Boomers and Gen Z might seem worlds apart, but they actually have more in common than you’d think.
That’s especially true when it comes to certain struggles they both experience that other generations, millennials in particular, can’t relate to or don’t always fully understand. For millennials, who have their own unique troubles, there are certain ways the world works that they find it easy to fall in line with, while those younger and older than them struggle. Here are just a few examples that show the overlap.
1. Feeling overwhelmed by how fast technology moves
Both boomers and Gen Z can find today’s tech exhausting, just for very different reasons. Boomers often struggle to keep up with the endless updates, apps, and shifting platforms they didn’t grow up with.
Meanwhile, Gen Z, despite being digital natives, often feels crushed by the pressure to be constantly online, instantly responsive, and always “on brand.” Millennials, who came of age with slower tech, sometimes miss how overwhelming it’s become on both ends.
2. Dealing with sky-high housing costs
Gen Z is facing an impossible housing market, where even a studio flat can feel like a pipe dream. Boomers, while many own homes now, remember when mortgage rates hit insane double digits in the ’80s.
Both groups understand what it feels like when homeownership isn’t straightforward. Millennials often caught the real estate wave earlier or at least benefited from lower rates a decade ago, so they don’t always fully get the struggle today’s buyers face.
3. Being unfairly stereotyped by the media
For years, boomers were painted as old-fashioned and out of touch, while Gen Z gets branded as overly sensitive or entitled. Neither group loves being reduced to a tired stereotype based on their birth year.
Millennials, meanwhile, tend to forget they had their own media backlash moment once. Remember the “lazy and entitled” headlines? Of course, now that they’ve aged into the mainstream, they sometimes miss how relentless it still is for others.
4. Battling job insecurity in totally different ways
Boomers worry about staying relevant in a workforce that seems to idolise youth and fresh skills. Many are pushed out before they’re ready or want to retire, just because of their age.
Gen Z, on the flip side, entered a working world that offers zero guarantees—contracts, benefits, and job security are all optional extras. Millennials, who largely adapted to a rough job market post-2008, sometimes forget how crushing it feels when security isn’t even on the table anymore.
5. Feeling exhausted by constant political turmoil
Both boomers and Gen Z are deeply aware of how messy the world feels, and both feel burnt out by it. From inflation to global conflicts, the endless parade of bad news wears heavily on their minds.
Millennials have lived through their share of political chaos too, but many are now so busy juggling careers and families that they’re slightly more detached from the emotional whiplash Gen Z and boomers are constantly absorbing. This isn’t true across the board, of course, but it is pretty common.
6. Facing rising mental health struggles
For boomers, emotional struggles were often swept under the rug. Therapy wasn’t encouraged, and mental health was a taboo topic for decades. Many still carry quiet battles because of that silence.
Gen Z, meanwhile, talks openly about anxiety, depression, and trauma, but still faces stigma, long waitlists, and unaffordable therapy options. Millennials sometimes see this openness and assume things are easier now, but that’s not the full story at all.
7. Struggling to trust big institutions
Both boomers and Gen Z have major trust issues, but for different reasons. Boomers lived through government scandals, wars, and financial crises that made them wary of promises from the top.
Gen Z grew up watching institutions fail spectacularly—on climate change, healthcare, and education. Millennials tend to have a bit more cautious optimism built in, but for Boomers and Gen Z, the scepticism runs deep.
8. Being overwhelmed by constant online comparison
Social media wasn’t built for boomers, but many use it now, and experience the same toxic comparisons that younger people deal with. Retirement photos, holiday bragging, or perfectly curated lives create real pressure.
Gen Z, meanwhile, has grown up drowning in constant comparison on every platform, feeling the pressure younger and harder. Millennials often shrug it off, but for boomers and Gen Z, the emotional toll feels more raw and confusing.
9. Trying to maintain real relationships in a digital world
Boomers miss the days of face-to-face conversations, long phone calls, and handwritten notes. Gen Z craves deeper connection too, but feels stuck in a culture of Snap streaks and shallow texting habits.
Millennials, who grew up balancing handwritten notes with early internet chatting, sometimes underestimate just how alienating it feels when everything important happens through a screen. Both boomers and Gen Z know that real connection is harder to come by now.
10. Managing unrealistic life expectations
Boomers were promised a life where hard work equalled guaranteed success, and many are grappling with how much that promise fell apart later in life. Retirement isn’t as secure, and life didn’t “just work out” like they were told it would.
Gen Z, meanwhile, was raised with sky-high expectations only to hit a brick wall of economic and social challenges. Millennials tend to have already accepted a “make your own path” reality, but boomers and Gen Z are still dealing with the emotional whiplash of broken promises.
11. Worrying about ageing, even when young
It might sound strange, but both Boomers and Gen Z think about ageing a lot. Boomers, naturally, are dealing with it in real time—health concerns, loss of independence, fears about being forgotten.
But Gen Z faces an intense youth-obsessed culture where 25 can feel “old” on social media. The fear of ageing and losing relevance starts early. Millennials often don’t realise just how much Gen Z already stresses over the passage of time.
12. Feeling left out of pop culture conversations
Pop culture is moving faster than ever, and boomers and Gen Z both sometimes feel like they’re on the outside looking in. Boomers can feel erased from trending conversations, while Gen Z struggles with how fragmented entertainment has become.
Millennials, meanwhile, had a golden era where movies, music, and TV were relatively unified experiences. Today, everything is niche and fleeting, leaving boomers and Gen Z both feeling like outsiders in different ways.
13. Grieving the loss of “simpler times”
For boomers, “simpler times” often meant a childhood without internet, 24/7 news cycles, or the pressure of constant online branding. They remember what it felt like to live in the moment without constant digital noise.
Gen Z, even though they grew up with tech, often craves that same simplicity. Many are nostalgic for a slower, more present life they never actually lived but deeply yearn for. Millennials, stuck managing modern chaos day-to-day, sometimes miss how real that longing feels for both generations.
