8 Facebook habits boomers can't break that make their grandkids cringe every time

My nephew's birthday party last month turned into an unexpected tech support session. While the kids were playing, my mom pulled me aside to ask why her Facebook posts weren't "working right." Turns out she'd been typing full messages in the search bar for weeks, wondering why nobody was responding.

If you've ever tried to explain social media etiquette to an older family member, you know the strange mix of affection and mild horror that comes with watching them navigate Facebook. They mean well, but there are certain habits they just can't seem to shake.

Here are eight Facebook behaviors that make younger generations physically cringe.

1) Commenting "LOL" on tragedy posts

This might be the most mortifying one.

Boomers will see a post about someone's dog passing away or a friend's job loss and drop a cheerful "LOL" in the comments. The grandkids see it and immediately start drafting apology texts on their behalf.

Here's the thing though: they're not actually laughing at your misfortune. They think "LOL" means "Lots of Love." It's an honest mistake from a generation that learned texting after their neural pathways were already set.

I've watched my own parents do this. My dad commented "LOL" on my friend's post about her grandmother's funeral. I had to call him immediately and explain that he'd essentially just laughed at a death announcement.

The confusion makes sense when you think about it. They grew up signing cards with "Love" and now they're trying to translate that warmth into digital shorthand. Unfortunately, the internet had other plans for those three letters.

2) Typing in all caps because they can't see the screen

WHY ARE WE YELLING?

We're not, apparently. Grandma just can't read the lowercase letters on her phone screen.

Every boomer has that moment where someone gently explains that all caps reads as shouting online. They nod, seem to understand, and then the very next post: "THANKS FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES EVERYONE!!!"

The behavioral science here is actually interesting. They learned to type on typewriters where emphasis meant hitting the keys harder or using all capitals. There was no bold, no italics, no font size changes. Just caps lock and your conviction.

Plus, let's be honest, phone screens are legitimately hard to read. They're not wrong about that part. They're just solving the visibility problem in a way that makes it look like they're perpetually angry about casserole recipes.

3) Signing their posts like formal letters

"Happy birthday Susan! Hope you have a wonderful day.
- Margaret"

We know it's you, Margaret. Your name is literally right there at the top of the post.

This habit comes from decades of letter writing where you actually did need to sign your name at the end. It was polite. It was proper. It showed you took the time to personalize your message.

But on Facebook, where your profile picture, name, and entire digital identity are attached to every word you type, the signature is redundant. It's like wearing a name tag to your own birthday party.

I've mentioned this before, but watching generational gaps play out online reveals so much about how we adapt to new communication styles. Or in this case, how we don't quite adapt.

The signature thing isn't harmful, just charmingly unnecessary. Like using two spaces after a period or writing "Re:" in email subject lines.

4) Asking Google questions in Facebook status updates

"What is the weather tomorrow?"
"How do I cook a pot roast?"
"Why is my printer not working?"

These aren't conversation starters. They're not rhetorical questions meant to engage friends. They genuinely think Facebook is a search engine.

The confusion is understandable. Both Facebook and Google have search bars. Both live on the internet. Both provide information. If you squint hard enough and don't think too much about how technology actually works, they seem interchangeable.

What really happens is that their patient millennial children see these posts and either answer them directly or gently suggest using Google instead. Which then leads to the follow-up question: "How do I get to Google?"

It's like watching someone try to order a pizza by shouting into their mailbox. Technically they're using a communication tool, just not the right one for the task.

5) Accepting every single friend request without question

"Who's this Dmitri from Moscow you're friends with, Mom?"
"Oh, he seemed nice!"

Boomers treat Facebook friend requests like party invitations. If someone knocks on the digital door, you let them in. It would be rude not to.

This is the same generation that taught us not to talk to strangers, yet they're out here befriending obvious scam accounts with two photos and names like "Sexy Jessica" or "Bitcoin Millionaire Dave."

The psychology behind this is actually kind of sweet. They grew up in a time when community meant knowing your neighbors, when strangers were just friends you hadn't met yet. They're applying those same social norms to a digital landscape that operates by completely different rules.

My own parents' friends lists read like international crime rings. I've had to explain multiple times that no, a US soldier stationed in Afghanistan does not need iTunes gift cards to come home early.

6) Sharing everything without reading past the headline

"This is terrible! Share if you agree!"

What's terrible? Did you read the article? Because it's actually satire from a humor website, and you just told your 347 friends that the government is replacing pigeons with surveillance drones.

Boomers share first and ask questions never. If a headline confirms what they already believe or sounds alarming enough to warrant action, the share button gets hit before the link even loads.

I spent years in music blogging and later transitioned to writing about behavioral science and decision-making. One thing I've learned is that confirmation bias doesn't discriminate by age. But boomers came to social media after the digital literacy ship had sailed, so they're more vulnerable to it.

They also tend to trust that if something is published online, someone must have fact-checked it. Which, bless them, is a sweet assumption that stopped being true around 2007.

7) Posting vague, concerning status updates with no context

"Well, that's it then."
"Some people just don't understand."
"Praying for strength today."

And then... nothing. No explanation. No follow-up. Just cryptic emotional breadcrumbs that send their entire friends list into panic mode.

This behavior actually has a name: vaguebooking. And while people of all ages do it, boomers have perfected the art of the alarming non-update.

What they're doing is translating the internal monologue they might have shared with a close friend over coffee into a public broadcast. They're not trying to be mysterious or attention-seeking. They're just processing emotions the way they always have, except now it's happening on a platform visible to 200 people.

The grandkids see these posts and immediately start texting: "Is Grandma okay? What happened? Should we call?"

Usually, the answer is that she's fine. Someone was just rude at the grocery store, or her favorite TV show got cancelled. Nothing actually catastrophic, but the post made it sound like she was writing her last will and testament.

8) Using way too many emojis in completely random places

"Going to the store 🎃 need milk 🦅 and bread 🌈💀🎺"

Why is there a skeleton playing trumpet next to your grocery list? What do any of these symbols have to do with dairy products?

Boomers discovered emojis the way toddlers discover stickers. Suddenly everything needs to be decorated, consequences be damned.

The randomness comes from genuinely not knowing what half these symbols mean. They just know that emojis make messages more fun and colorful, so they scroll through the options and pick whatever looks interesting. The eggplant might mean vegetable. The peach might mean fruit. Nobody told them about the alternate meanings, and honestly, let's keep it that way.

Living in Venice Beach, I see this generational gap play out constantly at coffee shops where boomers are trying to navigate their phones while younger people watch with bemused affection. It's not that different from how my grandmother used to try to program her VCR, or how my parents approached setting up WiFi for the first time.

Conclusion

Here's what I've learned from watching my family navigate Facebook: the cringe-worthy habits aren't actually about technology. They're about different generations trying to translate their social norms into a digital space that was built by and for people who grew up online.

My parents taught me not to talk to strangers, to write thank-you notes, to be kind and assume the best in people. Those are good lessons. They just don't translate perfectly to a platform where "LOL" means laughing, not love, and where strangers aren't always friendly neighbors in disguise.

The next time your boomer relatives post something that makes you cringe, remember they're doing their best in a world that moved online without asking their permission. Cut them some slack. Answer their questions. And maybe, gently, explain what that eggplant emoji really means.

Or don't. Some things are better left mysterious.