Am I the only one who feels that the desire to label everything is exhausting and stupid?

Agree. It is mainly a marketing tool and not necessarily useful at that.

This question is so Post Modern…

@JLoon LOL, I don’t disagree.
@janbb You are right. I forget that it is also used for marketing but I feel it has taken on more negative meaning in the the long run on all the names.

Labeling decades is kind of dumb, too— ‘The 70’s—for instance.

1971 was a new era of optimism over the 1960s —but has nothing in common with the Disco era. The 1978–1986 time period has more solidarity than 1970–79.

To answer your question, though—

You are probably not the only one who feels that the desire to label everything is exhausting and stupid, And I am not the only one who feels that the desire to label everything AS exhausting and stupid

@Yellowdog fine, Ass exhausting and stupid.

I am labelling all my power adapters, so I know which device they belong to.

@ragingloli I actually do label a lot of containers in my garage. It helps to prevent repeat purchases and makes things easier to find. It comes in handy. It’s the decade human labels that suck. It serves no real purpose that I can see.

I find a lot of labels to be absolute misnomers.

If you look at what’s called Farmhouse Style in architecture and decorating—or Cottage / Country Cottage style,. they are thoroughly modern and contemporary and not like what they are named. “Vintage” style sounds like traditional old-style, but it too is modern accented with a few misappropriated and haphazard pieces from the past.

The same could be said for music styles.

I think the generational stuff is particularly stupid. Every older generation thinks the younger generation is worse than ever; every younger generation blames the older generation for their problems. It’s not new, it’s been done for centuries, but we keep doing it and acting like our situation is unique. In before “that’s something a millennial would say”. :P

I keep having to look up what I am. For some reason it doesn’t stick with me. I usually think more in terms of an era, like I’m a product of the ‘80’s. I was in high school in the 80’s. Trivial things like the fashion at the time, music, who was president, grew up without wars, with the exception of the Cold War, much more equality for women than previous generations.

I don’t mind the labels as long as it’s not taken too seriously.

I agree there are good, bad, productive, lazy, entitled, and altruistic people in every era and in every group no matter how you group people.

Yes, I’ve been sick of those generation labels since the first ones, and dislike them more the more get added.

It doesn’t bother me but I don’t take those social constructs seriously.

I agree with @janbb that many of the generational, regional, geographic, style-based, technological, etc. labels are developed for marketing purposes. Once established though, I think many people actively want to identify with some of them because of this overwhelming sense of belonging many people pursue.

Even after science has proven that ‘race’ is a construct, folks cling to those labels, for good and bad intent. Racists for the never-ending us vs. them perspective and others attach a sense of pride to self-labeling as a certain race or combo of races.

Music genres suffer from a similar problem. It’s okay for shorthand, sorting purposes, but really limits an artist’s reach if they’re not designated into a ‘popular’ genre.

I get it, but I don’t like it. I’m more of a fan of a blurring of labels, loosely defined with very fuzzy edges.

@cookieman I do think some labeling is useful, I wasn’t damning it all but thinking specifically of the generational labels the OP referenced. I think defining music genres, as you say, for shorthand purposes is fine.

I’d label you as one of the group of cookie lovers for both marketing and eating purposes.

@janbb: All true, but see I also like brownies, which can be overlooked due to that labeling.

^^ And I make the best brownies!