The boomers think avocado toast is ridiculous. They think tuna and vegetable Jello monstrosities are food though so 🤷‍♀️

You seen the cost at restaurants? That's the cost they are talking about. But that's also true for most restaurant items. Memes are only tangentially based on reality.

I think at some point, someone noticed there was a bit of markup on it when eating at restaurants, associated Gen Y with it, and then the narrative took off from there?

It reminds me of the same finger-wagging that seemed to be aimed at probably Gen X in the 90s over things like lattes. If people at that time and at that age were struggling financially, it was not because of the occasional latte.

Also, hearing people talk about spending is wild. Especially when it comes to things like toast, Netflix subs, smart phones, and televisions.

1. Avocado toast. Okay, discretionary spending is something everyone needs to keep an eye on, sure. But I don't think toast is why people are finding things unaffordable for things like housing, health care, transportation, etc...
2. Netflix subscription is as low as something like $108/ year. Not even worth talking about.
3. Smart phones are not really optional in today's society. People that pretend that they are cannot even be serious. Also, you'll see boomers glued to their fucking phones, too, so it's not like "constantly scrolling" is some exclusive trait of {generation younger than mine}.
4. Televisions. This is the one that seems to unhinged to me. Adjusted for inflation, TVs have never been cheaper, especially per square inch. Consider that the first color TVs were 12 inches in size and apparently $12,000+ in 2026 dollars. I think people that have their mind frozen on those kinds of economics are the ones talking about it. Suppose you had the room for it and splurged just a bit, and got a mid-range 85 inch television. That's still $1000-$1600, and a one-time cost (well, not counting the electricity). That is not going to be the difference between a down payment on a house or not.

https://www.cablecompare.com/blog/the-average-cost-of-a-tv-how-has-it-changed-over-time

ikr TFA says "...Gen X might have been taught to be overly friendly and polite in customer service settings..." and I was like: wat? Maybe they TRIED, but our stereotypical response was always "...meh."

Cataracts??

Yup, this. However, reading/watching something from the past 100 years does tend to bring it home in a more visceral way. People having a hard time connecting with the experiences of people that are still living (boomers, Silent generation) are going to really struggle connecting to ancient Sumerians.

Adam Conover has the perfect talk on the notion of "generations"....I honestly wish he'd expand on this talk and put together instances in a slide deck where he goes from Gen Z (or alpha) and these kinds of narratives all the way back to colonial times or whatever he has the energy for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HFwok9SlQQ&t=1s

Another misconception... the screen doesn't actually physically damage your brain. But 24/7 consumption of short-form brain rot will do (but also not physically).