There’s a battle brewing between two powerful and uncompromising groups: The Baby Boomers and the Millennials. For the sake of our society, it needs to end.

If you search online, you’ll find articles bashing both parties pretty aggressively. Boomers are blamed for destroying the housing market, environment and the financial futures of the next generation. Millennials are accused of being too emotional, entitled and foolhardy. Both factions are ambitious, at times lazy, and a little self-centered. They wouldn’t know this about each other, because they too often don’t connect. The easiest way of connecting with someone is through communication. Dialogue can act as a bridge to cross the burgeoning social gaps that increase around us with every moment. At times, we forget that the simplest solutions to even our most terrifying trials can be found by sitting down, stepping away from ourselves, and empathizing with people we may disagree with.

Communication

According to Pew research, chances are that if you’re reading this article from your desktop computer, you’re a Boomer. If you’re finding your news through a cellphone or from your laptop, you’re most likely a Millennial.  This is due to Millennials leading the market in mobility, they prefer technology that has a multifaceted component. In fact, they expect it. Your phone isn’t just a device to make and receive calls, its access to email and social media, music, art, and games.

This is a way of seeing the world that some Boomers may struggle with. In the Boomer era, most everyday items were single-purpose commodities. In the ‘60s, when you purchased a fridge it did exactly what was intended: it kept your food cold. Now, your fridge can be Wi-Fi enabled, it can remind you to buy food while you’re out, and it can take photos. Don’t believe me? Look here. When your children – and all their friends – have a computer in their pocket more powerful than would have been conceivable in 1970, the learning curve is steep.

There are differences in how people interact with technology, but do they matter? Yes, and no. The way humans interact with information is important, but what is most important? Arguably, it’s the fact that we eventually reach the same results.

The world is not a small place, and it hasn’t been for a while. Since the advent of automobiles, trains, and planes, the world has noticeably shrunk. Not physically, but personally, for billions of people. If physical transportation has made our world seem smaller, then the emergence of the Internet has made the planet pocket-sized. Boomers and Millennials can connect with people from across the globe with a few keystrokes. The barriers that once existed and divided people are whittling away. Opportunities to speak to people once separated by geography, culture, race and age groups have grown exponentially.

The internet does not pick favorites, it’s accessible to all who can use it. Boomers and Millennials have similar internet usage. 87 percent of younger Boomers (ages 50-64) use the Internet, and 97 percent of older Millennials (ages 18-29) access it as well.  This is only a 10 percent difference. Facebook, the largest social media site in the world, has an active Boomer presence. In 2006, when the social networking platform became public to everyone Boomers and Millennials responded positively to it. In a sense, technology is not the divider but the potential unifier between both generations.

Not every Millennial knows how to Photoshop and not every Boomer gets befuddled when confronted with a technological task—so bond, teach, and talk through technology. Use this shared resource.

Boomers Need to Understand, Millennials Need to Listen

Boomers, when you reflect on the past with your Millennial friends, remember to include context. A Boomer’s “back in my day” story can be intriguing, but when recounting life experiences inaccuracies tend to follow. So let’s be clear here: financially you had it easier, Boomers. Millennials today earn 20 percent less than Boomers did at the same stage in life. Millennials also have to deal with more debt, but the silver lining is that they’re also more educated. Regardless, Millennials, I implore you to continue listening to constructive criticism from your Boomer brethren. Age can denote experience, so learn as much as you can.

Boomers were unaffectionately referred to as the “Me” generation by their older peers. Millennials today are viewed in a similar vein. At times, it’s hard to remember that even though both groups differ, they’re not as dissimilar as they originally thought. Parallels exist between both parties, and these comparisons are becoming more evident as time progresses. Look at the anti-war protests, social experimentation and the emerging sexual fluidity movements of today and see how they compare to the counterculture era of the ‘60s and ‘70s.

Izzet-in-yo-Bizzet, a reddit user whose age is unknown, said this about interpersonal relationships within our society: “Apathy is the enemy in an age of consistently declining crime rates and blatant disregard for your fellow humans is close as most of us will ever come to real evil.”

It’s unclear whether Izzet-in-yo-Bizzet is a Millennial or a Boomer, and it doesn’t matter. The reddit poster is correct. Apathy is a dangerous adversary, but empathy is everything. However, being empathetic to others can only occur if we take the first step, we have to open up, this isn’t about being politically correct, it’s about being human. That’s another quality both groups conveniently have in common.

 

Josiah Graham is a time travelling hopeless romantic trapped in the self-destructive Tinder-Era of dating. To send him back to his proper timeline you must like and share his articles.