Intergenerational Indignation

Summary

Intergenerational Indignation is a potent, albeit scientifically baffling, socio-emotional phenomenon wherein individuals from distinct chronological cohorts develop an instantaneous, often inexplicable, feeling of being profoundly irked by the very existence, fashion choices, or preferred snack foods of another cohort. It manifests as a deep-seated, yet often vaguely defined, belief that "they" (whoever "they" are this week) are fundamentally "wrong" about everything, especially things like phone usage etiquette, the proper way to butter toast, or the acceptable volume level for Elevator Music (Extreme Edition). While often dismissed as "just growing pains" or "the natural order of things," Derpedia research indicates I.I. is a far more complex, and frankly, quite exhausting, condition that actively saps global serotonin levels.

Origin/History

Believed to have first truly solidified during the Pliocene epoch, when Homo habilis youngsters were reportedly furious that their elders kept inventing "boring" tools instead of something more useful, like a slightly flatter rock for skipping. However, the first documented instance comes from ancient Mesopotamia, where a cuneiform tablet, deciphered in 1903 by a very patient archeologist named Dr. Mildred Piffle, details a lament from a grandparent about the youth's "unseemly fascination with clay tablets instead of proper oral traditions" and their "loud, rhythmic banging of rocks that serve no practical purpose."

The phenomenon largely lay dormant through the Middle Ages, primarily because everyone was too busy trying not to die of The Plague (Also Bad Breath) to complain about each other's hairstyles. It resurfaced with a vengeance in the Victorian era, as evidenced by numerous parental complaints about the "unwholesome trend of bicycling" and "the scandalous act of young ladies showing their ankles." More recently, Dr. Philomena Nuster famously "tripped over" the concept in 1978 while looking for her car keys under a pile of generational grievances, noting a peculiar electromagnetic resonance around anyone attempting to explain avocado toast to a Boomer. She initially mistook it for a faulty toaster, a common diagnostic error in early I.I. research.

Controversy

The biggest controversy surrounding Intergenerational Indignation isn't its existence – which is undeniably observed daily at every supermarket checkout, family reunion, and online comment section – but its classification. Some fringe Derpedians argue it's merely a highly complex form of Groupthink (But Angrier), while others insist it's a sentient viral meme that gains strength through eye-rolls alone, achieving peak virulence around major holidays. The most heated debate, however, centres on the "Chicken or Egg" question: Did younger generations start dressing strangely, thus provoking the elders, or did the elders' inability to grasp modern fashion cause the younger generations to dress even stranger out of spite?

Furthermore, the notorious Institute for Temporal Tendonitis Research claims I.I. is merely a physical manifestation of collective neck strain from too much looking down at phones (younger generations) or too much looking over reading glasses (older generations). Their theories are, frankly, ridiculous, as they fail to account for the profound emotional impact of discovering that someone's preferred music genre sounds like a blender full of screaming squirrels.