(READ: Boomer Leftists Are Raging Against the Dying of the Light in the Saddest Way)

This prompted a massive response in the comments (yes, I read the comments), which I really enjoyed going through, and naturally, much of it turned to generational differences. Of course, some of this turned into discussing generational prejudices. 

I'm going to be the first to admit that I had my own, namely against Boomers. Millennials like myself are told often that they're highly disliked by Boomers, and then told the myriad of reasons we should dislike Boomers back. Both of our generations are loaded with buzzwords to throw at one another. 

Boomers call Millennials lazy and entitled, ungrateful, overly sensitive, and too engrossed in tech to live in the real world. 

On the other hand, Millennials call Boomers greedy and selfish, culturally out of touch, blind to economic realities of the present, and more sensitive and prone to emotional outbursts than they give themselves credit for. 

I fell into that trap for a while, but then I started noticing patterns that looked an awful lot like societal prejudices in other areas of life. A sneaking suspicion started to crawl into my conscience, and it did so as I started covering more news about Gen Z, funny enough. 

I started realizing that the stereotypes aren't actually accurate and don't represent a good solid chunk of the generations they're ascribed to. Many of the Boomers I talk to aren't selfish, out of touch, or prone to emotional responses. I know the stereotypes about Millennials are largely untrue as being one of them, and being around many in my generation, prove all that largely false. 

In truth, Millennials are very hard workers and are documented to work longer, harder hours than any other generation as a collective. We're very creative in our entrepreneurship, and are far more logical in our thinking, which is probably something that rubbed off on us from our older siblings, Gen X. 

Does this mean Boomers are lazier? No. Most Boomers I know are very hard workers, and savvy at their jobs at that — if they aren't yet retired. I have little doubt that if Boomers entered the workforce with the same technological advancements Millennials arrived on the scene to, they also would have those extra hours on the clock. Moreover, Boomers have a lot of practical knowledge that I believe younger generations sorely lack, and while some of what they know is definitely phased out thanks to technological changes, you'll still find grandpa and grandma's wisdom valuable when it's needed.

Gen X is an equally impressive generation and when you speak to many of them, their minds reveal an intelligent, real, and often skeptical group of individuals. These were the latchkey kids who learned self-sufficiency from an early age. They're the prime examples of how to work just as smart as you do hard, and growing up, it was often the Gen X relatives and friends that were the most real with me, but also the most helpful in helping me navigate my formative years. I think a lot of Millennials can say that, as we grew up in a Gen X culture, and it shows in many ways. 

Then there's Gen Z, a group that I'm not sure deserves the heat it often gets. To be sure, many are still ignorant to the ways of reality, and it often hits them hard, but I can't fault young people for not having wiser heads on young shoulders. What I do find impressive about Gen Z is their ability to learn from the mistakes of older generations. They were born into a world where the entirety of human knowledge was at their fingertips — the first generation who can say that — and they used it with gusto. At first, this didn't work in their favor at all, but with recent turns in freedom of speech and information opening up to them that was more or less hidden, they've started to turn more toward common sense and values that work, especially Gen Z males. 

(READ: Gen Z Is Splitting Apart at the Ideological Seams)

Do you see the pattern emerging here? 

We're not actually that different. We work, adapt, and take advantage of the opportunities given to us by the environment we live in. While that's not to say that the actions of previous generations aren't impacting those that come after, and sometimes negatively, it'd be wrong to say that this was all done for malicious reasons. 

But boy, do headlines that point fingers when things go south get the clicks. 

"Millennials killed department stores and mom-and-pop shops!" 

"Boomers ruined the housing market!" 

"Gen Z is spitting on American traditions, pushing social justice, and ruining our country!"

"Gen X is... there!" 

The internet amplified these headlines and increased the gulf between these age groups. Nuance went to the wayside as hate-bait engagement clicks became profitable. Generational beefs became content, and not grounds for serious dialogue. It was easy to sell, too. Millennials entered into the job market around the 2008 market crash, and Boomers became the villains that did the crashing. Boomers told Millennials (and Gen X to an extent) that we're just lazy and not self-sacrificial enough to make it. 

But there's more nuance here than is being relayed. Boomers did come in to a much easier housing market with high interest rates, then watched as housing values skyrocketed, making them a lot of money. They voted in policies that helped that along as much as possible, but isn't often talked about is the fact that they were one of the last generations that also had a true pension system, relying quite a lot on market-dependant 401(k)s. This set the stage for the collapse that Millennials and many gen-x would have to deal with, but it also sheds light on why they voted that way. 

In truth, lobbyists, central banks, corporate offshoring, and predatory lending habits are the real villains of this story, and while you may say "Boomers voted for that," every younger generation shares guilt in voting for the same broken systems. Boomers didn't deliberately wreck the economy, any more than other generations with their decisions. 

Moreover, Millennials weren't lazy when it was our turn to enter the workforce like we're accused of. We're the generation that entered upon the internet becoming a fierce market tool, a market crash, and a changing cultural landscape that other generations didn't have to experience at that age due to its unique nature. We weren't unwilling to step up, we were just tasked with finding stability during an earthquake. We were struggling to play a rigged game. 

I think the issue between our generations is that it's hard for us to understand each other's perspectives that are based on the circumstances we find ourselves in. The world Millennials entered into as adults didn't look like the one Boomers entered into. Gen Z and Millennials often differ because most Millennials remember a time when the internet wasn't around, while Gen Z doesn't know any other world at all. Gen X and Millennials are more closely related in circumstances, but they've been around longer and are navigating the world with a bit more experience. 

Every generation arrives to a different battlefield, and I think acknowledging that will help us understand, not just each other, but the times we're in. Shutting each other out based on a useless blame game gets us nowhere, and only serves to encourage tribal, and ultimately selfish behavior. Age isn't the defining characteristic of a person any more than race and sex are — it's values. 

And I find myself relating too much to other generations on those grounds than any other.