Toughen up, senior snowflakes, swearing at work is good for us | André Spicer

Evidence suggests that older people are more offended by foul language, but perhaps they should embrace it and find something else to complain about

Taking offence has become hobby number one among the young. According to some, today's teens and twentysomethings are part of generation snowflake. These fragile souls are supposed to find any intrusion into their carefully curated digital universe a form of "symbolic violence". To protect themselves, they call for "trigger warnings", "no-platforming", and "safe spaces". Now the older generation have had enough. They want a fair share of opportunities to be easily offended too. But instead of being affronted by extreme racism, misogyny or homophobia, senior snowflakes are upset by the F-bomb.

According to a 2010 poll conducted by the Daily Mail, 45% of the over-55s said they were personally offended by an instance of swearing on television in the last year. A 2016 study by Ofcom found that older people had a low tolerance for swearing, and some wanted it banned completely. They are also worried about swearing at work. During a select committee inquiry into discrimination against older workers, a representative from the government arbitration service Acas described how they "had calls where older workers are talking about language used in the workplace and that younger workers are using language now that many of us would not deem appropriate". The expert went on to explain: "They're coming out with certain statements or words that many of us in the workplace are quite taken aback with."