Generation Z can’t write cursive. Generation X drank from the hose. Millennials are sad, and baby boomers ruined the housing market. There are only so many ways the same jokes can be regurgitated — and yet, some comedians continue to try.

I’ve recently been inundated with these lukewarm, tired jokes as they invaded my For You page. For a couple of weeks, I could not escape an ad for “Iliza Shlesinger: A Different Animal,” which came out on Prime Video last month. In the clip, Shlesinger tells Gen Z to “be kind” to millennials. She also gives a shoutout to Birkenstocks and Myspace just to set the scene. 

Calling out generation-specific items is the comedian’s equivalent of a touring musician saying, “I’m so happy to be here in Los Angeles” to the crowd at The Greek Theatre. Of course, the crowd erupts in cheers; it’s basically a personal shoutout! The performer gets the applause, but is it truly deserved? 

To be clear, Schlesinger is not the only comedian guilty of this; she was just the one pushed onto my feed. Every generation is liable.

Christina P., a member of Generation X, goes for a classic generation-based gag in her Netflix special “Christina P.:Mom Genes” (2022) about how food allergies didn’t exist when she was growing up — a joke that’s been said by seemingly every 50-year-old for the past decade. 

In general, the generations just praise themselves while mocking others. Gen X says they were raised “tough,” while Gen Z is full of wimps. Gen Z will say, “Our generation is so unserious” or “They’re gonna skip our generation in history books” just because someone made a goofy TikTok. 

Building a connection with the audience through shared experience is a great comedic tactic. It’s why observational comedy is so popular; it gives people the joy of recognition. Talking about the TV shows or trends a certain age demographic grew up with is, of course, going to resonate with those audience members, which is not necessarily negative. 

Relatability is not the enemy. Unoriginality is. 

The years we grow up in obviously inform our lived experience; it’s natural to pull comedy from one’s own upbringing. It’s just important to have something to add rather than “Remember VCR?” Otherwise, those so-called stand-up specials are as good as someone lip-syncing on TikTok. 

It feels like everyone stands up on a stage and grumbles about “kids these days.” It’s not just stand-up comedy, but thanks to social media, the same jokes get peppered throughout TikTok and Reels. Boomers don’t know how to change the TV input or Gen Z can’t use a paper map. The low-effort punchlines get easy likes of agreement, so there is no need for these creators to make something interesting.

The wheel does not have to be reinvented every time someone wants to make a joke about the ’90s, but it feels like we are on autopilot right now. 

Good comedians don’t rely on the audience’s nostalgia or superiority complex for laughs, but instead as a set-up for more complex storylines or ideas.

A great example is in the show “Abbott Elementary.” It’s filled with generational talent, yet it rarely feels lazy. Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) and Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) are the veteran teachers who bring wisdom and skepticism to the school, while Janine (Quinta Brunson) is the overeager millennial. The show mines its characters’ generational differences for content but rarely uses clichés as a crutch.

Yes, Barbara struggles with the school’s new technology and is too proud to admit it, a classically boomer trope. Even though her getting locked out of the tablet for too many failed logins places her at the center of the joke, Barbara is still presented as one of the show’s best teachers. She can be too headstrong sometimes, thinking her way is the best, but she is reasonable and is eventually willing to admit when Janine, a representative of younger generations, makes a good change. 

Scenes with Gen Alpha students are often where “Abbott” falls into the tired trap, as when students don’t know Run-DMC or Gregory (Tyler James Williams) is shocked when the students born in 2018 think Rihanna’s “Umbrella” is an “oldie.”  

Still, “Abbott” manages to dodge laziness because those moments are never the core of its humor. They help build the world but are not necessarily the punchlines themselves. “Abbott” works because it has compassion for all its characters. Each character has challenges and room for growth, making for a far more interesting show than “My generation is right, and yours is wrong.”

Generation-based comedy isn’t inherently bad, but the overreliance on tired stereotypes is being used as a substitute for humor. It’s easy to appeal to people’s nostalgia; it’s safe. By relying on easy, surface-level observations, comedians miss opportunities to explore the complexities that come with our upbringings.

It’s time to leave the crutch of easy generational gags behind, stop talking about landlines and grow up.

​​Kimberly Aguirre is a senior writing about comedy. Her column, “Comic Relief,” runs every other Monday.