5 Boomer Mistakes Hurting Your Social Media
How to dodge the cringe and authentically connect with Gen Z.
Ok Boomer is a column dishing out three quick takes on Gen Z, from Gen Z, about their impact on culture, food, hospitality, and more.
Social media is no longer just a ‘nice to have’—it’s at the core of modern marketing. Large brands are investing millions into their channels, like Unilever, who announced that social media would account for 50% of their marketing budget. Yet, for all the cash they’re pouring in, there's still the old idea floating around that social media should be run by 'the intern'—and honestly, that’s not entirely wrong. In fact, it’s often the intern (or the youngest people on your team) who has the right social media savvy to make content feel authentic and not like a stuffy ad.
But here’s where things get tricky for smaller businesses. If your social media is being run by the owner, manager, or a non-Gen Z-er, you might not have that same easy authenticity. Instead, you might fall into the trap of sounding out of touch or forced.
So, to our lovely Boomers, Gen X-ers, and even Millennials trying to crack the social code—this one’s for you. We’ve rounded up our top 5 dead giveaways that no one younger than 35 is running your social account.
1. The Millennial Pause
If you’ve spent any time on TikTok, you’ve probably noticed a phenomenon called the Millennial Pause—even if you didn’t know it had a name. Picture this: A video starts, and the speaker hesitates for a brief moment before saying anything. There’s a tiny beat of dead air before the action kicks in. That little delay? That’s the Millennial Pause.
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To avoid it, start talking immediately as the video begins—no waiting, no deep breath, just dive in. Or, trim the beginning of the video when you edit so you can cut out that dead space. With attention spans getting shorter, and endless content to scroll through, it’s crucial to hook viewers within the first 3 seconds. A strong start makes your content feel cleaner, more engaging, and way more watchable.
2. Stale Slang
Let’s talk about the fastest way to date yourself online, or anywhere for that matter: using slang like you just discovered Urban Dictionary. It’s no secret that many brands attempt to keep up with the latest trends from across social media. While it can be tempting to chase trends, Gen Z knows when you’re not in on the joke. If you can’t participate authentically, don’t force it. The brands that get it either speak the language fluently, or find a clever way to acknowledge they’re outsiders.
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Walmart tried to cash in on slang in their 2024 back-to-school ad. Truly a case of a brand literally not speaking the language. The ad felt inauthentic and forced, and not in a satirical way. Instead of going viral for the right reasons, Walmart’s ad became a meme for all the wrong ones. The comments say it all:
Instead of pretending to be fluent, Hever Castle in England let a Boomer tour guide deliver Gen Z slang with a knowing wink, and the internet loved it. The comments are pure serotonin:
“This is the only way I want my history lesson from now on.”
“He passed the vibes check.”
“Pop off, King!”
Hever Castle gets it. They’re not just using the slang—they’re in on the joke, and their audience is too.
The lesson? Don’t hop on a trend just because it’s popular. Be sure your brand can participate authentically and in a unique way. If your social team needs Urban Dictionary just to write a caption, it’s time to rethink your strategy.
3. Sharing ‘Boomer’ Reels
Horizontal reels
If you’ve ever seen a video on Instagram with massive black bars at the top and bottom, chances are someone uploaded horizontal footage onto the vertical-first platform. While it might seem like a small formatting issue, it actually says a lot more—mainly that the content wasn’t made with the platform (or the audience) in mind.
It’s not just about aesthetics—it’s about showing that you get it. It signals intention, effort, and a basic fluency in the language of modern content. In an era where attention is currency, that can be the difference between your content getting scrolled past or shared. So next time, respect the format—your reels should only include videos properly framed in a 9:16 ratio.
Strange effects
If you’re throwing a bunch of random effects, weird filters, aggressive transitions, and cringey GIF stickers on your Reels, it kinda gives “Facebook aunt trying to be cool” energy. It makes the whole thing look messy and like you don’t really get how Reels work.
Instead, keep it simple and clean. Use one or two on-brand filters (if you really need to), sync your clips to the beat, and let the content speak for itself. Smooth transitions or trending audio hits way harder than an over-the-top glitter explosion.
4. Adding QR Codes to a Post or Links in an IG Caption
If you’ve ever seen or posted an Instagram post or Reel with a QR code slapped on it like it’s an early pandemic restaurant menu, it’s time for a gentle intervention.
QR codes don’t work the way people think they do on social media. On platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook, you can’t just scan a QR code from a post—you’d need a second device to do that. And no, people aren’t grabbing a friend’s phone just to see where your link goes.
Same goes for writing “link in caption” on Instagram. Captions aren’t linkable. Unless someone’s really motivated to copy and paste a URL (which, let’s be honest, they’re not), your link is basically invisible.
How to do it right? Use your bio link, Linktree, Beacon—whatever you’ve got—and tell people to go there instead. Better yet, use built-in tools like Instagram’s link sticker in Stories or the clickable link feature in Reels (if available). These are native, frictionless, and actually work.
5. Obvious AI Slop
Take a scroll through your Facebook home feed if you haven’t in a while. A cursory scroll likely reveals a number of “AI slop” posts—aka content created with little to no human intervention, purely to generate engagement on social media. While less tech-savvy users might fall for this type of bait, many are tired of the continued intrusion of AI into every surface of the internet (like Fast Company, who reported on “Facebook’s AI slop hellscape” in March).
For restaurants specifically, there’s a delivery app boogie man to watch out for: blatantly AI generated food photos. For smaller restaurant owners looking to do more with less, replacing an expensive photoshoot with AI can sound tempting. In reality, consumers can tell when food doesn’t look quite right. AI-generated food images often fall into the “uncanny valley,” triggering a sense of unease or disgust because they are almost, but not quite, fully life-like.
Put simply, AI images look off-putting or unappetizing to customers, especially those wary of unfamiliar foods. That hasn’t stopped some restaurants from using them on apps like DoorDash. In fact, Zomato, a food delivery service operating in India and the UAE, chose to ban AI menu images in August of last year.
Other apps should take note of the influx of users on sites like Reddit sharing how misleading and unappealing they find AI generated photos of food.
AI is best when it helps you do more with what you already have, not when it tries to fake something that isn’t there. If you want to stand out, keep it human. Gen Z has perfection fatigue and wants to see the people behind the brand—their stories, their quirks, and their actual hands making the food (with the right number of fingers, please).