5 Old-School Boomer Habits That Could Make Young People's Live Less Stressful Lives Today
Sun Shock | ShutterstockEvery generation believes they have it all figured out more than the generation that came before them. And while technology is a large part of young people's experience, if they would just follow certain old-school boomer habits, they'd find themselves living less stressful lives.
Boomers grew up without digital distractions and developed routines that naturally strengthened their emotional resilience and connection to others. Nobody is saying to go back to landline phones and typewriters, but some habits may be worth revisiting.
If young people followed old-school boomer habits, they could live less stressful lives today
1. Leaving work at work
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For boomers, the end of the work day meant leaving the building and not thinking about work until the next day. If someone needed to reach them after hours, it was because something was urgent. Work wasn't stress-free back then, but the difference was that there was a physical and mental separation between work life and home life.
Today, many young people feel pressure to remain available around the clock. But they could learn a thing or two about maintaining a work-life balance. True downtime helps people recover from stress, allowing them to return to work well-rested and focused.
When the brain never gets a break, even small tasks can start to feel overwhelming. It's difficult to recharge when you're always anticipating the next email or message. But by re-establishing boundaries between professional and personal time, you can greatly reduce burnout.
2. Talking face-to-face instead of through screens
Boomers were always communicating face-to-face, whether it was catching up with neighbors or visiting family members. They didn't have the luxury of cell phones or computers, so if they wanted to know what someone was doing, they visited in-person. Relationships were made with shared experiences and regular interaction, not quick messages sent throughout the day.
Technology has made communication easier, but it has also replaced opportunities for genuine connection. Social media interactions can have value, but they aren't a good replacement for meaningful conversation. Small details like body language give context that gets lost through a screen.
Some of the best conversations happen when there are no distractions at all. It forces people to remain in the moment, as well as strengthening their relationships and reducing feelings of loneliness.
3. Learning to be bored sometimes
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Today, there's endless entertainment available. When you're bored, you can watch videos or play online games just by pressing a button. Most people have the same instinct to reach for their phone, but older generations had fewer options, which forced them to sit with their thoughts and use their imagination to find creative ways to spend their time.
With young people, the moment their minds start to wander, they interrupt the process with a text message or immediately opening social media apps. Unfortunately, constantly filling every quiet moment leaves very little room for reflection.
Younger generations could learn something from letting their mind wander instead of filling it with distractions. The best ideas come when you're doing something mundane, and when the brain isn't fully occupied, it makes connections and generates new ideas.
4. Living with less comparison
When boomers were growing up, if they wanted to compare their life to someone else's, they had a very small circle of people to work with. Their social interactions were generally limited to neighbors and co-workers, and friends and relatives. They didn't have a phone that provided constant updates on the lives of strangers on the internet.
Social media creates a constant stream of the "perfect" life, making young people feel as though they're falling behind. But people only share their best moments online, not their struggles and disappointments. It's easy to forget that what we're seeing is a carefully selected version of reality, not the full picture.
The old-school habit of focusing on your own life is something that could greatly benefit younger people. Instead of asking how they're doing in comparison to others, they can look at their own progress in life. That's a much healthier and more accurate way to measure growth.
5. Doing things without documenting every moment
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For boomers and older generations, they lived in the moment. Every celebration or fun experience wasn't constantly interrupted by the need to take photos or post updates online. While people still took pictures, the primary goal was to enjoy the moment, not create content from it.
Young people today are usually thinking about their presence online and posting things about their personal lives, whether it's photos or the caption that goes with it. They could be looking at a beautiful sunset and immediately think of taking a photo. But the constant urge to document can pull us out of the very moment we're trying to preserve.
When you put the phone away, you notice more and listen carefully. Some moments are valuable because they belong only to the people who were there. And though this boomer habit seems old-school, it's more important than ever.
MeShanda Deason is a writer with a BFA in Creative Writing from Stephen F. Austin State University, and minors in Business Communication and Literature. She covers storytelling, culture, identity, and human connection across editorial, journalism, and marketing spaces.
