By Melissa A. Frost
I see myself as a bit of a social observer. I listen and watch: reading through reams of threads on Social Media, establishing the pulse of the populace.
In the last couple of years I have noticed an alarmingly increasing trend of alienated baby boomer single mothers. It’s subtle. Lying between comments of those Facebookers who exagerrate family get-togethers and family holidays. You know the ones. Those Facebookers who blast us incessantly with their perfect lives and their perfect jobs and their perfect children on our feeds.
These comments rarely get a Facebook like these days. We are all so well-educated about the narcissist and the sociopath. We all know the signs. Facebook is very good at reminding us about our flawed psyche. In fact, we check ourselves sometimes. On those feeds! By exploiting those quick “Check your sociopath traits quiz”. Phew. Not I. Silly quizzes.
Nevertheless, our psyche and the way we interact with each other is important for our evolution … our trajectory. And in that evolution I have been witnessing a growing trend: the alienation of the baby boomer parent from their millenial adult children. Its a growing phenomenon.
I have been listening to stories from strong independant educated baby boomer single mothers who are been alienated by disenfranchised disgruntled millenial children. I listen to these stories in cafes, at work, read them on the internet, get glimpses of these stories between comments on threads of happy families, happy lives and happy loving children. These baby boomer single mothers are grieving. Perplexed by angry dismissive millenial adult children lashing out at their mothers of disappointment with their own lives. Ugly confrontations, screaming matches, involving everyone and anyone. Millenial adult children not needing their mothers physically but seemingly needing to thrash her emotionally. Why? I ask myself; Why? I dont have an answer. I only have observations.
Many baby boomers have done well. They grew up in a period of prosperity. But we know that baby boomer single mothers have not been advantaged by this prosperity. In fact, the ABS statistics suggest that 50-70 yrs old single woman are closer to the poverty line than we realise. These statistics are due to divorce, lack of superannuation funds, lack of secure housing, lack of job security, ageism and mortification. Maybe the key is self-sacrifice.
Women of this group are the great self-sacrificers. The resilient coping self-sacrificers. Forfeiting life’s comforts in silence to benefit their children.
So why do these millenial adult children lash out at this group? I dont have an answer but one thing I do know is that it is on the rise and growing exponentially. Parental alienation syndrome is alive and well in Australia. And baby boomer single mothers seem to be coping the flack, silently. Quietly between the threads.
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