I’m in that boomer group, and there are plenty of us who do not fall into the category you painted. As a matter of fact, we are the lion’s share of citizens showing up at protests. How about the 90 million who didn’t vote at all? My kids, both millennials, are having a tough time getting THEIR peers to engage with the current state of the nation.
I’m with you DebS25, this boomer gets her news on line. I’m involved w our local Indivisible, 50501, Evergreen Resistance and there are plenty of us in our 70s protesting!
Rather than be offended or get defensive, I have a few questions.
I want to know why this perception exists. Are we keeping too low of a profile? Is it because we’re not posting about our views? Like, “Yeah, yeah… protests are nice, but where are your outraged TikTok videos?”?? Because maybe we need to do some work to fix it. If we can.
I know plenty of Xers who are staunch supporters of this administration including women who, if they were to be absolutely honest, would tell you that they just pick the guy their husband picks. But I don’t see any of that being called out. Why “the Boomers”? Historically roughly 47% vote down the R column and about the same for the D column, regardless of the candidates involved. (With the independent voters being the prized “6%”.) So why would anyone think that would have changed within the voting pool of the “Boomers”?
And I would also like to know WHY the younger generations aren’t participating and HOW TO GET THEM INVOLVED.
I can only speak for a sample size of two, my fully aware of the sheht going down. Adult kids. They think street protests are pointless and will eventually turn violent (think false flag Maggots during the BLM protests). They don’t want themselves o pr their very young kids anywhere near the storm they see coming. You know, fear: mortgages, jobs and even career advancement all matter to their families’ viability. Some of that involves who they work for (yes, solid Republican boomers).
They write, call and vote but are afraid of the online tracing and facial recognition they think will come next. Cringe.
Thank you, you are correct! I try to inform my kids about what's going some they know some they don't. I said to her it's so important that you keep informed and know what's going on. She said good luck getting her generation to do anything. Now there are a few of her friends that are active in protests and informed. ❤️✌🏼💪🏼
How are the 77 million people who voted for Trump linked to the 76 million Boomers? Boomers are a fraction of the 77 million, with GenXers being the largest block to vote for Trump.
I’m 74 and a retired librarian. Most people my age that I know voted blue. A few did not. It largely depends on where you get your news and how truthful and complete the coverage is.
Legacy mainstream media has a set of journalistic ethics that requires the use of knowledgeable sources. When a source cannot be directly named, multiple knowledgeable sources are required. News articles are submitted to an editor whose job it is to make sure that the information used is properly sourced and does not draw conclusion unsupported by the evidence. These ethics do not guarantee that errors and viewpoints will never intrude on the news, but there is an effort made to report truthfully. This is true both in print news and in their online publications.
Fox, on the other hand, is owned by Rupert Murdoch, who admitted under oath in the Dominion voting machine trial, that he was aware that Fox’s “news” anchors were lying about the 2020 election because when they told viewers the truth, Fox’s ratings went down. When somebody gets caught lying, I take whatever else s/he says with a large dose of skepticism.
Fox also has a habit of avoiding news that is unfavorable to their point of view. They cover lurid accidents and crimes frequently. They sometimes focus on feel-good human interest stories when the political news would upset viewers’ bias confirmation. People who rely on this sort of infotainment are not well informed.
In light of Bezos’ backtracking and capitulation at the Washington Post, podcasts and substack columns are a useful addition to news sources. However, there are many online sources that do not fact check, that copy other publications without attribution, and that present opinion as fact without verification. I suspect that a good percent of the young men who moved into the Trump camp in 2024 were not consumers of fact checked and edited news sources.
I’m a boomer. My friends and I have a vast knowledge of history. We can see clearly in a way many don’t, especially the ones who don’t recognize what the past is screaming.
I understand and I know there is a stereotype there. I included a post-script to talk about generational generalization, and how no one really fits a mold.
I'm gonna' go out on a limb and say the further you are in that age range the less likely you are to follow the sit down and watch at 5-crew. - That said, no one cares about the print v. of news(papers) but I sure as shit care about the local news that got flushed with it. - Thanks to Substack and Bluesky I am finding more of them popping back up. - Keep 'em coming!!
P.S. - J.Tapper just couldn't wait to take a shot (pick a euphemism here). Oh hell, screw that! What a prick!
Scottish boomer (‘63). Useful to get your perspective. I’m not wild with enthusiasm (eyeroll) for Mr Tapper but the Ezra Klein podcast episode that featured him was interesting.
I’m 77 now and worked & lived independently until I was 75 in Michigan. I had regular tv & watched the nightly news with Nora O’Donnell on CBS. Last year I moved to California to live with my daughter & son-in-law who get their news through their radio on their commutes. They only have streaming services at the house: Prime, Netflix, Hulu, Paramount+. I very much miss getting the local news & national news on my tv. I have the CBS app on my phone but usually see it the day after. I follow one Senator on Facebook & the other does YouTube. I rely on SubStack to keep me current on all things political. Sometimes I miss the ‘old ways’ but try to adapt or find new ways to stay current. This was an interesting article & I appreciate the writer’s perspective.
All good points. The fragmentation of media has led to and been exacerbated by generations who have ADHD when it comes to news and information. Add to that a lack of critical thinking skills, TLDR, and literacy rates where 52% of Americans cannot read (and understand) above a 6th Grade level.
Where does that leave us? To quote the 47th President “I don’t know.” Well, for me I say, “I’m not sure.”
In the long term, I will propose that we concentrate our efforts on the root problems I raised above. In the short term, we must charge into the media of choice with a formalized, very brief but consistent, entertaining educational campaign covering civics, media literacy and battling cognitive biases.
I’m in that boomer group, and there are plenty of us who do not fall into the category you painted. As a matter of fact, we are the lion’s share of citizens showing up at protests. How about the 90 million who didn’t vote at all? My kids, both millennials, are having a tough time getting THEIR peers to engage with the current state of the nation.
Yes!!!! Me too.
Thank you, you said everything I was thinking 💙
I gave you guys all a special subscript, because you're right ;)
Thank you 💙
I’m with you DebS25, this boomer gets her news on line. I’m involved w our local Indivisible, 50501, Evergreen Resistance and there are plenty of us in our 70s protesting!
I gave you guys all a special subscript, because you're right ;)
🙌 yes! Protesting since the 70’s only this time less drugs 😂 or not 🤷♀️
I gave you guys all a special subscript, because you're right ;)
I, also a boomer, don’t fall into that class. I get my news from You Tube and podcasts. I want truth, not Mainstream media.
Rather than be offended or get defensive, I have a few questions.
I want to know why this perception exists. Are we keeping too low of a profile? Is it because we’re not posting about our views? Like, “Yeah, yeah… protests are nice, but where are your outraged TikTok videos?”?? Because maybe we need to do some work to fix it. If we can.
I know plenty of Xers who are staunch supporters of this administration including women who, if they were to be absolutely honest, would tell you that they just pick the guy their husband picks. But I don’t see any of that being called out. Why “the Boomers”? Historically roughly 47% vote down the R column and about the same for the D column, regardless of the candidates involved. (With the independent voters being the prized “6%”.) So why would anyone think that would have changed within the voting pool of the “Boomers”?
And I would also like to know WHY the younger generations aren’t participating and HOW TO GET THEM INVOLVED.
I can only speak for a sample size of two, my fully aware of the sheht going down. Adult kids. They think street protests are pointless and will eventually turn violent (think false flag Maggots during the BLM protests). They don’t want themselves o pr their very young kids anywhere near the storm they see coming. You know, fear: mortgages, jobs and even career advancement all matter to their families’ viability. Some of that involves who they work for (yes, solid Republican boomers).
They write, call and vote but are afraid of the online tracing and facial recognition they think will come next. Cringe.
I think people overlook the fact that legacy media tends to create the initial content that podcasters, YouTubers, Jimmy Kimmel etc. riff on.
Thank you, you are correct! I try to inform my kids about what's going some they know some they don't. I said to her it's so important that you keep informed and know what's going on. She said good luck getting her generation to do anything. Now there are a few of her friends that are active in protests and informed. ❤️✌🏼💪🏼
Me 3! I think the boomers in general are more aware of the dangers emulating past events and watch in horror as history repeats itself!
I gave you guys all a special subscript, because you're right ;)
How are the 77 million people who voted for Trump linked to the 76 million Boomers? Boomers are a fraction of the 77 million, with GenXers being the largest block to vote for Trump.
This is noted in the subtext at the bottom ;)
I’m 74 and a retired librarian. Most people my age that I know voted blue. A few did not. It largely depends on where you get your news and how truthful and complete the coverage is.
Legacy mainstream media has a set of journalistic ethics that requires the use of knowledgeable sources. When a source cannot be directly named, multiple knowledgeable sources are required. News articles are submitted to an editor whose job it is to make sure that the information used is properly sourced and does not draw conclusion unsupported by the evidence. These ethics do not guarantee that errors and viewpoints will never intrude on the news, but there is an effort made to report truthfully. This is true both in print news and in their online publications.
Fox, on the other hand, is owned by Rupert Murdoch, who admitted under oath in the Dominion voting machine trial, that he was aware that Fox’s “news” anchors were lying about the 2020 election because when they told viewers the truth, Fox’s ratings went down. When somebody gets caught lying, I take whatever else s/he says with a large dose of skepticism.
Fox also has a habit of avoiding news that is unfavorable to their point of view. They cover lurid accidents and crimes frequently. They sometimes focus on feel-good human interest stories when the political news would upset viewers’ bias confirmation. People who rely on this sort of infotainment are not well informed.
In light of Bezos’ backtracking and capitulation at the Washington Post, podcasts and substack columns are a useful addition to news sources. However, there are many online sources that do not fact check, that copy other publications without attribution, and that present opinion as fact without verification. I suspect that a good percent of the young men who moved into the Trump camp in 2024 were not consumers of fact checked and edited news sources.
I’m a boomer. My friends and I have a vast knowledge of history. We can see clearly in a way many don’t, especially the ones who don’t recognize what the past is screaming.
I understand and I know there is a stereotype there. I included a post-script to talk about generational generalization, and how no one really fits a mold.
I'm gonna' go out on a limb and say the further you are in that age range the less likely you are to follow the sit down and watch at 5-crew. - That said, no one cares about the print v. of news(papers) but I sure as shit care about the local news that got flushed with it. - Thanks to Substack and Bluesky I am finding more of them popping back up. - Keep 'em coming!!
P.S. - J.Tapper just couldn't wait to take a shot (pick a euphemism here). Oh hell, screw that! What a prick!
Scottish boomer (‘63). Useful to get your perspective. I’m not wild with enthusiasm (eyeroll) for Mr Tapper but the Ezra Klein podcast episode that featured him was interesting.
I’m 77 now and worked & lived independently until I was 75 in Michigan. I had regular tv & watched the nightly news with Nora O’Donnell on CBS. Last year I moved to California to live with my daughter & son-in-law who get their news through their radio on their commutes. They only have streaming services at the house: Prime, Netflix, Hulu, Paramount+. I very much miss getting the local news & national news on my tv. I have the CBS app on my phone but usually see it the day after. I follow one Senator on Facebook & the other does YouTube. I rely on SubStack to keep me current on all things political. Sometimes I miss the ‘old ways’ but try to adapt or find new ways to stay current. This was an interesting article & I appreciate the writer’s perspective.
All good points. The fragmentation of media has led to and been exacerbated by generations who have ADHD when it comes to news and information. Add to that a lack of critical thinking skills, TLDR, and literacy rates where 52% of Americans cannot read (and understand) above a 6th Grade level.
Where does that leave us? To quote the 47th President “I don’t know.” Well, for me I say, “I’m not sure.”
In the long term, I will propose that we concentrate our efforts on the root problems I raised above. In the short term, we must charge into the media of choice with a formalized, very brief but consistent, entertaining educational campaign covering civics, media literacy and battling cognitive biases.
Sorry but what does TLDR stand for?