Baby Boomers Are Getting Old. Hear How They Saw Their Youth

This is a clip taken from my 1990 television series, Making Sense of the Sixties where my team and I interviewed hundreds of baby boomers and asked them to tell what happened to them and what they remember from growing up in the 1950s and 1960s. So the comments made in this clip were recorded in 1989 or 1990.

Some of my younger subscribers see the baby boomers as selfish. Indeed in some ways I think they were. I have recently been talking with my baby boomer colleagues, friends and family and as these baby boomers continue to age, there are a variety of concerns that have become more concerning to them. Some are sexual in nature. Those seem to be more male concerns and female concerns. Here are some of their other concerns:

Healthcare and medical expenses: Baby boomers are more likely to develop chronic conditions and require more medical attention. They are concerned about access to quality healthcare, managing medical expenses and finding adequate insurance coverage.

Financial security and retirement: Baby boomers are now retired or nearing retirement age. They are concerned about having enough savings, income, and investments to maintain their desired standard of living throughout their retirement years.

Long-term care and living arrangements: Baby boomers are considering the possibility of needing long-term care such as assisted living or nursing home facilities due to age-related health issues. Some are looking into downsizing their homes or exploring alternative living arrangements such as RV traveling, age-restricted communities or co-housing.

Social Security and Medicare: The sustainability and future of these programs is a major concern for baby boomers as they rely on them for financial support and healthcare coverage during retirement.

Isolation and loneliness: As baby boomers age they may lose spouses, friends or family members, increasing the risk of social isolation and loneliness.

Staying active and healthy: Baby boomers are focused on staying physically and mentally active to maintain their independence (critical to them) and overall health. They try to engage in regular exercise, take up hobbies and focus on preventive health measures such as a balanced diet.

Estate planning and legacy: Some boomers although not all are concerned about estate planning, ensuring their assets are distributed according to their wishes and creating a lasting legacy for their children and grandchildren.

You can find many clips from my series by searching the words "making sense of" on my YouTube channel. The 6 hour series was controversial when it ran on PBS back in 1991. Some felt that it wasn't "political enough". Others felt that it was just perfect because it looked at the social movements and behaviors of that time, at the way people lived and how they felt, not about the politics of the 1950s and 1960s. I felt that the political issues were historically important but in my view, not the most important part for younger generations, the children and grandchildren of baby boomers, to understand the lives of boomers and how and why they did what they did.

I did not realize until I began to post clips from the series just how hostile some were to baby boomers – blaming the current behavioral and economic ills in America on the boomers, their sense of entitlement and their lack of concern for the generations that would come after them.

The series and this clip was not designed to defend boomers behavior but merely to present how those who lived it saw it when they looked back on it in 1990. I do hope that it gives Genx and Millenials a more three-dimensional understanding of this time in America. If you search to see more clips, you will find clips on many subjects. Hippies. Rebellions. Anti and pro Vietnam war feelings. 1950s high school. 1950s family Life. Rules for dress. Rules for behavior. Marijuana and the early drug culture. Dropouts. Runaways and more.

If you found this clip of interest/value/entertaining I ask you to click the Super Thanks button below the video screen to the right. Your support allows me to continue to post video clips on YouTube for your viewing pleasure.
Thank you
David Hoffman filmmaker

[chepulis]

Lovely video. Put the Patreon link in video descriptions and channel links, you're losing money otherwise.

[Dan_Ben_Michael]

Every generation goes from “old people don’t understand” to “ kids in my day didn’t....”.

[MrFleem]

"They greet Dad AS IF they are genuinely glad to see him"

Oh, there's a whole can of worms there.

[spamviking]

My dad (born 1955), counter culture biker (as a teen he built a motorbike in secret in his bedroom over several months then rode it out through the house), used to sing anti-Vietnam songs when army recruitment ads came on TV, and was the only person I've ever known to unironically call someone a "square".

[nqrtzy]

“Kids in my day didn’t disrespect their parents, ” says the people that disrespected their parents in the 60s.

[anthonyknight]

”These boys greet their dad as though they are genuinely glad to see him.”

This sound sooo sarcastic yet completely serious.

[Brendicoot]

“Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.” - George Orwell

[xDkaratekat]

"As though they are genuinely glad to see key words: AS THOUGH

[smokeybobandis]

David is the only boomer that isn’t even a boomer cuz he’s so boomtastic

[sweetpeaify]

The boomer we don’t deserve but the boomer we need

[daijav]

“We weren’t treated as if we were people”.... proof that hurt people, hurt people.

[mrs.mendoza]

This made me understand my mother so much. Her idea of normal was me not doing anything but school, church and sleep. She would lose her mind when I started dressing the way I liked and or even expressed myself a little bit too much. I finally moved out and that was the best thing I could do for my mental health. Living like that made me so so depressed.

[southerndandy]

It’s interesting that a lot of people from this generation rebelled against “Authority” in their youth but became authoritarians later in life.

[hexx]

They've become the very thing they swore to destroy

[amazingman]

Tries to rebel against authority.

Actually grows up to become the authority

[jackiedickie]

I am relating to this in a big way. Born in '49, I tried so hard to follow those unwritten rules. Another point that David did not mention was that many of us Boomers were 'raised' by Dr. Spock. His baby and child care books were everywhere. Parents were urged to put the baby on a strict schedule from the very start. Let them cry it out, don't go in to then if they cry and so on. As a result, I never bonded with my mother and we never had a good relationship. I rebelled bit only inwardly; when I was at home I was angry always. I sassed my parents, argued and defied them, all big no-no's at the time. It didn't help that I had undiagnosed ADHD. I finally got a diagnosis at age 70 after living a very difficult life thinking there was something wrong with me, everything was my fault, I couldn't do anything right, etc. This video makes things so much clearer. Thank you.

[eigenmishi_in_d]

"Emotions are a contagious disease"
damn.

[redtails]

I still can't afford to buy a house, though

[andrewmandrona]

I'm beginning to feel like the Fallout series isn't even satire.

[jeepersmcgee]

This helps me understand how so many adults seem to have stopped developing emotionally in middle school. That's literally what happened