Young Fogeys
When I first heard the term “Young fogey”
I wasn’t sure that I quite understood it.
It seems like an oxymoron, but that’s the point. It is a term used to describe millenials whose hobbies and interests are seemingly older than their years. It
is an oxymoron of a person – a youth acting old.
I’m sure this could apply to many individuals from many generations, but
the existence of the term suggests there is quite a sizeable portion of our
generation who could be described as this.
My first reaction on having the term
explained to me was one of sheer disgust.
“How can you put a blanket term on to what I do and who I am? Surely I can’t be defined as a young fogey as I am cool and hip and unique and… a snowflake…?”
You’re right. We’re all the same. Well, not exactly. As I thought more and more about the term, I
came to realize that it’s a good thing.
It is a term of endearment for like-minded individuals. As millenials we have grown up with corporate
culture being shoved down our throats in the form of fast-food franchises,
athletics brands trying to come up with the next coolest thing, and tech
companies trying to be the next biggest thing at the expense of our
patronization, and just generally business trying to capture, influence, and
own our identities.
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar-"The Hollow Men" by T.S. Eliot (Who is rolling in his grave over my use of these lines)
Young fogies are tired of that. We want to eschew the traditional corporate
grasp over our lives and try to harken back to something a bit more traditional
(albeit with our phones nearby, perhaps on silent). That’s why I, like many others from my
generation, have taken up homebrewing, baking, cooking, gardening and
woodworking. Being a fogey isn’t a bad
thing. It’s not an idle title intended
to pigeonhole a sub-sect of a generation.
It’s a title to be owned. It’s a
group of like-minded individuals who have been sculpted by a set of
socio-economic circumstances that have left us feeling hollow and devoid of
meaning. We’re taking back control of
our lives. We’re injecting a little
sense of purpose. In the things we make
and the hobbies we make up we are not only creating things and creating
meaning, but creating a sense of community – even if that’s only conveyed by
our instagram best selves…
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