Online, Millennials are declaring open revolt against their aging Boomer parents. In actual households across America, they’re already doing the caregiving anyway—unpaid, exhausted, and often broke.
A three-year-old Reddit thread from r/BoomersBeingFools went viral again this month, with millions relating to a poster who wrote: “Not an issue, we refuse to take care of you. Old folks home it will be.” The post was originally written in response to a Vox article warning Millennials were unprepared for a coming elder-care crisis, and its resurgence this July coincided with the symbolic milestone of the first Boomers turning 80.
As the Wall Street Journal reported, citing demographer William Frey of the Brookings Institution, roughly 4 million Baby Boomers will hit that age this year, the first wave of a 76 million-strong generation. Commenters piled on with grievances about housing costs, student debt, and a dismantled social safety net, arguing their refusal to provide care is simply “a consequence” of decisions Boomers made.
It reads like generational war. But the data shows something quite different is actually happening in most American homes.
The sad reality: They’re already doing it
