Known for being hard workers, ambitious and influential in driving social and political change, baby boomers have also gained a reputation among their younger peers for being know-it-alls, stuck in their ways and easily frustrated, with outsized reactions to smaller issues.

“Boomer panic” was a phrase coined in 2023 by TikTok user @myexistentialdread in a now-deleted video (though it’s still available via stitches).

In the original video, the TikToker recounted an interaction with an older customer who was annoyed about trying to buy an item that didn’t have a price tag, and the user questioned why boomers (people between the ages of 60 and 78) often appear to get loudly frustrated over minor inconveniences – such as figuring out how to use some form of technology, waiting in a long line or, in this case, a customer service snafu that’s fairly easy to resolve.

“Can someone please explain to me this phenomenon I’m gonna call ‘boomer panic,’ which is when you’re in an interaction with anyone who is a boomer, and immediately, any time something is going slightly frustrating or like south, they immediately resort to that screaming and screeching and panic?” the user asked.

In subsequent stitches and videos, other users (particularly people who work in customer service roles) shared similar anecdotes and theories about why these behaviours seem so prevalent.

Like many millennials, I can definitely relate to these sentiments. I have two boomer parents who tend to overreact to almost everything.

But is so-called boomer panic an actual phenomenon? We talked to some experts to better understand what is actually going on.

Is ‘boomer’ panic actually........

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