Bad Phone Hygiene Habits Boomers Have That Younger Generations Can't Stand

Younger generations aren't the only ones that have questionable phone habits. Boomers are giving them a run for their money by exhibiting phone hygiene flops that Gen Z, millennials, and Gen X can't stand.

First up: Boomer screen time has hit serious highs, per Newsweek. In 2025, the media outlet cited a then-recent survey that showed that about half of all boomers admitted to being on their phones more than three hours each day. Explained generational guru Bryan Driscoll, "Boomers spend hours glued to their phones, but it's not connection — it's isolation." Likewise, mental health professional Ruth Hernandez told Newsweek that the phenomenon shows how widespread digital addiction is, including across generation gaps.

Why would young people care if boomers are attached to their screens? It's a question best answered on Reddit. There, commenters frequently complain because their parents neglect their grandkids in favor of using their own phones. It's also no secret that too much screen time due to excessive cell phone use can hurt your health – a good excuse to experience the surprising side effects of a digital detox.

As if that weren't bad enough, psychiatrist Dr. Sue Varma told CBS Mornings that screen addiction could lead to "digital dementia." Warned Dr. Varma, "It very much mimics a real dementia where you walk into a room and you're like 'why am I here, what did I come for, where are my keys?'"

The second phone hygiene complaint about boomers involves the quirky way they text. Instead of using their thumbs, they text with one finger. Admittedly, this is less of a hygiene problem and more of a potential medical one. According to St. Vincent's Medical Center, any kind of texting can lead to a more serious problem like carpal tunnel syndrome. Since people ages 50 and older are more likely than other individuals to have hand-related conditions like joint pain and arthritis, they may find all their texting to be hard on their fingers.

Etiquette expert Jo Hayes shared another bad phone habit (not really hygiene-related, but still worth noting) that's all-too-frequent among boomers. In a HuffPost interview, she noted that they tend to forget to lock their screen, which is a known security risk. "I can't count the number of pocket-dials I've had from my Boomer dad. Almost every time I'm with him, I have to remind him to just click the side button," she explained.