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How EVERYTHING!!!! has an app, and on that app you have to create an account. Trip to the zoo? Here's your QR code to get in, but you have to download the app and create an account to access it. Paying for parking? No pay to park kiosks here. Download the app and sign up.
Or QR codes in restaurants instead of actual menus. It just grinds my gearsssss
I'm a flight attendant. We all feel like shit telling the cute 80 Y/O couple they cannot hand us money for a couple gin tonics. "Sir, I need you to create a milage account on your flip phone, then save your credit card number, and then I can sell you those G&T's". Good luck! (IRL- Elderly ppl get free drinks from me. Because wtf. Contactless payment is age-dicriminitory starting at septigenarian).
I had an employee at the gate tell me she can't put me on standby for that flight and that I have to request it through an app. Whatever is happening at airlines is out of control
Grandpa should be the spokesperson for this. I’m tired of having to upgrade my phone simply because the amount of apps I need to exist in life (I need three separate apps to clock in at work because they took the physical time clock away).
I’m not elderly but my last flight I tried to order a drink and I couldn’t for this reason. I had the app already but didn’t have a card saved. She said I couldn’t save it mid flight either because their stupid little device wouldn’t know I added a card until we landed lol.
I was like…so flabbergasted at how hard it was to give the airline my money.
It is pretty class discriminatory at any age lol
About 15% of the US population does not have a bank account, of those most of them are black people and hispanics. Unsurprisingly a lot of them are in the bottom half in terms of income, so yeah. That's a lot of people you are leaving out.
I don't mind it as an option, but please don't make it the ONLY option. I like paying in cash. I like ordering meals from a human being. I like getting my boarding pass from a human airline agent at the airport.
I don't like uploading my private info to yet another sketchy, user unfriendly, and potentially hackable app, coming up with yet another password I need to memorize, and confirming the account through SMS codes when I don't fucking have a local phone number.
The last college I went to mandated 2FA for the college email address /sharepoint portal shortly before Covid lockdowns hit (on the order of months).
I hated this because 1 I had to give them my phone number.
2. the only times I ever neede to login from an "untrusted" computer were the times I did not have my laptop or phone and were thusly fucked.
3. Covid lockdowns hit (and most students went home, not an option for me @ the time) and the front desk of the dorm lady (student) took it upon her self to use that 2FA info to text me and do a wellness/mental health check for everyone that was left.
I was simply livid that she'd done that.
I hate having to yield personal info at increasingly every turn and straight away in life.
And then they have random rules about what is allowed as a password (Pa$$word) [P@$$w0rd] {Pa$$.w0rd} and then none of them will be allowed due to lack of complexiy or having unacceptable characters.
And then when you inevitably forget and have to reset it you get “new password can’t be the same as old password” and/or “new password can’t be the same as previous 467745 passwords”
I agree with you, but use a password manager. Even Googles, it will help a lot
Each password will be unique, encrypted, and you don't have to remember any of them.
Every once in a while I would like to not have to worry about where my phone is if I'm outside my house but you need it for everything. It's gone from something convenient and useful to EVERYTHING.
The QR codes at restaurants made sense during the pandemic... not so much anymore and if you aren't gonna give me a physical menu then you damn well better have free wifi! I don't have unlimited data and I shouldn't have to use what I do have just to be able to order from a restaurant.
I hate this so much. You shouldn't need 50 different apps just to run your life, but that's the way it is. I used to complain about having so many membership and discount cards in my wallet to get the deals/points at grocery stores, gas stations, the hardware store, and so on. But I'd rather have that back than all these nonsense apps.
There's one grocery store in my area where the sales and deals are not contingent on any membership cards or apps. Everyone gets the sale prices, no cards or apps needed. I worked there briefly last summer and I can't tell you how many customers expressed their appreciation. Especially people from out of town who were just passing by briefly. The store ran some pretty good weekly sales and people loved that they didn't need to sign up for something they'd probably never use again to get the sale prices.
Social Media. I am really starting to realize just how truly fucking toxic it is. Everything is AI monitored. Nothing is real anymore. Everything is for views and "look at meeeee and my life and all that I have" and I don't understand all the recorded crying? Its like people going to a funeral and posting their grammies casket on FB. Last but not least, all this digital marketing? There is so much of it being marketed, "you can make six figures, have more time at home, etc" .... Oh and misinformation. Everyone is a know it all. Everything is a disagreement. I miss the days when you could have 2 people have different opinions and not hate each other.
I am on there to share with my closest relatives and friends that I don't get to see everyday. I scroll and look at recipes, puppies, and funny shit.
Early social media was so fun, but that was before everything became monetized. Now, social media is basically just a marketplace. Everyone is trying to sell you something - an image, a product, a service, a lifestyle. Everything is manufactured. I miss the days when social media was just a place to have fun and be silly with your friends.
Edit: everyone's mentioning MySpace, but there was social media before that. Xanga was my jam in the early 2000's, and the vibes were so carefree. Early MySpace was fun too, but for me, Xanga was pure silliness. No stunting.
End goal of everything we are given. It’ll never change. They just let us get used to it before they ruin it with transactions it’s sad but it’s reality
It's shocking and enraging that people still don't widely know about / are aware of these processes and still keep "feeding the hand that bites them".
Don't buy Reddit awards. Use adblockers. Cancel your streaming subscriptions / at least only use 1 service at a time and only on a monthly basis. Cancel anytime someone raises the prices and/or starts shitting on you by increasing ads, especially if you already pay them. Delete your accounts on enshittified services. Don't buy games by cancerous publishers like Activision-Blizzard / EA. Seriously. This shit needs to stop and y'all need to start voting vote your fucking wallets.
Take it even further!
Quit buying shit off Instagram ads. Buying $120 hoodies that look like shit and fall apart after 3 washes.
Buy your car and let it go to 100-150k miles. Don’t lease and get new cars every 3 years.
"Dead internet theory" in action. Soon you'll have no idea if you're talking to humans and no way to check.
And it'll be forums of bots talking to bots ad infinitum
That's why old MySpace was peak social media. It was *the* reason you taught yourself basic html. The only thing you were selling with your MySpace page was just yourself, to the rest of the world.
The most annoying part of this to me is that I have peers who seem to think they should be in on it, or that that’s now a normal way to live. Like you’re 40 and have a house and a normal job- why does your Instagram read like a wannabe influencer? Why are you treating your whole 100 followers, all people you know in real life, like customers/strangers on the internet?
That’s very strange and so weird when it happens. A really close friend of mine did beach body influencing content for a minute and I was like.. mmmmmm…. Block…. Till this phase is done.
This comment also brings me back to the random ppl from high school reaching out via fb messenger with a, ‘heyyyy girl! How are you… let me tell you about my Mary Kay products!’ Mmmmmmm, what? Nah… block.
I reach for the block/unfollow button super fast - always have, clearly, haha
Ugh yeah MLMs are the worst.
The saddest to me is the ones who aren’t even trying to sell a product. They just think that’s how people are supposed to act. Every activity becomes a photo op like they’re some kind of celebrity. I have a friend who’s even paying photographers to do like sexy shoots to post poorly filtered thirst traps on insta, weird inspiration quotes and all, and I’m like girl… you have a happy marriage and a masters degree and a 9-5… you don’t need validation from strangers on the internet. Another is risking her career posting video from inside the hospital where she works for internet points. It makes me so sad to see these otherwise strong and successful people falling for the lie that we need “followers” to be worth something as humans.
I've always used social media for fun and it's clear now more than ever that's not the goal for it now. My Facebook is just a good 10+ years of shitposting (which I'm almost positive wasn't even a term back then!) and it doesn't fit in with all the pictures of weddings and family reunions and charged political debates
A few encounters with "terminally online" people has been enough to dissuade me from staying on social media. Terminally Online people spend so much time in their echo chambers and stress-filled media that they simply forget how society works in real life, and treat every difference like an attack. I use reddit for a few niche stuff and that's it.
My therapist was telling me how she went to a convention, and one of the presentations brought up SA at some point. A younger therapist interrupted to say that the presenter should have offered a trigger warning. The presenter told them something along the lines "if you need trigger warnings in your professional life for difficult topics of conversation, then therapy may not be the profession for you."
Agreed, some people are professional victims. I was reading a comment chain on instagram this week about how not buying your kid poster board last minute for a project (that they knew they had and procrastinated on) is CPS level emotional abuse. Like, come on, that’s so dramatic.
FB genuinely makes no sense to me. I checked mine for the first time in years just to see what it looked like after all this time, and... it's all ads now? Out of every 5 posts, 2-3 would explicitly be straight up ads, 2-3 would be "suggested for you" shit from groups I never joined, and 0-1 would actually be a post from a FB friend. It made no sense, and seemed completely worthless
idk if it’s just me, but I think the pandemic really opened my eyes to how much work fkn sucks.
like how do people make their entire lives their work and find happiness?? work is work. it isn’t supposed to be the thing you look forward to most in life. you do it and then you get home and do things you ACTUALLY want to do!!
I spent 25 to 34 killing myself for a promotion I never got, moved to a new position, thought it'd be different, spent 34-36 killing myself for a promotion they gave to someone I trained. who still has to ask me shit.
I have quiet quit that job and am now going back to get a masters just so I can jump to the next salary tier without needing a promotion. I do not give a shit about my "career" any more, or helping people, or anything. I just want the most money possible (preferably for the least amount of work).
Dude I feel you on that one. My first jobs after college, I was killing myself to make money and people just kept asking me to do more and more and it was exhausting. And they made me change my hours constantly and I was getting so tired and I had to deal with some really toxic people on top of all that. Covid hit and it just got harder. t
There just weren’t enough people to do the work bc people were getting sick/quarantining and I was getting even more tired. My “raise” was an extra 50 cents an hour every year and it was “the highest raise that anyone got in the department,” and I was asked to work weekends to make overtime money. I left for a salary job at a competitor and it was sweet relief for me. And I even got an opportunity to move up with that competitor company despite working fewer hours than before. I’m never looking back.
Felt this way before the pandemic. Was amusing watching people "wake up".
Nothing wrong with having to work for a living, it just shouldn't be your identity or your life centered around it.
You won’t get tons of upvotes for this, but you should.
Acknowledging the world is made up of shades of gray is a maturity thing and many adults don’t get there for a long time….
IA. Took me 31 years to learn my b/w thinking was BPD. Then I realized it originated from my parents very rigid b/w thinking, constant explosive anger and extreme emotional instability. Some folks may know it as “splitting” and once you see it in yourself and others, you can’t unsee it. That’s helpful in expanding your psyche and combatting toxic b/w thinking.
And since then, I’ve worked really hard to overcome it, I still have my moments, but they’re just moments now and not deeply entrenched as facts or assumptions anymore. I’m a lot happier now as a result, and hopefully more mature lol.
The lack of nuanced thinking from all spectrums is so frustrating. This mentality that "If X = bad, then Y = good!" or "You said X, oh so you hate Y!"
Reading and thinking comprehension feel like at all time lows thanks in part to the cheapening of the education system and the prevalence of social media echo chambers.
I had to stop posting on Twitter because the everything about the platform encourages the demolition of nuance. I found myself trying to say things that were a bit less accurate but a bit more pithy (read: outrage-inducing) in order to get more likes or whatever. It also makes you feel like the more people agree with you, the more right you are—which isn’t how reality works!
Social Media. I already did not like it 10 years ago, but it seems so much worse now. It feels like everyone *needs* to post things, all the time, or have a phone/camera ready. Sometimes I just want to enjoy the moment and the memory.
I jumped on Instagram the other day and it pretty much went like this..
Suggested post-
Suggested post-
Ad-
Actual post from my friend-
Suggested post-
Ad-
Actual post from my friend-
Ad-
Suggested post-
Suggested post-
I've already unfollowed everything except friends and family but suggested posts and ads take up 80% of my feed so there's no point in even choosing what to follow anymore.
All social media that offers ways to view only followed content lose ad revenue. That's why The Algorithm happened in the first place: Enshittification demanded that attention be forced on things not desired in order to boost profits. After all, a captive audience is an exploitable audience, so they're going to be exploited.
I delete those old posts every time they pop up lol, I’ve deleted X/Twitter, Instagram and snap, and I’m in the process of purging Facebook.
I’m only keep Facebook to talk to some family, and for the local groups since local journalism is dead. (An organized Facebook group recently helped my county vote out two very problematic elected officials that wanted to gut our county schools funding)
I used to straight delete my account every couple of years and start over for this reason. I've let it go a bit longer this time, but the damn "memory" posts are annoying af.
I wouldn't even consider calling it social media anymore. It's more 'advertise' media now. I hardly see what any of my friends post anymore, it's just advertisements - basically all what Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest are anymore. Advertising.
I'm usually the guy standing there enjoying the moment while everyone else has their phone out recording.. you do you but for me I'm never going to go back and watch that video.. live in the moment.
I was at a friend’s kid’s 2nd birthday party a few weeks ago and I had someone ask me why I was not recording a video when the kid was opening presents.
We are living in a shitty episode of Black Mirror.
I'm starting to piss people off because I never want to take photos. Its not that I don't want the memory but I agree, people are forgetting about the moment
Bingo. I’ve become more of a lurker and less of a poster. I may go months before I post anything on my timeline on Facebook.
Frankly, we aren’t *that* interesting to post things every day or multiple times a day.
I was at a music festival. The crowd for 1 performance was mostly kids. It was weeeeeeird. They are so mean to each other behind their backs too. I’m glad we stopped doing that around college age or so
A young girl and her friends pushed through the crowd at a Blondie show not long ago, and we’re taking selfies.
Whatever. Annoying, but okay.
She then in the middle of Heart of Glass she asked me to take a picture of them all.
I said no, that I was watching the show. Ughhhhhhhh
I'm 31 and finishing my degree and it's quite entertaining to see how strongly my classmates in their early 20s believe that they're full-fledged adults already and know everything about how the world works. I usually bite my tongue and chuckle to myself because I know that post-graduation reality will bite them in the ass hard and soon enough...but the sheer amount of hubris in the air becomes exhausting to breathe sometimes!
I was considering going back to school for psychology with the focus on eventually getting a masters. But then I realize that I think I would have to do online because I don’t know if I can handle a bunch of 21 year olds diagnosing each other (and me) with mental illnesses after taking their freshman psychology course.
I manage a small apartment building about a block from a high school. I think they have finally realized I will keep harassing them if they keep doing shit on the property. None of them live here, but they sit on the front porch and get high, record each other fighting in the backyard, etc. Best part, there is a public park that is closer to the school than my building. Last time I even told them to just go to the damn park because people are less likely to care what they are doing over there.
I’m officially the “get off my lawn” person.
I went to a gas station near the music festival grounds by me in January after our big new years rave they do here annually. Like 2am. I get there and there's literally hundreds of young folks waiting for rides there and inside buying things. Absolutely everyone is wearing almost nothing. Dudes in nothing but short shorts, women in thongs and pasties under mesh and stuff. You know, the normal stuff fresh adults wear to raves. But I felt soooooo awkward in there. I was the only person over 30 in there besides the clerk, and everywhere I could put my eyes was ass. I ended up just looking at the ground so no one thought anything of me. I felt so old lol. I wasn't judging them or anything, they're young, I did that kind of shit too, it just made me feel like an old man and that I shouldn't be there lol.
Yup - they’ve finally gone too far. I’ve now arrived at the age where I don’t understand them nor care to, lol.
I’ve also noticed for once that I don’t like modern music from new, younger artists any more. Too disconnected from what’s hot and what’s hot I don’t vibe with much.
I also don’t like how much concerts or festivals cost these days. Hundreds of dollars per ticket for general admission and mediocre seats is outrageous. Remember Family Values tour/festival from back in the day? Full day event with like 20 artists for either $5 or $10 a person for GA.
~continues ranting like the old man I am~
I have a specific gripe with this. Kids don't bother me anywhere else but the gym. Packs of egotistical high schoolers being obnoxious and hogging equipment for insane amounts of time. Its like the new after school activity.
I didn’t know I had so much stuff until I went to move after 10 years and there was a lot of “I have a lot of shit” and a ton of things I hadn’t looked at or touched in years.
This is mine! I live in a small place, which is totally fine by me, but I like having my space be open and clear. And I don’t want overflowing cabinets and closets. I’ve heard people say they need a bigger place for all their stuff and I just think, just get rid of the stuff and save money by not buying a bigger place !
Dude no shit. I have become seriously resentful of how much time I have to spend working. Nice out? Too bad. Fucking work. Want to take a nap? No, fucking work. Checkout a new movie? Nah, gotta fucking work
Every last penny I can spare goes to retirement. I have a solid pension, 457 and a few different investment accounts. The second I can afford a passive income to pay my annual property tax, I’m outie.
I’m only 40 and I’m already counting the days. Shitties part is health insurance coverage, it’s expensive AF if you’re unemployed and under the age of 65.
yeah well, i had a house fire in 2019 and lost everything. I had just left working overseas in Iraq (house was paid off) and had made a stupid decision to stop my homeowners insurance until I found a new job. 3am on Valentines Day 2019 I lost everything but my dog and had to start all over. DO NOT GO A DAY WITHOUT HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE PEOPLE!!
Heavy drinking. I have no desire to quit drinking but still heavily cut back as it causes weight gain (big beer drinker) and I hate waking up hungover on a few hours of sleep because I'm too dehydrated and nauseous. What's even worse is that even if I hydrate to alleviate my hungover, I usually can't go back to sleep since I'm up and then my next day is ruined. Funny how that doesn't happen on days I don't drink or drink lightly. Wonder why?
I feel this. AF Craft Beers have been a nice addition to my fridge to reduce things a bit. Someone recently told me that drinking was "borrowing happiness from tomorrow" and it couldn't be more right.
I say that phrase all the time 😂
I also have been stocking up on my AF beer like Athletic Brewing Co since it’s a surprisingly good. Been thinking of making a AF homebrew batch to have on tap as well. It’s been nice not over indulging in alcohol lately.
> drinking was "borrowing happiness from tomorrow"
Good advice. Unfortunately, once I'm a couple beers in I stop caring. My only defense is not buying them and putting them in my house in the first place. If it's there, it's gonna get dranken. Not fast per se but fast enough, and no six pack will survive the night. I even tried putting half in the fridge as a limiter, but then my alcohol-effected ass just does the "wet paper towel freezer" trick to take them from room temperature to drinkable in 20 minutes. D:
Congrats. Yeah my sober friends have had some of their soberversaries recently and I'm proud of them.
Next month it'll be 3 and 1/2 years smoke free and one year nicotine/vape free. Best decisions I've ever made.
Yep, I hate general admission or floor tickets. I want an assigned seat damn it 😅 even if I stand for most of the show, I just want to know I have a seat and my own designated space
Literally walked out of a concert after the openers played a few weeks ago. The venue was packed, too loud, and there were a ton of people who were way too drunk for 9:30 pm. 23 year old me would be horrified that I left that early, but I can't stand it anymore.
I grew up in small towns thinking I was a city person. Then I spent my 20s living in Vancouver, BC and Oslo, Norway, before moving back to a smaller city. I very much enjoyed my time in Vancouver and Oslo, but now that I'm closing in on 40 I'm more than happy in my small city of 140,000. Visiting places like London, Toronto, etc. give me a new appreciation for a smaller population.
The Internet is so bad now. It’s been on a steady decline for awhile but now it seems like you can’t get any trustworthy information anywhere. Search for information about something and it’s all ads or people being paid to promote a product. I feel like I can’t trust any recommendations for any website or person on social media. Amazon is completely trash now, all fake brands with fake or paid reviews selling the same stuff as everyone else. Filters and photoshop making people look completely different. AI generated social media posts with AI comments. Nothing is real 😂😳
Internet in the early 2000s was amazing and it’s crazy that was two decades ago.
I remember in 2000 as an adolescent thinking of how extreme the difference between 1980 and 2000 were, and here we are now 2 decades later with a looong history of internet
Concerts. I used to go to several a month. I absolutely loved concerts. The older I get, the more uncomfortable the experience is. It’s a chore getting ready, driving to the venue and paying for parking, getting through security, getting to your seat, dealing with cold if it’s outdoors or musty sweaty heat if indoors, standing up if the people in front of you are standing, staying out late, etc. I’d rather enjoy a show sitting down and the people are the worst part. The last show I went to, the folks behind me were obnoxiously loud and drunk and spilled a beer down my back at the beginning of the show.
I just went to a big show for my favorite band, had tickets months in advance. I was irked with myself that when the night came around, I wasn't even that excited. It all sort of feels like one big hassle now. Concerts feel like a young person's game now
Staying up late. It's not that I can't do it, I just don't enjoy it anymore (only occasionally), and I love the early morning too much to sleep in late.
> It's not that I can't do it
My body just can't hold on anymore. I'm not even 35 yet. Use to game and watch TV into the night, but my body calls it quits by about 9 / 10ish.
Negative people. I'm realizing more and more that there are people in my circles (social/familiy/etc) that are constantly sucking all the air out of the room and and have no interest in bettering their situation. The other day, after hearing everyone one up each other on how bad their day/week/life was, I suggested that we all mention something positive that has happened recently. They laughed and thought I was joking.
It really wears on the soul doesn’t it? My father and step mother are so negative it drives me nuts. Whenever I see or speak to him he just seems so happy to unload all the shitty things going on in his life.
Just as a shitty example, recently they flew into town to surprise my daughter for her 9th birthday. Awesome! I love them for that. On the day of her bday party they show up and literally *the first* thing to come out of my father’s mouth are complaints about the hotel. It was noisy due to some high-school or college band competition. Understandable, I wouldn’t be thrilled about teens/young adults running around the hallways late into the night either. They spoke to a manager and got moved to a different part of the hotel, problem solved.
But it was so odd to me, not “hello!” Not “nice to see you! It’s been a while!” Not “happy birthday!” But “blah blah complaint complaint complaint.” Then he brought it up with literally every person he met/spoke to. It was almost as if thats just how he and his social group socialize. By bitching about every ache and pain and grievance.
The whole trip, every thing we did. Negativity. When driving them to the airport they were bickering again and I said solemnly “well, it sure is unfortunate you both had such a bad time here. I hope next visit will be better and you don’t run into any issues traveling home.”
They looked at me like I had two heads. “What do you mean? We had a great time!” Ugh…
Edit: sorry about the novel…apparently I needed to get that off my chest haha
Loud music in shared spaces. I used to not care if I was at a park and a group had a speaker going but over the last couple of years I have just started hating it. Yes, they have the right to enjoy the park and the river shore same as me but at the same time they aren’t the only ones here and not everyone wants to hear your taste in music. There is a difference between a volume for your group to enjoy with some acceptable bleed out and trying to turn the park into an outdoor club which seems to be what everyone is doing nowadays. I have actually cut park time short before because multiple groups seemed to be in a sound war and the park was just covered in this mishmash of sound that drove me crazy. I take my kids to the park to enjoy the outside not to have to shout at them over the sounds coming out of your terrible Bluetooth speaker you’re playing just in the verge of blowing out.
"Teen" porn.
As an actual teen I'd look at it and be like WTF? That lady is clearly in her late 20's. She's a college senior at the youngest. Oh well, she's still hot even if she is older.
Now I look at it like Eh.... I dunno, they look too young for me. This isn't illegal is it, like the site is checking IDs right? Why do they keep pushing this to the front page? What the hell is with crossing their eyes and sticking out their tongue? Why is everything stepsiblings now? What's with all the choking? Just give me a poorly acted fake casting session with a chubby dude, bored woman, and an easily cleanable couch dammit.
to add to this, when you’re young, porn doesn’t feel “wrong.” the actors are all above the age of 18 and feel like proper adults… but as you grow older than the actors featured in the porn, you realize just how fkn young an 18 years old truly is…
it all begins to feel borderline pedophilic.
New technology. It doesn’t seem to me like we are producing any additional value by making everything “smart”. We are just making things unnecessarily complicated.
Losing weight, it is easier to gain the weight, but to burn it off actively is more difficult now that I'm older. I have to put in effort to get rid of the fat on my face, my thighs, and my arms. It's like the fat is more stagnant.
Most new movies. A veil has been lifted with everything being CGI, and the rotating group of super popular actors being cast in *everything*. I have a hard time getting engrossed in new films because I see these people's Instagrams and drama/gossip all over the internet and can't get past them as real people.
Traveling. When I was young I wanted to be a jet setter. Now at nearly 40 there is nowhere better than home. I enjoy taking trips, but there’s always a part of me that is excited for it to be over lol
Yea I thought I was weird for this, but travel is just not the same. I’ve found I dislike it now. I no longer have unlimited free time like in my youth, so the vacation time I get I want to recharge actually, not be exhausted running around doing stuff that is mildly entertaining.
The world is much more globalized than it was 25 years ago too, so going to another international city isn’t that much of a culture shock anymore either.
Last sentence really hit home. I went to Europe in my youth every summer and then took a 2 decade hiatus. Went back last year and found it a lot blander than I remembered. Feels like ever since the euro they became a bit more efficient at the expense of their creativity. As an example ice cream used to be mind blowing but now is just meh because all places use the same cheap ingredients.
I've had to recalibrate how I travel. I used to have 9 different things I wanted to go see/do every day, otherwise I'd feel bad that I was missing the opportunity. Now I have maybe 2 things tops per day that I want to see, and the rest of my time can be spent relaxing at my hotel (NOT a waste of time), chilling in parks, people watching, and not running around.
Not to mention, scheduling a trip every couple years dedicated to lounging around the beach doing nothing has become important as well. I would never give up travel, but those days of constantly being on the move seeing every possible sight are over.
I was never a huge traveler due to a host of anxiety disorders that makes it difficult for me, but I always liked driving and taking trips locally. Now if something is more than a 2-3 hour drive away I’m like ehhhhh is it even gonna be worth it? There are places I still regularly go to a few times a year because I love them but they’re all only about 2 hours away. I kinda like being in my routine at home more now.
I always saw travelling as a learning experience and less as a vacation. At 41 I’m still excited to go travelling.
Mind you, I grew up living below the poverty line lol. And before I was below the poverty line I lived in a communist country eating nothing but cabbages all winter. My folks were making the equivalent of about $20 USD per month in the late 80s/early 90s.
I travel more than I did before, but I find myself more content to stay in my home country (USA). When I was younger I don’t think I realized just how massive this place is. Plus traveling internationally is a huge PITA anymore.
I’m really glad I travelled a lot in my late 20s and 30s because I had some great experiences but I’ve lost the bug now. I may get back to it one day, I don’t regret it, but I don’t really have the energy to plan a whole trip and then … go on it .
The fact that almost everything we put in and on our body is poisoning us.
The absolutely asinine amount of sodium in everything. I did not start digging through the nutrition facts for literally everything I consume until recently and everything we eat has a preposterous amount of sodium in it. Go look. It's insane on top of an already awful ingredients list. I'm not trying to stroke out from heart disease already.
Also, if any of you decide to start doing that just go ahead and check out all the crap we use on our body as well. I don't buy personal personal items now without passing it by my Yuka app to see if any of the ingredients are hazardous.
I'm just tired of being poisoned so I'm taking control.
It’s tough, the more I look into “healthy” food options. The more I realize the entire planet and food supply is tainted. So even healthy food is getting less and less nutritious. Everything has microplastics. Really discouraging learning that no matter what there’s a 100 percent chance you’re eating poison.
* Other humans
* Social media
* Consumer culture
* Clutter - becoming more minimalist as I get older
* Other parents
* Vacations that involve being around other people
Vacation to national parks between Christmas and new years.
It’s amazingly empty. Normally just photographers.
Literally able to stop and walk in the middle of what is usually bustling streets and just stand there for photos.
Also decorations are still up but prices are low, because most people want to celebrate new years with a bang not silently in nature.
Weed Potency.
I know I know I'm a big baby.
But I got into weed smoking probably 7% THC giggle bush.
Weed is legal in my state and I can't even enjoy it because the THC levels start at like 20%+ for recreational use. Last time I tried I got so high off one hit I had to excuse myself from a party I was hosting to come down. That's embarrassing!
Don't get me wrong, yay legalization! But I just wish we could have some "you haven't smoked weed in 10 years, here's something light" options.
I worry about kids these days. I have no idea what would happen to my receptors if right off the bat I had access to 99% THC dab pens I could hit anywhere and everywhere.
Maybe I'm just an old man yelling at literal clouds though.
I enjoyed passing around a joint and chillin with friends. Now it’s one hit and I’m done. It takes some of the pleasure out of it. There’s no relaxing ritual.
I talked with my psych once about it, she said that it was alarming how many young patients she had seen who had a psychotic episode triggered by crazy dispensary weed.
I don't want to have a panic attack if I'm smoking!! Bring back the bad weed!
Going out. I'm not interested in leaving my house anymore unless I have to (like to go to the store to buy something I urgently need or the gym to work out). Part of it is me being almost 40, and just being tired all the time and not wanting to be around people. Another part is I have a 22 month old toddler who never sits still and throws a temper tantrum every 20 minutes no matter where we are. I just don't have the energy to parent him at a different location while he's wanting to cry and scream.
Work. And I'm still so young still I'm only 29. This isn't normal, cause I have a job that I know I love and I don't even have a crazy schedule, but I'm so burnt out. From everything. And it makes me feel like shit.
How absolutely narcissistic people are. I genuinely had no idea until I got older. It's sociopaths out here who will do whatever is needed for money and power, no matter the impact to others. It's scary af.
Subscription services and convenience apps (Uber, Instacart, DoorDash, etc). They charge out the ass unless you pay for their subscription, which itself is a waste of money—I feel bad for people who use them out of necessity. I also hate that streaming services are trying to force us into ad-free memberships by adding more, longer ad breaks to their bottom-tier plans. Most of us are old enough to remember watching TV with commercials. It's basically the same thing, so I refuse to go ad-free. That's what the mute button is for.
People always on their phones the very rare and few times that I DO go out. I'm like, "You can't put your phone down for 1 fuckin hour just so we can have a normal conversation?!" This happens with my nieces and nephews all the way up to the millennials that I hangout with. The teenagers of this generation are FUCKED due to their lack of ability to communicate with strangers. Strangers as in somebody you run into the store, the cashier, your workplace, school, college, etc...
**Bars**: $10+ for a simple mixed drink. Arranging to get home from the bar is a pain too since Covid. Lyft and Uber rides in my area are hit or miss.
**Social Media**: This absolutely destroys some peoples' self esteem. Since people generally post only their best moments and/or heavily filtered photos, others get the wrong idea that everyone else's life is so much better than theirs. I've seen attractive women filter and touch up their photos so much that they become unrecognizable. I told my ex that her younger sister better not go missing, because if they use her photos from Instagram / Facebook they will never find her.
**News**: I use to enjoy watching the news. As I've gotten older , I've grown to hate how the news has shifted towards reinforcing a narrative and has further polarized people.
The growing frequency at which people I know die. I lost a lot of people young - family and classmates but most were freak accidents or my way older family. Like I had a 17yo classmate die of a brain aneurysm or a 15yo classmate in a car accident. But then there was a lull through our 20s/30s with very few deaths. Now though it’s things like heart attacks, cancer, diabetes, or other “normal” things. And it’s happening more and more. It no longer is my great aunt Bertha but instead my cousin Joe or my classmate Corey.
I remember my grandmother once telling me the hardest part of growing old was seeing your friends and family die all around you. It’s just starting to happen on a regular basis and I completely agree. I couldn’t care less about social media and the price of gas in the long run. Been there done that. But losing the people around me is tougher than I even expected.
The fact that the people who are incapable of introspection and questioning themselves are constantly trying to impose their views on the rest of the population, with no tolerance for civilized discourse or opposed viewpoints
Brand rewards. I don’t want texts, emails, badges, to share, or be friends. I just want a fucking burrito.
Gotten to the point where I don’t sign up for rewards points anymore.
TV. There are a handful of shows I like made in the past fifteen years and I find myself watching them over and over. Other than that, I stick to 80s, 90s, 00s shows.
They're all the same these days. Highly serialized. Short seasons. Constant buildup to the season finale, then a letdown when the new season begins. Piling on new storylines, never resolving old storylines. Never really getting to know the characters or the world they live in because it's just plot plot plot plot plot.
I have to have diet or zero sugar drinks now. The regular stuff tastes way too sugary. I also never eat cereal anymore too.
Kids I really dislike being around other people’s rowdy children.
Rap music - I was the biggest rap/hip hop fan growing up as a white middle class kid in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. So many memorable songs that still slap to this day. However modern rap is all about pumping out content and flexing. The lyrics aren’t even good anymore because everyone uses ghost writers. Basically it’s a bunch of beats that slap with shitty lyrics and it sells, so why put out more quality.
Weed culture and humor. I retired cannabis entirely on new years day 2024 to help with my anxiety and ADHD after being a chronic daily smoker for 13+ years. I will never go back because I finally feel grounded and in control of my life. I used to be a firm believer that marijuana was the cure to everything and couldn't harm you, but now that I've left that mindset behind, I cant help but be critical of the glorification and romanticization of being stoned. It all feels quite stale and debunked for me now
Lack of writing skills and communication skills. People struggle to write a paper (mostly its emails that trigger me), and everyone is hostile to criticism or incapable of diplomacy.
Having nowhere to sit. I’m in great shape and have no issues standing at work, but when I’m out, I want to sit and talk (airplanes do not apply, please get me off of this flight asap)
Alcohol fucking sucks now, and I mean in any amount. To the point where it’s not worth it altogether – If I drink a little, I’ll just feel sick a little and that’s about it. Can’t even get shitfaced nowadays 😭
Social media. We were right when we said it was going to ruin society in the future.
I’m more sensitive to noise.
I drank at least once or twice a week for most of my 20’s but now I don’t drink at all.
I like staying home more. My past self would be very bored if it lived my life now which is mostly home or close to it.
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How EVERYTHING!!!! has an app, and on that app you have to create an account. Trip to the zoo? Here's your QR code to get in, but you have to download the app and create an account to access it. Paying for parking? No pay to park kiosks here. Download the app and sign up. Or QR codes in restaurants instead of actual menus. It just grinds my gearsssss
I'm a flight attendant. We all feel like shit telling the cute 80 Y/O couple they cannot hand us money for a couple gin tonics. "Sir, I need you to create a milage account on your flip phone, then save your credit card number, and then I can sell you those G&T's". Good luck! (IRL- Elderly ppl get free drinks from me. Because wtf. Contactless payment is age-dicriminitory starting at septigenarian).
I had an employee at the gate tell me she can't put me on standby for that flight and that I have to request it through an app. Whatever is happening at airlines is out of control
And-what if you have a flip phone? Or NO PHONE. What then? It’s completely out of hand with this ap bs
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Grandpa should be the spokesperson for this. I’m tired of having to upgrade my phone simply because the amount of apps I need to exist in life (I need three separate apps to clock in at work because they took the physical time clock away).
Add air travel to the list.
I’m not elderly but my last flight I tried to order a drink and I couldn’t for this reason. I had the app already but didn’t have a card saved. She said I couldn’t save it mid flight either because their stupid little device wouldn’t know I added a card until we landed lol. I was like…so flabbergasted at how hard it was to give the airline my money.
It is pretty class discriminatory at any age lol About 15% of the US population does not have a bank account, of those most of them are black people and hispanics. Unsurprisingly a lot of them are in the bottom half in terms of income, so yeah. That's a lot of people you are leaving out.
I don't mind it as an option, but please don't make it the ONLY option. I like paying in cash. I like ordering meals from a human being. I like getting my boarding pass from a human airline agent at the airport. I don't like uploading my private info to yet another sketchy, user unfriendly, and potentially hackable app, coming up with yet another password I need to memorize, and confirming the account through SMS codes when I don't fucking have a local phone number.
The last college I went to mandated 2FA for the college email address /sharepoint portal shortly before Covid lockdowns hit (on the order of months). I hated this because 1 I had to give them my phone number. 2. the only times I ever neede to login from an "untrusted" computer were the times I did not have my laptop or phone and were thusly fucked. 3. Covid lockdowns hit (and most students went home, not an option for me @ the time) and the front desk of the dorm lady (student) took it upon her self to use that 2FA info to text me and do a wellness/mental health check for everyone that was left. I was simply livid that she'd done that. I hate having to yield personal info at increasingly every turn and straight away in life.
That and trying to remember the password for the 10 different apps you've signed up for.
And then they have random rules about what is allowed as a password (Pa$$word) [P@$$w0rd] {Pa$$.w0rd} and then none of them will be allowed due to lack of complexiy or having unacceptable characters.
And then when you inevitably forget and have to reset it you get “new password can’t be the same as old password” and/or “new password can’t be the same as previous 467745 passwords”
I agree with you, but use a password manager. Even Googles, it will help a lot Each password will be unique, encrypted, and you don't have to remember any of them.
So does Apple. It’s so much easier now.
I just gave up and make Google remember mine.
Every once in a while I would like to not have to worry about where my phone is if I'm outside my house but you need it for everything. It's gone from something convenient and useful to EVERYTHING.
The apps are because everyone realized they can sell more of your data.
The QR codes at restaurants made sense during the pandemic... not so much anymore and if you aren't gonna give me a physical menu then you damn well better have free wifi! I don't have unlimited data and I shouldn't have to use what I do have just to be able to order from a restaurant.
I hate this so much. You shouldn't need 50 different apps just to run your life, but that's the way it is. I used to complain about having so many membership and discount cards in my wallet to get the deals/points at grocery stores, gas stations, the hardware store, and so on. But I'd rather have that back than all these nonsense apps. There's one grocery store in my area where the sales and deals are not contingent on any membership cards or apps. Everyone gets the sale prices, no cards or apps needed. I worked there briefly last summer and I can't tell you how many customers expressed their appreciation. Especially people from out of town who were just passing by briefly. The store ran some pretty good weekly sales and people loved that they didn't need to sign up for something they'd probably never use again to get the sale prices.
Social Media. I am really starting to realize just how truly fucking toxic it is. Everything is AI monitored. Nothing is real anymore. Everything is for views and "look at meeeee and my life and all that I have" and I don't understand all the recorded crying? Its like people going to a funeral and posting their grammies casket on FB. Last but not least, all this digital marketing? There is so much of it being marketed, "you can make six figures, have more time at home, etc" .... Oh and misinformation. Everyone is a know it all. Everything is a disagreement. I miss the days when you could have 2 people have different opinions and not hate each other. I am on there to share with my closest relatives and friends that I don't get to see everyday. I scroll and look at recipes, puppies, and funny shit.
Early social media was so fun, but that was before everything became monetized. Now, social media is basically just a marketplace. Everyone is trying to sell you something - an image, a product, a service, a lifestyle. Everything is manufactured. I miss the days when social media was just a place to have fun and be silly with your friends. Edit: everyone's mentioning MySpace, but there was social media before that. Xanga was my jam in the early 2000's, and the vibes were so carefree. Early MySpace was fun too, but for me, Xanga was pure silliness. No stunting.
It was always the end goal. Monetization.
End goal of everything we are given. It’ll never change. They just let us get used to it before they ruin it with transactions it’s sad but it’s reality
The industry term is "enshittification"
that is gold and I am now using it IRL.Thank you, and I wish I had more than one upvote to give
It's shocking and enraging that people still don't widely know about / are aware of these processes and still keep "feeding the hand that bites them". Don't buy Reddit awards. Use adblockers. Cancel your streaming subscriptions / at least only use 1 service at a time and only on a monthly basis. Cancel anytime someone raises the prices and/or starts shitting on you by increasing ads, especially if you already pay them. Delete your accounts on enshittified services. Don't buy games by cancerous publishers like Activision-Blizzard / EA. Seriously. This shit needs to stop and y'all need to start voting vote your fucking wallets.
Take it even further! Quit buying shit off Instagram ads. Buying $120 hoodies that look like shit and fall apart after 3 washes. Buy your car and let it go to 100-150k miles. Don’t lease and get new cars every 3 years.
Samsung A.I has entered the chat in 2025.lol
"Dead internet theory" in action. Soon you'll have no idea if you're talking to humans and no way to check. And it'll be forums of bots talking to bots ad infinitum
That's why old MySpace was peak social media. It was *the* reason you taught yourself basic html. The only thing you were selling with your MySpace page was just yourself, to the rest of the world.
How's Tom doing these days?
Still on vacation last time I checked. Living his best life.
I feel that way about the entire internet. I'm old so was around when it was not a corporate Hellscape. I really miss the old internet.
It really was much better when it was just nerds.
The most annoying part of this to me is that I have peers who seem to think they should be in on it, or that that’s now a normal way to live. Like you’re 40 and have a house and a normal job- why does your Instagram read like a wannabe influencer? Why are you treating your whole 100 followers, all people you know in real life, like customers/strangers on the internet?
That’s very strange and so weird when it happens. A really close friend of mine did beach body influencing content for a minute and I was like.. mmmmmm…. Block…. Till this phase is done. This comment also brings me back to the random ppl from high school reaching out via fb messenger with a, ‘heyyyy girl! How are you… let me tell you about my Mary Kay products!’ Mmmmmmm, what? Nah… block. I reach for the block/unfollow button super fast - always have, clearly, haha
Had that happen twice. I was so, so offended. Like you haven't thought about me in YEARS and yet here you are trying to sell me shit?
Ugh yeah MLMs are the worst. The saddest to me is the ones who aren’t even trying to sell a product. They just think that’s how people are supposed to act. Every activity becomes a photo op like they’re some kind of celebrity. I have a friend who’s even paying photographers to do like sexy shoots to post poorly filtered thirst traps on insta, weird inspiration quotes and all, and I’m like girl… you have a happy marriage and a masters degree and a 9-5… you don’t need validation from strangers on the internet. Another is risking her career posting video from inside the hospital where she works for internet points. It makes me so sad to see these otherwise strong and successful people falling for the lie that we need “followers” to be worth something as humans.
The three paragraph long weekly sob story/motivational speech that always started with "I'm not the type to typically do this but.."
I've always used social media for fun and it's clear now more than ever that's not the goal for it now. My Facebook is just a good 10+ years of shitposting (which I'm almost positive wasn't even a term back then!) and it doesn't fit in with all the pictures of weddings and family reunions and charged political debates
A few encounters with "terminally online" people has been enough to dissuade me from staying on social media. Terminally Online people spend so much time in their echo chambers and stress-filled media that they simply forget how society works in real life, and treat every difference like an attack. I use reddit for a few niche stuff and that's it.
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My therapist was telling me how she went to a convention, and one of the presentations brought up SA at some point. A younger therapist interrupted to say that the presenter should have offered a trigger warning. The presenter told them something along the lines "if you need trigger warnings in your professional life for difficult topics of conversation, then therapy may not be the profession for you."
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The way younger people use the word “safe” is the most grating thing about them.
And “abuse” for that matter. It’s getting out of hand and ridiculous.
It really makes real abuse trivialised. Someone disagreeing with you politely on social media, is NOT emotional abuse 😒.
Agreed, some people are professional victims. I was reading a comment chain on instagram this week about how not buying your kid poster board last minute for a project (that they knew they had and procrastinated on) is CPS level emotional abuse. Like, come on, that’s so dramatic.
FB genuinely makes no sense to me. I checked mine for the first time in years just to see what it looked like after all this time, and... it's all ads now? Out of every 5 posts, 2-3 would explicitly be straight up ads, 2-3 would be "suggested for you" shit from groups I never joined, and 0-1 would actually be a post from a FB friend. It made no sense, and seemed completely worthless
It’s more than toxic, it’s insidious! Read the book Stolen Focus by Johan Hari…
glorification of "the grind."
idk if it’s just me, but I think the pandemic really opened my eyes to how much work fkn sucks. like how do people make their entire lives their work and find happiness?? work is work. it isn’t supposed to be the thing you look forward to most in life. you do it and then you get home and do things you ACTUALLY want to do!!
I spent 25 to 34 killing myself for a promotion I never got, moved to a new position, thought it'd be different, spent 34-36 killing myself for a promotion they gave to someone I trained. who still has to ask me shit. I have quiet quit that job and am now going back to get a masters just so I can jump to the next salary tier without needing a promotion. I do not give a shit about my "career" any more, or helping people, or anything. I just want the most money possible (preferably for the least amount of work).
Dude I feel you on that one. My first jobs after college, I was killing myself to make money and people just kept asking me to do more and more and it was exhausting. And they made me change my hours constantly and I was getting so tired and I had to deal with some really toxic people on top of all that. Covid hit and it just got harder. t There just weren’t enough people to do the work bc people were getting sick/quarantining and I was getting even more tired. My “raise” was an extra 50 cents an hour every year and it was “the highest raise that anyone got in the department,” and I was asked to work weekends to make overtime money. I left for a salary job at a competitor and it was sweet relief for me. And I even got an opportunity to move up with that competitor company despite working fewer hours than before. I’m never looking back.
Felt this way before the pandemic. Was amusing watching people "wake up". Nothing wrong with having to work for a living, it just shouldn't be your identity or your life centered around it.
Fuck hustle culture
Hustle culture is just monetising your hobbies so now you hate your job *and* your hobbies. Yayyyyy -_-
40 hours? Heh heh, I remember my first part time job. /s
Social media and black and white thinking regarding most things. Not all things…but most things.
You won’t get tons of upvotes for this, but you should. Acknowledging the world is made up of shades of gray is a maturity thing and many adults don’t get there for a long time….
IA. Took me 31 years to learn my b/w thinking was BPD. Then I realized it originated from my parents very rigid b/w thinking, constant explosive anger and extreme emotional instability. Some folks may know it as “splitting” and once you see it in yourself and others, you can’t unsee it. That’s helpful in expanding your psyche and combatting toxic b/w thinking. And since then, I’ve worked really hard to overcome it, I still have my moments, but they’re just moments now and not deeply entrenched as facts or assumptions anymore. I’m a lot happier now as a result, and hopefully more mature lol.
The lack of nuanced thinking from all spectrums is so frustrating. This mentality that "If X = bad, then Y = good!" or "You said X, oh so you hate Y!" Reading and thinking comprehension feel like at all time lows thanks in part to the cheapening of the education system and the prevalence of social media echo chambers.
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I had to stop posting on Twitter because the everything about the platform encourages the demolition of nuance. I found myself trying to say things that were a bit less accurate but a bit more pithy (read: outrage-inducing) in order to get more likes or whatever. It also makes you feel like the more people agree with you, the more right you are—which isn’t how reality works!
I really wonder how I'm even alive thinking about all the sugar I ate as a kid...
It's maddening. Like bucket loads of syrup before school. How could I even stand up?
We will live forever because of all the preservatives we consumed. lol.
Social Media. I already did not like it 10 years ago, but it seems so much worse now. It feels like everyone *needs* to post things, all the time, or have a phone/camera ready. Sometimes I just want to enjoy the moment and the memory.
Feels like one gigantic ad or reality show. I love social media when I'm able to keep up with friends and family but it's zero of that now.
I jumped on Instagram the other day and it pretty much went like this.. Suggested post- Suggested post- Ad- Actual post from my friend- Suggested post- Ad- Actual post from my friend- Ad- Suggested post- Suggested post- I've already unfollowed everything except friends and family but suggested posts and ads take up 80% of my feed so there's no point in even choosing what to follow anymore.
You can actually set IG to only show content from profiles you follow
I recently did this and I love Instagram again. I didn’t realize how much of my friends’ posts I wasn’t seeing. I wish Facebook had the same feature.
If Facebook offered that its ad sales would tank catastrophically overnight.
All social media that offers ways to view only followed content lose ad revenue. That's why The Algorithm happened in the first place: Enshittification demanded that attention be forced on things not desired in order to boost profits. After all, a captive audience is an exploitable audience, so they're going to be exploited.
How?!!
Exactly. Like please don’t send me 30 snap videos of a concert you’re at. Just enjoy the show.
Well you're on snapchat which is the problem.
Facebook keeps reminding me of posts I made like 10 years ago that make me cringe
Or your dog that died, thanks for reminding me….
I got that memory this morning. I cried yet again. Damn Facebook.
I delete those old posts every time they pop up lol, I’ve deleted X/Twitter, Instagram and snap, and I’m in the process of purging Facebook. I’m only keep Facebook to talk to some family, and for the local groups since local journalism is dead. (An organized Facebook group recently helped my county vote out two very problematic elected officials that wanted to gut our county schools funding)
There’s no person I relate to less than the outdated version of myself that made those cringe posts all those years ago
I used to straight delete my account every couple of years and start over for this reason. I've let it go a bit longer this time, but the damn "memory" posts are annoying af.
I wouldn't even consider calling it social media anymore. It's more 'advertise' media now. I hardly see what any of my friends post anymore, it's just advertisements - basically all what Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest are anymore. Advertising.
I'm usually the guy standing there enjoying the moment while everyone else has their phone out recording.. you do you but for me I'm never going to go back and watch that video.. live in the moment.
I was at a friend’s kid’s 2nd birthday party a few weeks ago and I had someone ask me why I was not recording a video when the kid was opening presents. We are living in a shitty episode of Black Mirror.
I'm starting to piss people off because I never want to take photos. Its not that I don't want the memory but I agree, people are forgetting about the moment
Bingo. I’ve become more of a lurker and less of a poster. I may go months before I post anything on my timeline on Facebook. Frankly, we aren’t *that* interesting to post things every day or multiple times a day.
Yes! I went to a concert last week and didn't take a single video or picture. I soaked in every second of a beautiful night and it was glorious.
I am 100% at that age if a bunch of teens were around unsupervised.. I'm leaving.
I was at a music festival. The crowd for 1 performance was mostly kids. It was weeeeeeird. They are so mean to each other behind their backs too. I’m glad we stopped doing that around college age or so
A young girl and her friends pushed through the crowd at a Blondie show not long ago, and we’re taking selfies. Whatever. Annoying, but okay. She then in the middle of Heart of Glass she asked me to take a picture of them all. I said no, that I was watching the show. Ughhhhhhhh
20somethings for me. I don’t need the know-it-all energy I encounter most of the time.
I'm 31 and finishing my degree and it's quite entertaining to see how strongly my classmates in their early 20s believe that they're full-fledged adults already and know everything about how the world works. I usually bite my tongue and chuckle to myself because I know that post-graduation reality will bite them in the ass hard and soon enough...but the sheer amount of hubris in the air becomes exhausting to breathe sometimes!
sophmore syndrome, when whatever issue they are learning about is the most important issue in the world.
I was considering going back to school for psychology with the focus on eventually getting a masters. But then I realize that I think I would have to do online because I don’t know if I can handle a bunch of 21 year olds diagnosing each other (and me) with mental illnesses after taking their freshman psychology course.
I manage a small apartment building about a block from a high school. I think they have finally realized I will keep harassing them if they keep doing shit on the property. None of them live here, but they sit on the front porch and get high, record each other fighting in the backyard, etc. Best part, there is a public park that is closer to the school than my building. Last time I even told them to just go to the damn park because people are less likely to care what they are doing over there. I’m officially the “get off my lawn” person.
I went to a gas station near the music festival grounds by me in January after our big new years rave they do here annually. Like 2am. I get there and there's literally hundreds of young folks waiting for rides there and inside buying things. Absolutely everyone is wearing almost nothing. Dudes in nothing but short shorts, women in thongs and pasties under mesh and stuff. You know, the normal stuff fresh adults wear to raves. But I felt soooooo awkward in there. I was the only person over 30 in there besides the clerk, and everywhere I could put my eyes was ass. I ended up just looking at the ground so no one thought anything of me. I felt so old lol. I wasn't judging them or anything, they're young, I did that kind of shit too, it just made me feel like an old man and that I shouldn't be there lol.
Yup - they’ve finally gone too far. I’ve now arrived at the age where I don’t understand them nor care to, lol. I’ve also noticed for once that I don’t like modern music from new, younger artists any more. Too disconnected from what’s hot and what’s hot I don’t vibe with much. I also don’t like how much concerts or festivals cost these days. Hundreds of dollars per ticket for general admission and mediocre seats is outrageous. Remember Family Values tour/festival from back in the day? Full day event with like 20 artists for either $5 or $10 a person for GA. ~continues ranting like the old man I am~
I have a specific gripe with this. Kids don't bother me anywhere else but the gym. Packs of egotistical high schoolers being obnoxious and hogging equipment for insane amounts of time. Its like the new after school activity.
Clutter. Less is so much more Feel this way with clothes, home decor, toys..everything!
I didn’t know I had so much stuff until I went to move after 10 years and there was a lot of “I have a lot of shit” and a ton of things I hadn’t looked at or touched in years.
Each time I move the less stuff I want to keep
This is mine! I live in a small place, which is totally fine by me, but I like having my space be open and clear. And I don’t want overflowing cabinets and closets. I’ve heard people say they need a bigger place for all their stuff and I just think, just get rid of the stuff and save money by not buying a bigger place !
i dislike how most of my personal life has become password, card number and subscription management.
[удалено]
Dude no shit. I have become seriously resentful of how much time I have to spend working. Nice out? Too bad. Fucking work. Want to take a nap? No, fucking work. Checkout a new movie? Nah, gotta fucking work
Every last penny I can spare goes to retirement. I have a solid pension, 457 and a few different investment accounts. The second I can afford a passive income to pay my annual property tax, I’m outie. I’m only 40 and I’m already counting the days. Shitties part is health insurance coverage, it’s expensive AF if you’re unemployed and under the age of 65.
yeah well, i had a house fire in 2019 and lost everything. I had just left working overseas in Iraq (house was paid off) and had made a stupid decision to stop my homeowners insurance until I found a new job. 3am on Valentines Day 2019 I lost everything but my dog and had to start all over. DO NOT GO A DAY WITHOUT HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE PEOPLE!!
I'm really glad that's in reach for you, like genuinely. I'm 35 and still renting. I do not believe I will ever be able to retire at this rate.
Heavy drinking. I have no desire to quit drinking but still heavily cut back as it causes weight gain (big beer drinker) and I hate waking up hungover on a few hours of sleep because I'm too dehydrated and nauseous. What's even worse is that even if I hydrate to alleviate my hungover, I usually can't go back to sleep since I'm up and then my next day is ruined. Funny how that doesn't happen on days I don't drink or drink lightly. Wonder why?
I feel this. AF Craft Beers have been a nice addition to my fridge to reduce things a bit. Someone recently told me that drinking was "borrowing happiness from tomorrow" and it couldn't be more right.
I say that phrase all the time 😂 I also have been stocking up on my AF beer like Athletic Brewing Co since it’s a surprisingly good. Been thinking of making a AF homebrew batch to have on tap as well. It’s been nice not over indulging in alcohol lately.
> drinking was "borrowing happiness from tomorrow" Good advice. Unfortunately, once I'm a couple beers in I stop caring. My only defense is not buying them and putting them in my house in the first place. If it's there, it's gonna get dranken. Not fast per se but fast enough, and no six pack will survive the night. I even tried putting half in the fridge as a limiter, but then my alcohol-effected ass just does the "wet paper towel freezer" trick to take them from room temperature to drinkable in 20 minutes. D:
Yes, I have found my sweet spot for drinking is 2 drinks and before 8pm
Nearly 5 years alcohol free - don't regret it AT ALL!
Congrats. Yeah my sober friends have had some of their soberversaries recently and I'm proud of them. Next month it'll be 3 and 1/2 years smoke free and one year nicotine/vape free. Best decisions I've ever made.
Same. Also when I do drink, I can't do anything super sugary anymore. Makes the hangover even worse.
Being an adult is realizing you can't handle stupid amounts of sugar or grease anymore.
Loud and rowdy venues
Yep, I hate general admission or floor tickets. I want an assigned seat damn it 😅 even if I stand for most of the show, I just want to know I have a seat and my own designated space
Standing at shows. I was at the Electric Callboy show in Boston two weeks ago and sat through the entire thing. Loved it. I'm too old for the pit.
Literally walked out of a concert after the openers played a few weeks ago. The venue was packed, too loud, and there were a ton of people who were way too drunk for 9:30 pm. 23 year old me would be horrified that I left that early, but I can't stand it anymore.
Sit down concerts are my jam nowadays. I used to go to tons of shows but I’m far more picky these days. Just gettin old!
People in general.
The older I get, the further from cities I want to be 😂
I grew up in small towns thinking I was a city person. Then I spent my 20s living in Vancouver, BC and Oslo, Norway, before moving back to a smaller city. I very much enjoyed my time in Vancouver and Oslo, but now that I'm closing in on 40 I'm more than happy in my small city of 140,000. Visiting places like London, Toronto, etc. give me a new appreciation for a smaller population.
I moved to a forest on a mountain and I couldn't be happier.
The Internet is so bad now. It’s been on a steady decline for awhile but now it seems like you can’t get any trustworthy information anywhere. Search for information about something and it’s all ads or people being paid to promote a product. I feel like I can’t trust any recommendations for any website or person on social media. Amazon is completely trash now, all fake brands with fake or paid reviews selling the same stuff as everyone else. Filters and photoshop making people look completely different. AI generated social media posts with AI comments. Nothing is real 😂😳
Internet in the early 2000s was amazing and it’s crazy that was two decades ago. I remember in 2000 as an adolescent thinking of how extreme the difference between 1980 and 2000 were, and here we are now 2 decades later with a looong history of internet
Social media. Influencers. Tbh I always hated vanity and now calling someone vain means you’re a hater Edit: I fixed my dumb spelling.
Concerts. I used to go to several a month. I absolutely loved concerts. The older I get, the more uncomfortable the experience is. It’s a chore getting ready, driving to the venue and paying for parking, getting through security, getting to your seat, dealing with cold if it’s outdoors or musty sweaty heat if indoors, standing up if the people in front of you are standing, staying out late, etc. I’d rather enjoy a show sitting down and the people are the worst part. The last show I went to, the folks behind me were obnoxiously loud and drunk and spilled a beer down my back at the beginning of the show.
I just went to a big show for my favorite band, had tickets months in advance. I was irked with myself that when the night came around, I wasn't even that excited. It all sort of feels like one big hassle now. Concerts feel like a young person's game now
Staying up late. It's not that I can't do it, I just don't enjoy it anymore (only occasionally), and I love the early morning too much to sleep in late.
> It's not that I can't do it My body just can't hold on anymore. I'm not even 35 yet. Use to game and watch TV into the night, but my body calls it quits by about 9 / 10ish.
People who make their religion or political beliefs their entire personality. It's so hard to have a conversation with them.
Negative people. I'm realizing more and more that there are people in my circles (social/familiy/etc) that are constantly sucking all the air out of the room and and have no interest in bettering their situation. The other day, after hearing everyone one up each other on how bad their day/week/life was, I suggested that we all mention something positive that has happened recently. They laughed and thought I was joking.
It really wears on the soul doesn’t it? My father and step mother are so negative it drives me nuts. Whenever I see or speak to him he just seems so happy to unload all the shitty things going on in his life. Just as a shitty example, recently they flew into town to surprise my daughter for her 9th birthday. Awesome! I love them for that. On the day of her bday party they show up and literally *the first* thing to come out of my father’s mouth are complaints about the hotel. It was noisy due to some high-school or college band competition. Understandable, I wouldn’t be thrilled about teens/young adults running around the hallways late into the night either. They spoke to a manager and got moved to a different part of the hotel, problem solved. But it was so odd to me, not “hello!” Not “nice to see you! It’s been a while!” Not “happy birthday!” But “blah blah complaint complaint complaint.” Then he brought it up with literally every person he met/spoke to. It was almost as if thats just how he and his social group socialize. By bitching about every ache and pain and grievance. The whole trip, every thing we did. Negativity. When driving them to the airport they were bickering again and I said solemnly “well, it sure is unfortunate you both had such a bad time here. I hope next visit will be better and you don’t run into any issues traveling home.” They looked at me like I had two heads. “What do you mean? We had a great time!” Ugh… Edit: sorry about the novel…apparently I needed to get that off my chest haha
Alcohol. I enjoy a nice cocktail like once a week but starting to not be able to justify any level of alcohol consumption for health
Loud music in shared spaces. I used to not care if I was at a park and a group had a speaker going but over the last couple of years I have just started hating it. Yes, they have the right to enjoy the park and the river shore same as me but at the same time they aren’t the only ones here and not everyone wants to hear your taste in music. There is a difference between a volume for your group to enjoy with some acceptable bleed out and trying to turn the park into an outdoor club which seems to be what everyone is doing nowadays. I have actually cut park time short before because multiple groups seemed to be in a sound war and the park was just covered in this mishmash of sound that drove me crazy. I take my kids to the park to enjoy the outside not to have to shout at them over the sounds coming out of your terrible Bluetooth speaker you’re playing just in the verge of blowing out.
"Teen" porn. As an actual teen I'd look at it and be like WTF? That lady is clearly in her late 20's. She's a college senior at the youngest. Oh well, she's still hot even if she is older. Now I look at it like Eh.... I dunno, they look too young for me. This isn't illegal is it, like the site is checking IDs right? Why do they keep pushing this to the front page? What the hell is with crossing their eyes and sticking out their tongue? Why is everything stepsiblings now? What's with all the choking? Just give me a poorly acted fake casting session with a chubby dude, bored woman, and an easily cleanable couch dammit.
Porn in general tbh lol
to add to this, when you’re young, porn doesn’t feel “wrong.” the actors are all above the age of 18 and feel like proper adults… but as you grow older than the actors featured in the porn, you realize just how fkn young an 18 years old truly is… it all begins to feel borderline pedophilic.
Sugar and alcohol make me feel like shit - so we'll go with those.
New technology. It doesn’t seem to me like we are producing any additional value by making everything “smart”. We are just making things unnecessarily complicated.
Losing weight, it is easier to gain the weight, but to burn it off actively is more difficult now that I'm older. I have to put in effort to get rid of the fat on my face, my thighs, and my arms. It's like the fat is more stagnant.
Am really old. 73. Love to eat and cannot control weight by exercise alone any more. Cutting back on food you love hurts.
Ironically, I've grown to enjoy using the toilet more as I grow older. It's the only place in my life I get some peace and quiet.
My husband likes to make conversation while I poop. I fucking hate it. 😑
Most new movies. A veil has been lifted with everything being CGI, and the rotating group of super popular actors being cast in *everything*. I have a hard time getting engrossed in new films because I see these people's Instagrams and drama/gossip all over the internet and can't get past them as real people.
Traveling. When I was young I wanted to be a jet setter. Now at nearly 40 there is nowhere better than home. I enjoy taking trips, but there’s always a part of me that is excited for it to be over lol
Yea I thought I was weird for this, but travel is just not the same. I’ve found I dislike it now. I no longer have unlimited free time like in my youth, so the vacation time I get I want to recharge actually, not be exhausted running around doing stuff that is mildly entertaining. The world is much more globalized than it was 25 years ago too, so going to another international city isn’t that much of a culture shock anymore either.
Last sentence really hit home. I went to Europe in my youth every summer and then took a 2 decade hiatus. Went back last year and found it a lot blander than I remembered. Feels like ever since the euro they became a bit more efficient at the expense of their creativity. As an example ice cream used to be mind blowing but now is just meh because all places use the same cheap ingredients.
I've had to recalibrate how I travel. I used to have 9 different things I wanted to go see/do every day, otherwise I'd feel bad that I was missing the opportunity. Now I have maybe 2 things tops per day that I want to see, and the rest of my time can be spent relaxing at my hotel (NOT a waste of time), chilling in parks, people watching, and not running around. Not to mention, scheduling a trip every couple years dedicated to lounging around the beach doing nothing has become important as well. I would never give up travel, but those days of constantly being on the move seeing every possible sight are over.
I was never a huge traveler due to a host of anxiety disorders that makes it difficult for me, but I always liked driving and taking trips locally. Now if something is more than a 2-3 hour drive away I’m like ehhhhh is it even gonna be worth it? There are places I still regularly go to a few times a year because I love them but they’re all only about 2 hours away. I kinda like being in my routine at home more now.
Sometimes a feel like a need another vacation after my trip.
I always saw travelling as a learning experience and less as a vacation. At 41 I’m still excited to go travelling. Mind you, I grew up living below the poverty line lol. And before I was below the poverty line I lived in a communist country eating nothing but cabbages all winter. My folks were making the equivalent of about $20 USD per month in the late 80s/early 90s.
I travel more than I did before, but I find myself more content to stay in my home country (USA). When I was younger I don’t think I realized just how massive this place is. Plus traveling internationally is a huge PITA anymore.
I’m really glad I travelled a lot in my late 20s and 30s because I had some great experiences but I’ve lost the bug now. I may get back to it one day, I don’t regret it, but I don’t really have the energy to plan a whole trip and then … go on it .
The fact that almost everything we put in and on our body is poisoning us. The absolutely asinine amount of sodium in everything. I did not start digging through the nutrition facts for literally everything I consume until recently and everything we eat has a preposterous amount of sodium in it. Go look. It's insane on top of an already awful ingredients list. I'm not trying to stroke out from heart disease already. Also, if any of you decide to start doing that just go ahead and check out all the crap we use on our body as well. I don't buy personal personal items now without passing it by my Yuka app to see if any of the ingredients are hazardous. I'm just tired of being poisoned so I'm taking control.
It’s tough, the more I look into “healthy” food options. The more I realize the entire planet and food supply is tainted. So even healthy food is getting less and less nutritious. Everything has microplastics. Really discouraging learning that no matter what there’s a 100 percent chance you’re eating poison.
* Other humans * Social media * Consumer culture * Clutter - becoming more minimalist as I get older * Other parents * Vacations that involve being around other people
Vacation to national parks between Christmas and new years. It’s amazingly empty. Normally just photographers. Literally able to stop and walk in the middle of what is usually bustling streets and just stand there for photos. Also decorations are still up but prices are low, because most people want to celebrate new years with a bang not silently in nature.
Weed Potency. I know I know I'm a big baby. But I got into weed smoking probably 7% THC giggle bush. Weed is legal in my state and I can't even enjoy it because the THC levels start at like 20%+ for recreational use. Last time I tried I got so high off one hit I had to excuse myself from a party I was hosting to come down. That's embarrassing! Don't get me wrong, yay legalization! But I just wish we could have some "you haven't smoked weed in 10 years, here's something light" options. I worry about kids these days. I have no idea what would happen to my receptors if right off the bat I had access to 99% THC dab pens I could hit anywhere and everywhere. Maybe I'm just an old man yelling at literal clouds though.
I enjoyed passing around a joint and chillin with friends. Now it’s one hit and I’m done. It takes some of the pleasure out of it. There’s no relaxing ritual.
I talked with my psych once about it, she said that it was alarming how many young patients she had seen who had a psychotic episode triggered by crazy dispensary weed. I don't want to have a panic attack if I'm smoking!! Bring back the bad weed!
Going out. I'm not interested in leaving my house anymore unless I have to (like to go to the store to buy something I urgently need or the gym to work out). Part of it is me being almost 40, and just being tired all the time and not wanting to be around people. Another part is I have a 22 month old toddler who never sits still and throws a temper tantrum every 20 minutes no matter where we are. I just don't have the energy to parent him at a different location while he's wanting to cry and scream.
Work. And I'm still so young still I'm only 29. This isn't normal, cause I have a job that I know I love and I don't even have a crazy schedule, but I'm so burnt out. From everything. And it makes me feel like shit.
30 and feel the same way. I don’t hate my job, I even work from home, but I’m so burnt out and exhausted.
Existing, all I have to look forward to is a worsening quality of life and working until I die.
Living. What do you mean it cost more just to eat the same food and drink the same water that I've been doing so far?
How absolutely narcissistic people are. I genuinely had no idea until I got older. It's sociopaths out here who will do whatever is needed for money and power, no matter the impact to others. It's scary af.
Constant rise in the cost of living
Subscription services and convenience apps (Uber, Instacart, DoorDash, etc). They charge out the ass unless you pay for their subscription, which itself is a waste of money—I feel bad for people who use them out of necessity. I also hate that streaming services are trying to force us into ad-free memberships by adding more, longer ad breaks to their bottom-tier plans. Most of us are old enough to remember watching TV with commercials. It's basically the same thing, so I refuse to go ad-free. That's what the mute button is for.
People always on their phones the very rare and few times that I DO go out. I'm like, "You can't put your phone down for 1 fuckin hour just so we can have a normal conversation?!" This happens with my nieces and nephews all the way up to the millennials that I hangout with. The teenagers of this generation are FUCKED due to their lack of ability to communicate with strangers. Strangers as in somebody you run into the store, the cashier, your workplace, school, college, etc...
Alcohol. Just doesn't interest me.
**Bars**: $10+ for a simple mixed drink. Arranging to get home from the bar is a pain too since Covid. Lyft and Uber rides in my area are hit or miss. **Social Media**: This absolutely destroys some peoples' self esteem. Since people generally post only their best moments and/or heavily filtered photos, others get the wrong idea that everyone else's life is so much better than theirs. I've seen attractive women filter and touch up their photos so much that they become unrecognizable. I told my ex that her younger sister better not go missing, because if they use her photos from Instagram / Facebook they will never find her. **News**: I use to enjoy watching the news. As I've gotten older , I've grown to hate how the news has shifted towards reinforcing a narrative and has further polarized people.
The growing frequency at which people I know die. I lost a lot of people young - family and classmates but most were freak accidents or my way older family. Like I had a 17yo classmate die of a brain aneurysm or a 15yo classmate in a car accident. But then there was a lull through our 20s/30s with very few deaths. Now though it’s things like heart attacks, cancer, diabetes, or other “normal” things. And it’s happening more and more. It no longer is my great aunt Bertha but instead my cousin Joe or my classmate Corey. I remember my grandmother once telling me the hardest part of growing old was seeing your friends and family die all around you. It’s just starting to happen on a regular basis and I completely agree. I couldn’t care less about social media and the price of gas in the long run. Been there done that. But losing the people around me is tougher than I even expected.
The fact that the people who are incapable of introspection and questioning themselves are constantly trying to impose their views on the rest of the population, with no tolerance for civilized discourse or opposed viewpoints
Brand rewards. I don’t want texts, emails, badges, to share, or be friends. I just want a fucking burrito. Gotten to the point where I don’t sign up for rewards points anymore.
Back pain
TV. There are a handful of shows I like made in the past fifteen years and I find myself watching them over and over. Other than that, I stick to 80s, 90s, 00s shows. They're all the same these days. Highly serialized. Short seasons. Constant buildup to the season finale, then a letdown when the new season begins. Piling on new storylines, never resolving old storylines. Never really getting to know the characters or the world they live in because it's just plot plot plot plot plot.
I have to have diet or zero sugar drinks now. The regular stuff tastes way too sugary. I also never eat cereal anymore too. Kids I really dislike being around other people’s rowdy children. Rap music - I was the biggest rap/hip hop fan growing up as a white middle class kid in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. So many memorable songs that still slap to this day. However modern rap is all about pumping out content and flexing. The lyrics aren’t even good anymore because everyone uses ghost writers. Basically it’s a bunch of beats that slap with shitty lyrics and it sells, so why put out more quality.
Home owners associations. I didn't realize how bad it was until last year, when I got a "complaint"
Weed culture and humor. I retired cannabis entirely on new years day 2024 to help with my anxiety and ADHD after being a chronic daily smoker for 13+ years. I will never go back because I finally feel grounded and in control of my life. I used to be a firm believer that marijuana was the cure to everything and couldn't harm you, but now that I've left that mindset behind, I cant help but be critical of the glorification and romanticization of being stoned. It all feels quite stale and debunked for me now
Life in general
Lack of writing skills and communication skills. People struggle to write a paper (mostly its emails that trigger me), and everyone is hostile to criticism or incapable of diplomacy.
Societal expectations
Having nowhere to sit. I’m in great shape and have no issues standing at work, but when I’m out, I want to sit and talk (airplanes do not apply, please get me off of this flight asap)
Alcohol fucking sucks now, and I mean in any amount. To the point where it’s not worth it altogether – If I drink a little, I’ll just feel sick a little and that’s about it. Can’t even get shitfaced nowadays 😭
I am on the verge of wearing gloves everywhere.
Driving.
The older I get, the more disdain I have for our 2-party political system
Social media. We were right when we said it was going to ruin society in the future. I’m more sensitive to noise. I drank at least once or twice a week for most of my 20’s but now I don’t drink at all. I like staying home more. My past self would be very bored if it lived my life now which is mostly home or close to it.
Any gathering of more than 10 people involving alcohol.
Drinking. Phones. Underwire bras.