5 things boomers do on social media that instantly give away their age

Social media is supposed to be the great equalizer, right? Everyone gets the same tools: a profile, a newsfeed, and a share button.

But let’s be honest—how we use those tools says a lot about us. In fact, you can often guess someone’s age just by scrolling through their posts.

Boomers, in particular, tend to have a few habits online that give their generation away instantly. Some are kind of endearing, others… not so much.

Here are five of the biggest giveaways.

1. Sharing spammy or threatening posts

You know the ones: the giant block of text in ALL CAPS telling you to copy and paste or something terrible will happen.

“Facebook is going to start charging $5 a month unless you repost this.”
“Mark Zuckerberg is stealing your photos unless you write THIS legal disclaimer.”
“Only TRUE friends will copy this status.”

We’ve all seen them floating around, and nine times out of ten, it’s a boomer who hit “share.”

Younger generations grew up online and know these kinds of posts are just digital chain letters. They don’t fall for it. But boomers, raised in a time when official-looking messages carried authority, are more likely to believe and spread them.

It’s not malicious—it’s just a blind spot. Still, nothing screams “boomer” louder than flooding a feed with warnings about imaginary Facebook charges.

2. Writing essays in the comments

Scroll down to a boomer’s comment, and sometimes you’ll find… a novel.

It might be a long rant about politics, a detailed personal story that only vaguely relates to the post, or a multi-paragraph argument with a stranger.

Meanwhile, younger users tend to keep it short and punchy—memes, emojis, one-liners. Attention spans are shorter, and quick wit wins.

There’s nothing wrong with thoughtful discussion, but in a fast-moving online space, walls of text stand out. It’s the digital equivalent of holding up the checkout line to tell the cashier your life story.

3. Overusing outdated emojis and punctuation

If you’ve ever seen a Facebook comment that looks like this:

“Thanks for the add!!! 😊😊😊”

…you can probably guess the age group.

Boomers love their emojis, but often in ways that feel just a little off. Multiple smiley faces in a row. A winky face after a serious sentence. Random strings of hearts and roses.

Or the classic: ending every sentence with three exclamation marks.

Gen Z and millennials use emojis too, but more sparingly—or ironically. The wrong emoji in the wrong context can be a dead giveaway that someone’s not exactly fluent in modern digital communication.

4. Trying to keep up with Gen Z slang (and failing)

Language online changes fast. One day it’s “lit,” the next it’s “no cap,” then it’s “rizz.”

Boomers sometimes try to jump in, but it rarely goes well. They’ll drop slang in the wrong context, spell it wrong, or overuse it until it loses meaning.

It’s like watching your dad try to dance to TikTok trends. Sweet, but slightly painful.

What younger people understand instinctively is that slang works best within its own cultural moment. By the time most boomers discover a phrase, it’s already been abandoned by Gen Z.

There’s no shame in speaking in your own voice—it’s usually a lot more authentic than forcing yourself into someone else’s.

5. Oversharing personal details publicly

One of the biggest generational divides online is privacy.

Boomers grew up in a world where sharing personal updates meant talking face-to-face or sending a letter. So when they got social media, many treated it the same way: a place to post about every meal, every appointment, every grandchild’s soccer game.

The problem is that online oversharing doesn’t just feel old-fashioned—it can also be unsafe. Younger users, raised in the age of data breaches and internet scams, are more cautious about what they reveal.

Posting a photo of your boarding pass, a check-in at your exact location, or a full family update every week is an easy way to tell the world: “I’m not used to the idea of strangers watching.”

Final words

Social media is a strange mirror—it reflects not just who we are but the era we came from.

For boomers, their habits online often reveal the cultural gap between a world without the internet and one that’s lived entirely inside it.

And while it’s easy to poke fun at the quirks—spammy posts, long comments, awkward slang attempts—there’s also something kind of charming about it.

At the end of the day, we all have digital tells. For boomers, these just happen to be more obvious.