Stop Nostalgia Shaming

I’m nearly 56 years old. I’m technically a baby boomer. I grew up before the internet and cell phones. I remember black & white TV with three, MAYBE four channels…and no remote control. As a child, I rode my bike without a helmet. When my parents wanted me to come home, my Dad would whistle…loudly. I played the music I liked on records (we didn’t call it vinyl) and hoped to hear it on the radio. If I got in trouble at school, my parents would likely believe the teachers instead of me. Blah, blah, blah….

This is for old people like me: STOP NOSTALGIA SHAMING. Stop telling young people that the way things were done in your youth is better than the way things are done now. I’m tired of hearing it and it’s making your kids and their kids tune you out and it's making you sound old. Just because it was great when you were young, doesn’t mean it’s the right way or the only way.

You know what? My childhood was pretty good, but it’s not better than my kids’ childhood or my theoretical grandchildren’s childhood. (Still hoping those will exist someday.) Why do the middle-aged and elderly think that because their telephone had a cord and they had to see their friends IN PERSON that they had better phone calls, friendships or relationships?

News flash: Things change. Some get better. Some get worse. Stop telling young people that the newfangled way of doing things is bad, confusing, worse, misguided, artificial, impersonal…in other words, STOP JUDGING.

Look, I get it. Nobody likes change. We all get snuggled in our comfort zone. Change is confusing and difficult. But we older people should embrace change…at least the idea of it. It’s OK to not like the new version of something. But don’t tell people who like it that they’re wrong or bad.

Maybe there are too many selfies in this world. But maybe it would be cool to look back in 40 years on those selfies. Maybe there’s too much sharing on social media. But maybe being able to share helps a new mom or a depressed teen feel a tiny bit better when they feel alone. Maybe people are staring at their phones too much. (OK, I have no rebuttal for that one. We all need to stop doing that.) Maybe young people don’t know how to read maps. But I, personally, love voice-guided GPS.

Think about it this way: Technology will happen. Change will happen. Improvements will happen. Some of this will make life better. Some of this might make life worse. But have faith that humanity can sort it out.

And here’s the good news: On their own, young people are getting nostalgic for the way things used to be. This is why craft beer and cocktails are all the rage, why farm-to-table is a giant food movement and why vinyl has never been more popular or expensive. Basically, homemade is IN. How else to explain why people spend HOURS staring at and trying to recreate Pinterest projects?

My advice to fellow oldsters: Put down your gavel, quit judging and relax.