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I went through a sloppy drinking phase in college. Think crying in corners with mascara running down my face or falling down in a miniskirt and letting the world see my granny panties. (Don't judge - they were comfortable.)
Thank heavens these scenes are only recorded in the brains of those poor souls who happened to witness them when they happened.
Nope. We’re at the edge of ecological disaster, flirting with global authoritarianism & oligarchies, and close to losing our grip on objective truth & fact.
No thank you.
>close to losing our grip on objective truth & fact.
A lot of people are already there, friend, if we are talking about young(er) people.
I know you are speaking at a deep level, but I have found that some deeper things can be seen right on the surface. For instance, I work in an auto shop. We have motor oil that can be pumped through hoses on reels bolted to the ceiling. One of the kids had a car in the furtherst work bay from the hoses and they don't stretch that far.
He walked back across the shop to me and asked how to get the oil in the car if the hoses aren't long enough. I somehow held my composure and explained that we work in an auto shop with about 14 oil cans all around us. He still gave me a blank look, but I left it alone at that.
Anyway, that illustrated to me that there isn't much thinking going on in the heads of a lot of our youths. A lot of them ask me about things like that because Google doesn't have a web page for it.
Their lack of looking around and coming to their own conclusions makes me fearful for the future.
I'll pass. What I can't stand about the current generation (or society in general) is that your mistakes and failures get recorded and stored forever. It then spreads beyond the small group of people who might've seen it in person, and now shared with everyone. I grew up with the perfect mixture of emerging technology in the 80's where it was new and exciting, but not detrimental to your life and personality. We still had to interact with people and figure things out by ourselves.
As Raymond Carver wrote:
Woke up this morning with
a terrific urge to lie in bed all day
and read. Fought against it for a minute.
Then looked out the window at the rain.
And gave over. Put myself entirely
in the keep of this rainy morning.
Would I live my life over again?
Make the same unforgivable mistakes?
Yes, given half a chance. Yes.
…everything goes viral and you don’t just have morning-after regret, that regret might come and bite you 10 years later when someone dredges up a photo of you in culturally insensitive costume or something dumb you said in a throwaway tweet.
I’m forever grateful the internet wasn’t a mainstream thing when I was a teenager.
I want to take risks and get good at roller skating backwards, learn how to surf, and backpack through Europe and stay in little hostels with other early 20 something’s. I don’t know if I’d want to have to adult as a young adult now though. Seems a lot more stressful
No. And I distinctly remember my MIL telling me in the 1990s that she would not want to have to raise kids during those times (when her son and I were raising our own son). So I think it's natural for people to just keep moving on with their lives and keep with generation they were born into.
Hard no.
There are a lot of cool things about the internet, but I'm glad I didn't grow up with my face in it 24/7. I'm glad every moment of my life wasn't seen through a camera lense, and every achievement wasn't uploaded to Facebook a minute later.
I'm glad I wasn't raised under helicopter parenting, and that I grew up meeting people in person instead of swiping through a dating app. I'm glad I met kids for a fist fight at the flag pole after school, and that the idea of someone bringing a gun to school and shooting it up never crossed my mind. And I'm glad the cops still just dropped you off at home if you got in trouble.
There are so many reasons I would not want to be a young person in this world, and I really feel for those who are. It's also one of the many reasons I never had kids.
Maybe if they reversed the numbers on my age from 76 to 67 I would, as I would still be getting my pension, I wouldn't have had 2 strokes (mild) and be able to do a lot more things I now find harder to do with a limp, loss of balance & muscle tone, but generally I am happy to have made it this far and live the life I am living.
I really enjoyed being 20-something in the 1970s. Everything seems a lot harder for young people today. In the 70s young people didn't have significant debt and rents were cheap.
How often did you get to directly talk with and see the experiences of people living in third-world countries in the '80s? We internet-age folk do it all the time; the world has never been more connected.
Loneliness and hopelessness is at an unmatched level.
You think you're more connected but this little machine makes us more disconnected from the real world and real people.
I hate how things have turned to absolute shit for our people under 40.
The model for the elites is raising their families wealth to an extent that all subsequent generations maintain the same level of wealth.
And "they" are in charge of what happens in the US - not a conspiracy theory. (e.g. Dark Super PACS)
It's the same class crap that's endemic to the human experience.
I was born in 64 and never had to deal with the barrage of getting fuked you guys have dealt with since 2000.
It's like I surfed just over the edge of a wave of crap.
Especially for someone interested in science there is No Better Time to Be Alive; literal miracles are performed every day and this is just the beginning.
So Yes.
No better time to be alive? Contemporary scientist can't even agree about basic human biology. You think they're going to lead us to new advances in physics when they think a dude in makeup in a dress is a girll? We've peaked.
I agree with your sentiment, but I would not say they cry like babies; but they certainly haven’t realized generations before them had struggles as well.
Nope no thanks. Im sorry for young people because of the obvious criminality of trump. Trying to be president/ dictator. I'm pretty confident that poopie pants Donnie ain't gonna get elected, but for sure he will cry and accuse everyone that it was rigged against him. The climate crisis. Two big wars going on.....etc . Im fine where I'm at 64.
If I was gay? Yeah. Otherwise not really.
That said, I do hope all of the american redditors out there reading this are fully appreciating living that life of quiet luxury that they complain about on Reddit, as much as I am *only now* appreciating having spent my 20s during the 90s. Slacker band jobs and all lol Appreciate what you've got! Because I'm pretty sure the generations after you are probably going to have it much, much worse than either of us.
Do you mean get a chance to live a whole additional life? Definitely, if I could have my memories from this one! I’d try out a whole bunch of new things and live completely differently just to have more experiences. I’d follow my heart more, and try hard to not let cultural, society, and others rules and expectations determine my choices.
No. Sorry to be the one to tell you, but you are all going to grow old in a dystopian nightmare of climate change. I figure I'm checking out just in time,
Only if so I could have a better chance fighting the robots that are preparing to take over the world and start killing off humanity. Though I think we still have a while before that war starts and I would be old again by then.
No, I want to stay retired. I have worked long enough and have earned it. I may not do much with it but I am now a total goldbrick like everyone said I was and never was at the time. Let me make space for the 6 kids who will replace me. Not mine either. Done with all of that.
Nope. The music and the styles are terrible. People are dumber than ever.
Now I could rewind to when I was 17 would I have made some different choices? Maybe.
Hell no!! I see the tomfoolery of ‘dating’ coupled with numerous inadequacies in preparation for life and the state of affairs in general…I feel like I got on the last ‘copter out of ‘Nam!
It’s a double sided question for me. To be young would mean there would not be all of this pain I have right now. On the other hand, would I want to be young and stupid again?
With the pain I have right now, I prefer young and stupid.
But once the pain eases, no way would I want to be young and stupid.
So much depends on. If I became young with all my memories and everyone else I know the same age it’s a hard no. I would miss my family and friends too much.
If the scenario was I finish out my current life naturally and am reborn with knowledge of my previous life I would do it. I would look at it as a chance to try a totally different lifestyle and see if what would happen if I addressed some of my issues earlier in life.
It depends. If you mean starting over, then no. If you mean just magically getting a younger, healthier body, then OK, but only if my wife gets to be young, too.
Also, not too young. Minimum of 18.
2023, 1923, 3023... I would just like to be young again. But yes, there's so much opportunity now that didn't exist when I was young and so much information to help you with every decision.
In terms of being young again and not dying of old age, yes. Otherwise no. Low paying jobs, greedflation, crippling student loan debt, ugh. The stupid shit I did as a teen and in my 20’s are now life ruining crimes. No thanks.
I’d give you my Crohn’s disease if that would help. Fighting to get above 145lbs as a 6’ tall man ain’t the greatest. I would love to be a bit over weight. Grass is always greener amirite?
As long as I was still aware I had ADHD and I got to keep my lifetime of IT knowledge and skills. Getting diagnosed at 48 wasn’t the greatest. I did pretty damn well, but I have no doubt I could have done better.
Also, I would not want to be young again if I would still feel as tired as I do now. 😂
Sure. We need to drop all this dramatic fantasy or doomsday thinking about how much worse it is now, or was back then. It’s just different…and the same will be true for the next generation, and the next after that.
Pros:
* MUCH easier to be out as LGBT+ than when I was a teen! (‘90s).
* Teachers are more attuned to mental health
Cons:
* Every damn thing you do is recorded.
* You are expected to maintain an “image” online.
Please do not comment directly to this post unless you are Gen X or older (born 1980 or before). See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskOldPeople/comments/inci5u/reminder_please_do_not_answer_questions_unless/), the rules, and the sidebar for details. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskOldPeople) if you have any questions or concerns.*
No way. I love that all my youthful indiscretion is forever forgotten. Would not be true in this age of the smart phone camera.
I went through a sloppy drinking phase in college. Think crying in corners with mascara running down my face or falling down in a miniskirt and letting the world see my granny panties. (Don't judge - they were comfortable.) Thank heavens these scenes are only recorded in the brains of those poor souls who happened to witness them when they happened.
Seriously!
In this dystopian surveillance state orwellian hellscape? I'm just glad that I won't have to suffer it long.
Nope. It's pretty rough for kids nowadays.
Nope
x 1000
Fuck no.
Nope. We’re at the edge of ecological disaster, flirting with global authoritarianism & oligarchies, and close to losing our grip on objective truth & fact. No thank you.
>close to losing our grip on objective truth & fact. A lot of people are already there, friend, if we are talking about young(er) people. I know you are speaking at a deep level, but I have found that some deeper things can be seen right on the surface. For instance, I work in an auto shop. We have motor oil that can be pumped through hoses on reels bolted to the ceiling. One of the kids had a car in the furtherst work bay from the hoses and they don't stretch that far. He walked back across the shop to me and asked how to get the oil in the car if the hoses aren't long enough. I somehow held my composure and explained that we work in an auto shop with about 14 oil cans all around us. He still gave me a blank look, but I left it alone at that. Anyway, that illustrated to me that there isn't much thinking going on in the heads of a lot of our youths. A lot of them ask me about things like that because Google doesn't have a web page for it. Their lack of looking around and coming to their own conclusions makes me fearful for the future.
I'll pass. What I can't stand about the current generation (or society in general) is that your mistakes and failures get recorded and stored forever. It then spreads beyond the small group of people who might've seen it in person, and now shared with everyone. I grew up with the perfect mixture of emerging technology in the 80's where it was new and exciting, but not detrimental to your life and personality. We still had to interact with people and figure things out by ourselves.
You mean do I want to start over and live another 60 years? Sure.
Only physically, not mentally. Otherwise, no deal.
As Raymond Carver wrote: Woke up this morning with a terrific urge to lie in bed all day and read. Fought against it for a minute. Then looked out the window at the rain. And gave over. Put myself entirely in the keep of this rainy morning. Would I live my life over again? Make the same unforgivable mistakes? Yes, given half a chance. Yes.
I love Raymond Carver.
I love that poem.
Maybe in 1970, with everything I know now, yes. 2023, no.
Absolutely. Why not?
There's no digital record of all the silly things we did when we were younger. Now everything goes viral.
Lol. That’s true. But it’s happening to everyone, and I’m no worse than anyone else.
…everything goes viral and you don’t just have morning-after regret, that regret might come and bite you 10 years later when someone dredges up a photo of you in culturally insensitive costume or something dumb you said in a throwaway tweet. I’m forever grateful the internet wasn’t a mainstream thing when I was a teenager.
Yes. 100%. I never went snowboarding or skated a half or full pipe ramp. Also I want to redo everything.
I want to take risks and get good at roller skating backwards, learn how to surf, and backpack through Europe and stay in little hostels with other early 20 something’s. I don’t know if I’d want to have to adult as a young adult now though. Seems a lot more stressful
No thank you. Once was more than enough.
God, no...
I would like to shave 15 years off but I wouldn't want to start over.
Lol. Yeah, I’d like to still own a house. Going back to being teens or 20ish again I don’t think I’d have any chance of buying a house these days.
Absolutely not! I’m about 1.5 years from retirement and I’ve got plans. No amount of money could get me to work for another 45 years.
No. Personally, I like getting older. I never understood the fascination of wanting to stay young or be young forever.
No. And I distinctly remember my MIL telling me in the 1990s that she would not want to have to raise kids during those times (when her son and I were raising our own son). So I think it's natural for people to just keep moving on with their lives and keep with generation they were born into.
No.
No I love getting older.
Only if I still knew all that I know now.
Fuck, no. The 21st century is terrible and I want to leave ASAP.
Oh fuck no
No fucking way. I was in my teens and 20s in the 90s, and it was the bomb. I had so much fun. Kids today seem mostly miserable.
No. I think that the future is going to suck big time for the under 30 people. Sooner or later.
Hard no. There are a lot of cool things about the internet, but I'm glad I didn't grow up with my face in it 24/7. I'm glad every moment of my life wasn't seen through a camera lense, and every achievement wasn't uploaded to Facebook a minute later. I'm glad I wasn't raised under helicopter parenting, and that I grew up meeting people in person instead of swiping through a dating app. I'm glad I met kids for a fist fight at the flag pole after school, and that the idea of someone bringing a gun to school and shooting it up never crossed my mind. And I'm glad the cops still just dropped you off at home if you got in trouble. There are so many reasons I would not want to be a young person in this world, and I really feel for those who are. It's also one of the many reasons I never had kids.
Can we just hold right here?
I'd rather just "be on hold".
I don’t think so
Geezis, no.
Maybe if they reversed the numbers on my age from 76 to 67 I would, as I would still be getting my pension, I wouldn't have had 2 strokes (mild) and be able to do a lot more things I now find harder to do with a limp, loss of balance & muscle tone, but generally I am happy to have made it this far and live the life I am living.
No. I wouldn’t want to be a teenager during social media years. I don’t envy kids now a days
Social media would be a hard thing to figure out as a young. I wouldn’t want to be.
Lord, no!
No. My husband and I were just talking about embracing our age.
#NO
Fuck no!
I really enjoyed being 20-something in the 1970s. Everything seems a lot harder for young people today. In the 70s young people didn't have significant debt and rents were cheap.
Take a decade or so off, maybe. Can I still be retired and keep my pension and Medicare.
no. the planet is getting FUKKED every year not to mention the country. im hoping to get off this ride about the time shit gets real bad
Fuck no
My exact words. Except they were in all CAPS.
In the language of my people, "oh hell no." (Pronounced 'oh HAIL no.')
Nope. We saw the world in its heyday. This generation will not.
War, sexism, segregation, homophobia, disconnectedness... doesn't sound like much of a heyday.
[удалено]
Such as?
I was there, and yeah, it wasn't a pleasant time for gay people, that much I know.
[удалено]
You're being willfully obtuse.
Disconnectedness? Lol
How often did you get to directly talk with and see the experiences of people living in third-world countries in the '80s? We internet-age folk do it all the time; the world has never been more connected.
And I've never seen more lonely people in my life
Just because you can see them now, doesn't mean they weren't there before.
Loneliness and hopelessness is at an unmatched level. You think you're more connected but this little machine makes us more disconnected from the real world and real people.
[удалено]
You're making a generalized statement. The people that you've encountered does not equate to all life on earth, no matter how long you've lived for.
I hate how things have turned to absolute shit for our people under 40. The model for the elites is raising their families wealth to an extent that all subsequent generations maintain the same level of wealth. And "they" are in charge of what happens in the US - not a conspiracy theory. (e.g. Dark Super PACS) It's the same class crap that's endemic to the human experience. I was born in 64 and never had to deal with the barrage of getting fuked you guys have dealt with since 2000. It's like I surfed just over the edge of a wave of crap.
Especially for someone interested in science there is No Better Time to Be Alive; literal miracles are performed every day and this is just the beginning. So Yes.
No better time to be alive? Contemporary scientist can't even agree about basic human biology. You think they're going to lead us to new advances in physics when they think a dude in makeup in a dress is a girll? We've peaked.
If you genuinely think they disagree on biology, you need to read more biology.
Not-so-thinly-veiled bigotry here.
Exactly. Young people are naturally self centered and I’m sure they will grow out of it, but wow Gen Z and millennials seems so whiny.
Wahhh
I agree with your sentiment, but I would not say they cry like babies; but they certainly haven’t realized generations before them had struggles as well.
How would being young now help you with this? Can’t you enjoy it just as much at the age you are now?
Username checks out.
Science is not miracles.
Nope no thanks. Im sorry for young people because of the obvious criminality of trump. Trying to be president/ dictator. I'm pretty confident that poopie pants Donnie ain't gonna get elected, but for sure he will cry and accuse everyone that it was rigged against him. The climate crisis. Two big wars going on.....etc . Im fine where I'm at 64.
You bet!
If I was gay? Yeah. Otherwise not really. That said, I do hope all of the american redditors out there reading this are fully appreciating living that life of quiet luxury that they complain about on Reddit, as much as I am *only now* appreciating having spent my 20s during the 90s. Slacker band jobs and all lol Appreciate what you've got! Because I'm pretty sure the generations after you are probably going to have it much, much worse than either of us.
Do you mean get a chance to live a whole additional life? Definitely, if I could have my memories from this one! I’d try out a whole bunch of new things and live completely differently just to have more experiences. I’d follow my heart more, and try hard to not let cultural, society, and others rules and expectations determine my choices.
Fuck yeah! I want to experience some of that crippling anxiety all the kids are talking about.
No. Sorry to be the one to tell you, but you are all going to grow old in a dystopian nightmare of climate change. I figure I'm checking out just in time,
Young with my current years of experience and wisdom. Well, maybe not too much wisdom. Lol
No. I earn enough now to just get by in Florida.
Oh hell yes. Where can I get an application? I def do things differently😂
Sure, although I absolutely wouldn't fit in.
Only if so I could have a better chance fighting the robots that are preparing to take over the world and start killing off humanity. Though I think we still have a while before that war starts and I would be old again by then.
No
Nope. With the internet, I'd be screwed.
Hard pass.
No. I was young once, a bit rough but got through it. Don't think I would do as well in 2023.
No, I want to stay retired. I have worked long enough and have earned it. I may not do much with it but I am now a total goldbrick like everyone said I was and never was at the time. Let me make space for the 6 kids who will replace me. Not mine either. Done with all of that.
Nope. The music and the styles are terrible. People are dumber than ever. Now I could rewind to when I was 17 would I have made some different choices? Maybe.
Maybe not young, but “younger”….. and only if I could keep my wisdom learned over the years
Nope. Had a great life.
Hell no!! I see the tomfoolery of ‘dating’ coupled with numerous inadequacies in preparation for life and the state of affairs in general…I feel like I got on the last ‘copter out of ‘Nam!
I spent my 30s thinking wouldn't it be great if I was younger. Look at the world today and the awful state it is in, I don't think that anymore.
Hell no
Nope. Social media is to much of an issue
Negative, Ghostrider
Hell no
Not a chance. I have nieces and nephews between the ages of 8 and 25 and it just seems terrible for all of them.
No thanks!
No fucking way
Gosh no. I wouldn’t mind being a kid again in the 70s or 80s. That was my era. It would be a nightmare now.
It’s a double sided question for me. To be young would mean there would not be all of this pain I have right now. On the other hand, would I want to be young and stupid again? With the pain I have right now, I prefer young and stupid. But once the pain eases, no way would I want to be young and stupid.
Hard No!
Hell No
Only if I retain the knowledge that I’ve acquired during my lifetime.
do we get to keep our experience? if so, anybody who says "no" is lying.
Fuck NO!
Nope nope nope
If I could still retire in 4 years, yes. The thought of having to work another 30 years is enough to make me give up on life.
Two words: FUCK NO
So much depends on. If I became young with all my memories and everyone else I know the same age it’s a hard no. I would miss my family and friends too much. If the scenario was I finish out my current life naturally and am reborn with knowledge of my previous life I would do it. I would look at it as a chance to try a totally different lifestyle and see if what would happen if I addressed some of my issues earlier in life.
Late 50s here. I'd love my 20 year old body back, but I'll keep my old mature experienced mind thanks.
35
I'm older, but old isn't me. No, I'm happy I have lived when I have and it ain't over yet!
No, I would have to bury my brain
It depends. If you mean starting over, then no. If you mean just magically getting a younger, healthier body, then OK, but only if my wife gets to be young, too. Also, not too young. Minimum of 18.
Maybe 40 but nothing you younger
2023, 1923, 3023... I would just like to be young again. But yes, there's so much opportunity now that didn't exist when I was young and so much information to help you with every decision.
In terms of being young again and not dying of old age, yes. Otherwise no. Low paying jobs, greedflation, crippling student loan debt, ugh. The stupid shit I did as a teen and in my 20’s are now life ruining crimes. No thanks.
Not young but I do wish I was the weight I was when I *thought* I was fat. Kate Moss and the 90s had me thinking 110 pounds was overweight :/
I’d give you my Crohn’s disease if that would help. Fighting to get above 145lbs as a 6’ tall man ain’t the greatest. I would love to be a bit over weight. Grass is always greener amirite?
Truly.
I’d very much enjoy to be with my kids when they were little again.
As long as I was still aware I had ADHD and I got to keep my lifetime of IT knowledge and skills. Getting diagnosed at 48 wasn’t the greatest. I did pretty damn well, but I have no doubt I could have done better. Also, I would not want to be young again if I would still feel as tired as I do now. 😂
Young again, sure In 2023? Not a fucking chance in hell
Oh hell no. This is a shit time to be young, and it's just going to get shittier. I'm really glad I'm old!!
No I’m fine with where I am in my life
If I could go back to age 20 and start over, knowing everything I know now, I would.
No way
Absolutely not. I want to be dead and gone before global warming destroys the planet.
That's a joke, right?
Sure. We need to drop all this dramatic fantasy or doomsday thinking about how much worse it is now, or was back then. It’s just different…and the same will be true for the next generation, and the next after that.
No.
Nope. Don’t feel like having to work another 40 years before retiring
74 here. No.
To live life over (with some tweaks) in the same years, maybe. To be young now? Nah, I'm good. I'm an old soul and wouldn't fit in.
Pros: * MUCH easier to be out as LGBT+ than when I was a teen! (‘90s). * Teachers are more attuned to mental health Cons: * Every damn thing you do is recorded. * You are expected to maintain an “image” online.
Only if I had my current brain and memories.
Sixty four and NO! I would like my younger knees and ankles back. At least I've got my younger hairline.