“I Would Just Look Right Back into Their Eyes” — Boomer Lead Paint Stare Is Trending Online

If you've scrolled through enough TikTok or new social media content, then you've probably come across your fair share of content where folks malign "boomers" in a variety of ways, like the "lead paint stare." While there are some people who criticize these posts as being "ageist" in nature, there are others who seem to agree that yes, old people kind of, in general, suck and are difficult to deal with.

Some might argue that a lot of this hate comes from the entitlement of living in a time period that was more economically conducive to allowing folks to buy properties for more manageable prices. There's a recurring refrain for the lives that boomers led: aka they had the ability to support a family and pay off a mortgage with yearly vacations and cover all of their bills with a single job.

Compare that to these days and there are numerous Americans working multiple side hustles, perhaps even on top of a full-time job, just to cover soaring rent and food prices. In fact, purchasing a home is becoming a more and more distant dream for many Americans; it was easier to buy a house during the great depression than it is for folks today.

But for a lot of people, their issues with boomers have less to do with their financial statuses and more to do with the specific ways they behave in social situations, like the aforementioned "lead paint stare."

Numerous social media posts have pointed out this behavioral trait folks have associated with boomers — i.e., this penchant for rudely staring at someone, seemingly without any shame.

The name appears to come from the fact that during a certain period in American history, the use of lead-based paints were allowed in residential homes. In 1978, this usage was discontinued, meaning that the generation of "baby boomers" (aka people born between 1946–1964) maybe have very well, indeed, grown up during the time.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, lead paint can lead to a host of health problems for those affected by the substance. The agency penned in a piece about the dangers of lead exposure: "Lead is a highly toxic metal that may cause a range of health problems, especially in young children. When lead is absorbed into the body, it can cause damage to the brain and other vital organs, like the kidneys, nerves, and blood."

It continued, "Lead may also cause behavioral problems, learning disabilities, seizures, and in extreme cases, death. Some symptoms of lead poisoning may include headaches, stomachaches, nausea, tiredness, and irritability. Children who are lead poisoned may show no symptoms."

So the "lead paint stare" can refer to long-form behavioral problems according to numerous critics of boomers; this rude glare, for instance, is directly attributed to exposure to lead-based paints.

However, there are some TikTokers, like Josh Cottle who says that the "lead paint stare" isn't a boomer problem but just indicative of cognitive decline in general.

Cottle went on to say that "Generation X" was exposed to the highest levels of lead, moreso than any other generation. However, this particular stare has been attributed with baby boomers nonetheless and there are numerous people who've posted several TikToks about various interactions where they've interacted with folks who've hit them with the "lead paint stare."

Like this TikTok user who talks about working a service job and clocking the reaction a boomer had to seeing that a machine is prompting them to remove their card after leaving it inserted in the machine for too long.

And then of course there's this famous example of Mitch McConnell's "lead paint stare" during a press conference where he clearly seems to be suffering from some type of cognitive decline or hit with a bout of it right after being posed a question.

Have you ever encountered the "lead paint stare" with someone? Do you think it's a recurring trend among a certain demographic of customers? Or are people just making fun of boomers because it's the cool thing to do?