Generational gaps can be difficult to deal with. Because of this, parents and children can have trouble relating to and understanding each other. This is especially true for Boomers and Millennials.
One woman on TikTok emphasized these differences even more. She claimed that Millennials who have Boomer parents essentially act as “service dogs.”
A TikTok user is comparing Millennials with Boomer Parents to ‘service dogs.'
The woman, Tina, who goes by the username @crawdaddytina on the app, had some serious opinions about the relationship between Millennials and their Boomer parents. In a video that now has over 28,000 likes, Tina shared some bold thoughts with Millennials.
“This one’s for all the young Millennials,” she said at the beginning of the video. “If you have a parent that is a Boomer, I am sorry to say that you are actually functionally a ‘service dog’ for your parents.”
While Tina’s claim may initially sound strange, she offered some evidence to back it up. Continuing to address Millennials, she said, “You were sent to therapy so you could then go back to your parents, teach them about why they’re actually sad and not angry, [and] show them how to communicate so they can therefore atone before they pass on [from] this earth.”
All of this, according to Tina, served one purpose: “So you can carry forth the trauma they instilled in you to their grandchildren.”
Most of the TikTok users who commented on the video were in agreement with Tina. “I’m a pet that ran away the second they left the door open,” wrote one. “We’re no contact Millennials,” said another. A third commenter stated she had found a way to make the best of the situation: “I did the Millennial hack and didn’t have grandchildren. Cycle broken baby!”
Is there any truth to the ‘service dogs' theory?
Generational trauma is very real. Health defines it as “a cycle of trauma that passes through families.” Furthermore, Health states that generational trauma “begins when a group experiences a traumatic event that causes economic, cultural, and familial distress. In response, people belonging to that group develop physical or psychological symptoms.”
Generational trauma begins in one generation and is passed down to the next, or possibly the next several.
The idea behind the “service dogs” theory is that generational trauma is passed from Boomer parents to their Millennial children. However, Millennials attempt to break the cycle by going to therapy and working through this trauma that has been passed down.
They then use the skills learned in therapy to help their parents better understand their own trauma and give them the chance to turn things around. Then, inevitably, some of this trauma is still passed on to the next generation.
While there is no scientific evidence to back up Tina’s “service dogs” concept, generational trauma is real and has become a topic of discussion as Millennials, Gen Zers, and Gen Xers work to differentiate themselves from older generations such as Boomers.
Photo: Eva-Katalin from Getty Images Signature / Canva Pro
The differences between Boomers and Millennials have turned into a bit of a joke, but no one can deny the fact that trauma can be passed from generation to generation.
Millennials who are trying to break this cycle may in some ways feel like “service dogs,” there to support their parents along a journey of healing, all while desperately trying to keep their own children safe as well.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.
