–Anonymous, Seattle
Gen Z, what other things do you think should be on this list? Let us know in the comments below!
Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
