The number of older Americans living alone is on the rise. Nearly 16 million people aged 65 and older in the US lived solo in 2022, three times as many who lived alone in that age group in the 1960s. And as Baby Boomers age, that number is expected to grow even more, raising big questions about the country’s future.

  • TheDarkKnight@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Lemme whip out my tiniest violin to express my sympathies for the generation that completely fucked over our entire species with their selfish choices.

    • deweydecibel@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Sympathy for what? This is about women being able to divorce their husbands now and support themselves, so it’s happening later in life for a generation that got married early and didn’t really have this option to separate cleanly.

      If anything this is a good thing. It means women aren’t* trapped in marriages with shitty men forever. I don’t care what you think about any specific generation, that’s a good trend for everyone.

      Edit: typo

      • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Didn’t have this option? If you are in your 50s you were born in the 70s and you were married in the 90s. Did everyone forget time was a thing?

        • TheDoozer@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          If you’re in your 50s you’re Gen X, not Baby Boomer. Millennials are 30s and early 40s now.

          • TheWoozy@lemmy.fmhy.net
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            1 year ago

            The youngest boomers are 59. But the whole concept of generation labeling is arbitrary and stupid.

        • Misconduct@startrek.website
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          1 year ago

          The stigma on divorce is significantly reduced now from what it was even like 20-30 years ago. It’s also easier for women to support themselves in general on top of being more normalized.

          Also, boomers are more like 59-77 now. Did YOU forget time was a thing?

          • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            The stigma on divorce is significantly reduced now from what it was even like 20-30 years ago.

            Citation needed.

            Also, boomers are more like 59-77 now. Did YOU forget time was a thing?

            Talking about 50+ crowd. Get it together.

            Sorry your argument is bad.

    • Hank@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Man I’m on my magical journey to become the most cynical person who ever lived myself but c’mon. There are better reasons to hate someone than their age like for example their weight, fashion choice, how they sound or how much they’re into mechanical keyboards.

      • CeruleanRuin@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        It’s fun to trash the whole post-war generation, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that they were just as victimized by class warfare as we are. They benefited from the economic boom and were then lulled by their own masters into believing it was sustainable and things would be just as good for their own kids and grandkids. They were lied to too.

        Never forget that the real enemy isn’t any one group except for the oligarchs and leeches at the top of the economic ladder. We shouldn’t focus our ire on those people in between us and the top. They’re not the ones controlling the taps on the river of shit flowing down.

      • Burn_The_Right@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Those goddamned keyboards. All I hear in this house is the constant clacking and tapping drowning out every goddamned thought I ever hoped to have. I can’t get through a single episode of Bonanza without the incessant claxon of feckless tip-tappery. Fuck those goddamned things!

        Maybe I should get a different keyboard.

      • Kikkertje@aussie.zone
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        1 year ago

        I’m getting so tired of the boomer bashing. It’s lazy and just helps to divide us even more. Isn’t that what the people with power want?

    • Tylerdurdon@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      You ever notice how easy it is to take a brush and cover an entire population segment with a certain view? Ever consider how racism and stereotypes become prevalent?

      I’m not a part of that generation, but if you think it was any different than today, you’re wrong. Power was weilded by rich corporations and government officials who were doing their bidding. It just wasn’t as blatant.

      Besides writing a snarky post, what will you tell the future generation you did to stop the current situation? Exactly…

      • TheDarkKnight@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Pray tell, what can be done now? That ship sailed, we never had a chance…that luxury was only granted to those who came before.

        All we can do is live with their choice, and make sure to take every opportunity to shame them for it.

        I will NOT accept apologists like yourself, painting a grand excuse to hand-wave their complicity.

    • anolemmi@lemmi.social
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      1 year ago

      You can’t paint such huge populations with a single paint brush, and even saying “generally” doesn’t cover your complete lack of empathy. Many or even most of those 16 million made choices that they thought were right at the time and tried to live good lives. You think these are the people that emptied pensions and raised prices and drilled the oil despite scientific warnings?

      Sure, statically some of them did. But most of them did not. Most of them worked hard, harder than our generation, and provided for their families.

      Having that much hostility for an entire population is no way to live your life.

      • CeruleanRuin@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        It’s also a distraction from the real real villains who hollowed out the middle class and funneled every drop of wealth into their own pockets. They’re laughing from their superyachts whenever the middle classes bicker.