What Up, Kids? Dispatches from the Boomer Box

[Mobbd]

Over the last year of so, it's slowly dawned on me that - at the grand old age of 44 - I am now totally invisible to strangers and work colleagues under the age of about 30.

This had crept up and it's genuinely taking some getting used to. If I'm the only "senior" in the office the young uns will literally never say a word to me, converse entirely among themselves and go on lunch together etc. Obviously I can't approach them as I don't want to be the creepy uncle I'm now paranoid about being.

This is so sad. And mildly shitty.

To be honest, I have not found this to be a general problem with younger people. Maybe there is a slight social barrier (I am very aware of the creepy uncle problem too) but I have friends much younger than me and older too. I'm the oldest person on the course I mentioned and, to their credit, I don't feel excluded at all. I don't go to most things they invite me to but we do hang out after class and it doesn't feel creepy or weird.

Unrelated to the course, I stayed in a hostel for a music festival last year (Le Guess Who? in Utrecht). I shared a tiny dorm with a couple in their 20s. I felt a bit weird about it at first but they were so friendly and positive and we just talked about the music we'd been to, no sweat. We'd been to different things and the exchange of notes and opinions with the generational difference in mind was interesting. They asked me about Brexit! I discouraged them from backing similar movements in their country. When I mentioned being too old for some DJ they were off to, the girl one said "40 isn't old!" and she totally meant it albeit with a slightly pitying tone. Adorable.

Later, when I was sleeping at 5am, I heard them sneak into their bunks, all respectful and quiet as mice.

That guy who brought the two tiny gins over has only been able to vote since Cameron was PM. His entire political life has been dominated by Brexit. He doesn't really remember 9/11 (I'd was 19, he'd have been about 7 or something) those differences were interesting. I think it important to talk to older and younger people and it's sad to think the barrier might be so impermeable in some places.