SG Gen Z asks, ‘Why are Boomers always grumpy and angry, wanting to pick a fight even when they benefit the most from S’pore’s prosperity?’

SINGAPORE: When a Singaporean youth dropped the hot potato of a question — “Why are Boomers always grumpy and angry, wanting to pick a fight even when they benefit the most from Singapore’s prosperity?” — the internet took its coke and popcorn out to watch the drama, and it didn’t disappoint.

“During property appreciation, they huat until like nobody business… When they were at the prime of their life, inflation was low… Yet most of them look so grumpy and angry, as if they always want to pick a fight… but the youths look carefree and happy when things look quite grim to them!”, the full post read, lighting a match under an already simmering generational tension.

One commenter attempted to shed light: “Boomers who are grumpy all the time are the ones who screwed up their lives and didn’t take advantage of what they were given… Now, they want to blame the government, other people, birds in the trees and basically anything under the sun except themselves. They think they deserve their CPF back. But if they got their CPF back, it’s almost guaranteed that it will be gone within a year.”

Others pointed out that not all boomers are angry — just the ones who “squandered everything and took everything for granted” and then couldn’t stomach seeing younger people smile through modern struggles.

Another said plainly: “They want the young to suffer like them. It makes them feel like what they went through was fair and justified.”

And perhaps the most brutal takedown came from someone who likened the economic environment of the past to an unbeatable cheat code: HDB flats at S$30,000, one-income households, no AI disruption, and no need to “upskill every few years”, addressing Gen X and boomers with, “Bro, you just happened to exist in the right place at the right time.”

His full comment read as follows:

Gen X (born 1960-1980) had it ridiculously easy in Singapore. Born after the war, they didn’t have to rebuild anything, but always demanded respect just cos they are “older” and probably because their parents raised them that way. But their parents actually went through real problems like war, poverty and rebuilding the country from scratch.

They also got proper education thanks to the government, entered the job market when it was booming, could afford HDB for like S$30K, support a whole family on one income, buy a car, no AI disruption or foreigner competition, no need to upskill every few years and don’t even have the attitude to learn new things. Notice how all the Boomer fossils who worked in the same office for 30 years don’t even know how to change the font size in Outlook?

Then everything they own suddenly becomes worth millions, from investments in property and stocks to whatever else. And now they walk around like they’re financial geniuses who “worked hard” and “planned well.” Bro, you just happened to exist in the right place at the right time.

And if they somehow still screw up their life, it’s never their fault. Always blame PAP, blame the system, blame unfilial children, everything except themselves. And then the younger generation is called “ENTITLED.”

But not all the comments were fire and fury. Some tried to empathise with the boomers: “When your body begins to falter, health gets worse, people become grumpier,” one wrote. “They realise their inability to effect change in themselves and the world around them.”

Others cited deeper frustrations like ageing, feeling irrelevant, or dealing with chronic pain. “You think they are grumpy, but they just have saggy faces,” one explained.

There was also recognition that not all boomers are the same. “I’ve known Boomers that understand the current situation of Gen Z,” said one commenter, pointing to educated older folks who acknowledge that today’s economy is brutal, inflation unforgiving, and housing nearly unaffordable.

Still, the most sad insight came from someone who had volunteered with the elderly: “The grumpy ones are those with no savings, below minimum CPF, so cannot withdraw… and some even got no property to their name at age 50–70.”

So it’s not all due to generational spite. It’s regret, pain, and the reality of growing old in a fast-moving Singapore that doesn’t slow down — even when your knees do.

Read related: 20 y/o Singaporean says older generations’ idea of job security — committing to a 9-6 full-time job — is outdated for Gen Zs like him in the age of AI