Older Adults Are Sharing Things They Actually Admire About Younger Generations These Days (2024)

Older generations always question the actions of younger generations and criticize "kids these days." It's a tale as old as time. But the truth is, there are plenty of things that older folks admire about today's youth. So redditor u/jarbid16 asked, "What is something you think Gen Z is doing right?" Here's what people said, including some responses from the BuzzFeed Community.

1. "Their generation doesn't seem to give a sh*t about who is gay and who isn't. That was certainly not the case for my generation when I was a teen."

HBO

—u/2cats2hats

2. "My kids are all in their early/mid-twenties, and I love how they easily form platonic friendships across genders. I, a male, had no female friends growing up, maybe due to the heavily conservative Midwest environment."

—u/heliumhat

3. "They clearly don't give a sh*t what people think about how they dress and present themselves. There's LOTS of confidence there."

4. "They are far more accepting of people. My kids have relatives in the Midwest and the South who are white gun-toting conservatives. And they have friends who are gay, Black, Brown, Asian — you name it. They view people as people and love all of them."

—u/heliumhat

5. "They treat people with disabilities with respect. My daughter, who is 23 with Down syndrome, has never been bullied ever at school or as an adult. Her peers treated her with respect and genuinely cared about her."

6. "They're so open about mental health and feelings, which I admire the hell out of. Their generation is willing to talk about it freely, rather than older generations who've pretty much kept mental illness (diagnosed or suspected, it doesn't matter) hidden away or never taken seriously. It's one of the few good things to come out of social media: There can be such support and understanding from complete strangers when someone shares their suffering."

—Anonymous

"I appreciate that they're more forthcoming about mental health. I'm only a millennial, but even when I was growing up, it was still a pretty taboo thing to talk about, and it discouraged many people from getting the help they needed."

—u/QueenMoogle

7. "How did they get so good at maintaining houseplants at such a young age? All my younger coworkers have had desks overflowing with lush plants. I couldn’t keep a houseplant alive until I turned 30."

8. "They're willing to leave jobs for better pay. When Gen X did it, it was branded as 'job hopping' and heavily frowned upon by companies. I'm happy that younger generations figured out that if you want to climb the ladder, you often have to jump over to a different one."

—u/blaspheminCapn

9. "I admire their general disinterest in alcohol. Its consumption is so woven into our social fabric that it becomes hard to face how damaging it is to our long-term health. Whether Gen Z seems to acknowledge this truly, or they are just contrarian for the sake of being different, I think it's a positive thing, and I hope it sticks."

10. "48-year-old Gen X'er here. I am so impressed that Gen Z and some Millennials have stopped putting up with family abuse and drama and cut people off. Generally speaking, of course, my generation and my parent's generation (Boomers) have put up with familial drama and toxicity for generations because 'They're family' and 'you only have one family.' WRONG. Every generation has flaws, but I sincerely applaud Gen Z'ers and Millennials for this."

—u/OlFlirtyBastard

11. "Gen Z's confidence and ability to wear anything is confusing, and I admire that."

12. "They are drawing boundaries in relationships and at work. Both are necessary."

—u/rebeccahubard

13. "They don't experience an awkward stage. It seems like they all skipped this part of life. It’s like all Gen Z'ers came out of elementary school knowing how to coordinate outfits and drink Starbucks."

14. "Gen X here — what I admire about Gen Z is their rejection of the corporate lie that hard work equals reward. I can't quite quit the habit of working above my wage (unpaid overtime) because of my ingrained belief that my worth is tied up in my profession. I rather like Gen Z's insistence on a decent work-life balance, despite the logistical nightmare of managing them."

—eithneb

15. "They are nicer than we were growing up. I remember watching a kid happily dancing around a playground in a Harry Potter robe and a wand, casting spells, and realized that if he'd been doing that in the places I grew up, he would have been beaten up. Everyone else would have agreed that the kid was asking for it. Jocks beating up on nerds was seen as the natural order of things. There was a tacit understanding that some people had the right to attack others physically. Kids are smarter, more empathetic, and less judgemental these days, and I love them for it."

16. "Thanks to the Internet, they've been exposed to a lot more of the world than I could ever have dreamed of when I was a kid; this has made them more tolerant and accepting of other cultures. I'm quite proud of how easily my kids will befriend people from different backgrounds without giving it a second thought."

—u/zerbey

17. "Their makeup routines. I'm 45, and my oldest daughter is 19. She can do makeup in such different ways. Concert makeup versus university makeup versus job makeup versus makeup she wears when she visits her grandparents...and it all looks amazing. She attributes it to all the makeup tutorials she watched growing up, and she's teaching her 12-year-old sister. I could sit all day, watch them interact, and paint makeup on one another's faces. I love it."

18. "As a boomer, I think their cancel culture and being 'woke' is healthy. It means you actually care about how other people are treated in society. If you have a problem with that, you're probably an aggressive jerk."

—edgycat84

19. "I think the younger generation's views on cheating are so refreshing. It is just considered unacceptable. If you want to be polyamorous or what have you, you talk about it with your partner. If you want to break up and see somebody else, break up first. There's just no excuse for cheating, and it is so nice to see and will undoubtedly save a lot of heartache in the future."

20. "I am a 'young' millennial (born in 1992), and I notice that most of my young Gen Z co-workers — those fresh out of college or university — are not afraid to call out a system that is not doing them justice and will look for other work without a second thought."

—Anonymous

21. "Millennials feel extreme guilt when turning down extra work even if they are swamped. Recently, a Gen Z coworker was given some extra tasks; she asked if they came with compensation, and when she said no, she said, 'No thanks' and walked away without any guilt. Gen Z is going to change the world. Nobody can create a toxic work environment like a boomer can."

Do you have something to add? What is something you admire, appreciate, or respect about "kids these days?" Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form.

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.