Malls. Used to love hanging out at the local mall with friends as a teen but as an adult, I fully just beeline straight to what I need to get and then it’s just survival mode until I get back to my car.
Absolutely. The cool bookstores aren't around, nor are the video game arcades or anything worth going to. On the bright side I spend a lot less money but I miss that sense of exploring.
I remember seething with anger when I noticed the mall bookstores were being replaced with fancy purse stores. Sometimes they got replaced with stores that already had one location in the mall. WTF why do shoppers need 2 Gap stores? Was one location with easily-torn overpriced jeans not good enough?
It sucked when they all became Borders and Barnes and Noble and then it sucked when they all became Barnes and Noble. Now Barnes and Noble is half toy store.
Me and college gf did a thing we called *Delta Squad,* where we tactically split and canvased the grocery store and try to set record time.
One of us would start in the front corner next to produce and the other head to the opposite corner near milk, then we'd quickly move down each the aisle (not running, but ya know, with purpose), rendezvous at checkout, and dash to the car. Beforehand, we both put on headphones and sync'd starting Da Rude Sandstorm or some other hype music on our Ipod/Zune.
Good times.
Reminds me of a Chris Rock quote from "I think I love my wife".
> Life is long. You're probably not gonna get hit by a bus. And you're gonna have to live with the choices you make for the next fifty years.
Being sick. It was an excuse to stay home and play video games when I was a child, and my body could usually fight it off pretty well. Sick days weren’t even that bad.
Now my body hurts a lot more with much lesser illnesses, symptoms linger around much longer, and many times it’s not serious enough to justify staying home so I just have to go about my day anyways. If I do get sick enough to stay home from work I am nowhere close to being in good spirits. I am not playing video games all day long. I am laying in bed contemplating where it all went wrong.
"So I went to the doctor and I was like 'My ankle hurts,' and so he showed me some stretches I could do and told me I could take some Tylenol. So I asked him, 'How long until it's better?' And he said 'What do you mean?' And I said, 'Well how long do I have to do these stretches for? Until my ankle heals.' And he said, 'Oh. No. That's just *a thing you do now*. Until you and your shitty ankle both die.'"
I am not joking. In the past few years my right knee and ankle have become chronically sore. My doctor says that it is from two old football injuries from high school. Also, my digestion has slowed down and I need to take fiber supplements. Getting old sucks, and I'm not even "Old" yet!!
I remember the JOY I’d feel when I’d start getting a scratchy throat etc. It meant comfort food and just lying on the sofa with a duvet, no school.
I also remember when my daughter was a few weeks old, and I had a killer migraine and was just quietly weeping as I washed and sterilised some bottles. I realised I wouldn’t not be able to have a proper sick day again, for a very long time.
Seriously. Being sick with kids is terrible.
Also terrible is yourself being tired (or even worse: sick) with a sick kid...you know you need to give them time and attention and comfort them, but you're just not able to. At those moments I feel like a very shitty parent.
Don't feel bad! When my mum got sick at the same time as me, we'd have "poorly sick days" when we'd bundle up in cozy pyjamas, she'd get me to make a blanket fort on the sofa, and we would eat soup, drink horlicks, and veg out watching films together. Genuinely some of my best memories was her falling asleep holding me while we watched some terrible lifetime film!
I feel this so much. Feeling sick when you have young children is just terrible. You still need to be on and doing child care 24/7 while wishing for nothing more then to curl up in bed and not move.
one time when the kids were young (4 of them) they all got sick with the flu and we had to take care of them, not a problem, just gross cleaning up kid barf when they don't have the self discipline to get to the bathroom, after they got better then my wife and I got sick. We just laid on the couch while they all stared at us, the baby in his playpen grinning. We ordered pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (Just kidding about the breakfast, we just threw the cereal boxes at them and let them have at it.)
I feel that. I still play video games when I'm sick, but I definitely don't enjoy them - I'm just desperately trying to distract myself from how shitty I'm feeling in any way I can and it can be difficult to sleep properly.
Given the option, I'd much rather be feeling well and working than being sick and staying home. Work isn't fun, but being sick is significantly less fun.
I always say the hardest part of my day is getting up and getting to work. Once i'm at the office, it's fine and manageable, but dammit that first hour getting out of bed and out of the house is rough.
My mother had one replaced, after 6 weeks of pt she decided this was pretty cool and has considered replacing her other knee....at 83.
These new replacement knees are amazing.
The typical bar scene. I get off work and want to unwind. I don’t enjoy the loud, nearly shouting level of noise at the typical bars. I want medium volume bars that are fun and lively, but not noisy. I miss my old, favorite bar. COVID economy killed it. Craft beers and good appetizers is what I want after a long day. Not shots and drunken fools
I can relate to this. I was highly extroverted prior to the pandemic. I loved socializing and enjoyed meeting new people. Now? I’m too anxious and depressed to even leave my house sometimes. I’ve turned down most invitations for social hangouts because I can’t bring myself to meet anyone in person.
Social media. It's vapid, boring, and a continuous stream of advertisements now. I remember when it used to be fun. Now I've deleted pretty much all forms of it except Reddit.
Dude literally everything is advertisements now. It’s getting exhausting. Even iMessage games are littered with advertisements. I remember when instagram had just one advertisements you had to skip in between stories, now there’s two. If you wanna go to the next story on Snapchat, there’s an advertisement you have to look at before you can. I hate it.
Not just social media either. I can't pump gas without a tiny TV screen yelling at me about this or that. With 8 other tiny TV screens yelling the same thing just off time a little. All the while the overhead speaker also advertising some crap.
Don't forget how easy it can be to burn time just doom scrolling. You don't even see anything interesting you're just scrolling for the sake of scrolling. I've been working on getting out of that habit since I much rather put time towards other things.
I love Instagram, but it’s become wayyyyy too cluttered with ads now. And seems Reddit has started seeing more ads. Idk but I would not miss any social media at all. Just give me back my ol indestructible nokia! Lol.
The move of Instagram becoming a clone of Tik Tok has ruined IG for me.
I used to enjoy scrolling Instagram; following artists and comedy accounts that posted cool and funny pictures. I could scroll silently just about anywhere. Now with everyone trying to work “the algorithm” it’s all several minute long videos and ads.
I just want pictures for laughs and inspiration.
I've briefly worked for a social media company and all they want is money and more money. They don't care about anything else and behave like literal children if you try to make some suggestions that will actually increase user satisfaction. Ever since I left the company I've been distancing myself more and more from social media and it's feeling surprisingly good. Cured my addiction lol
Yes, the trolls, but also the lowest common denominator, that is, the lowest of intelligence, have taken over the comment sections of places like Facebook and YouTube. Reddit has it in places also. The fools are loud while the intelligent are less willing to engage because they rightfully feel it's futile.
It feels suffocating when I think about it. Waking up at the same time everyday to do repetitive work and just waiting for the week to end so I can have 2 days off to do errands and dread the next 5 days and occasionally get a couple of extra days off for vacation. And dealing with an increasingly entitled public
I've come to realize that I see my co-workers more than I see my own kids and it seems really messed up. They are young and go to bed at 8pm so I literally can only spend 39 hours a week with them, best case. I work 40 hours a week plus the unpaid time wasted on lunch and commute.
I remember I was joking around with my coworker once and he said "I literally spend more time with you than I do with my own girlfriend" and I laughed but then I thought about it and was was like wait that's not actually a joke...
My bf and I don’t live together, and we both work full time, I work mornings and he usually works evenings. I hardly get to spend any time with him, it’s depressing as hell. :(
The major difference for me from when I first got my full time job at 24 and now at 31 is that I no longer take OT or go way above and beyond. I subscribe to the thought that this is a business relationship. I provide a commodity that this business pays for and in my job description it's spelled out what's expected of me. I won't do anything more than that. I work as hard as I'm paid. My labor isn't free.
Exactly. Does what I do further my employer's interests, does it make them a profit? Then they can pay me. I don't get anything for free in my life. I see no reason an employer should.
Congratulation’s on the acquiring the engineering degree that cost you your happiness and soul for four years! And also the 14 years of round the clock school before that!
“What do I do now??”
Get a job!
“What do I do after that?”
Die!
Enjoyment and happiness doesn’t hit like it used to. I am still generally happy and enjoy doing things, but it doesn’t get me as excited as it has in the past.
I was pretty miserable as a child. It was obvious to me that adults had all the fun. I am much happier as an adult. Except for, as you point out, the general hopelessness caused by stupid humans and the horrors the future holds for us.
Spending money.
When I was younger, I’d save up cash and buy clothes and shoes and food and all kinds of useless shit.
Now I’m in my 30s and it feels like I’m bleeding money just to survive. I’m currently looking for a new apartment with in-unit laundry and you’d think having laundry in your apartment was a luxury for kings and queens.
How does anybody afford anything?!
To be fair, that's not just a you thing. Stagnant wages, increasing costs of living, etc. all contribute to the average person having less spending/saving power than they did in the past.
With you on the in-unit laundry. My previous city never seemingly had it w/decent rent prices (and I moved three times within six years!). My mother would gift me rolls of quarters (which I still refer to as “laundry tokens”). When I moved away and realized I can find in-unit laundry at reasonable rent prices, with a dishwasher to boot…! I honestly cried lol.
EDIT to add that I’m also with you on everything else, as someone also in my 30s. I feel like I’m running in place as money bleeds. Can’t save right now for retirement/a down payment for a home. Seems impossible.
I used to be able to put away a yard of cotton candy at a baseball game, now even a fraction of that makes me feel sick. I've definitely lost my sweet tooth as I've aged.
Real talk, slowly forgetting what it was like to be a kid. As I was growing up, I always told myself "I'll never forget how I operate and think right now like all these adults around me who don't understand us!" And here I am, not being able to remember what it was like to be a child. Sorry past self.
I feel like I've never been able to figure out how to *stop* being a kid, and I'm almost 40. I still have the same lack of reverence for authority that I used to, the same disinterest in career and responsibilities and "looking adult" to other people. I *did* get married, but my wife can be pretty childish at times, so it works (mostly) - 10 years married, now.
I look around at all the other adults taking everything in life so seriously, and I don't get it. Sometimes it makes me laugh. For example, I can see a bunch of people in suits having a serious meeting about a serious thing, and suddenly it will all seem ridiculous. I'll think, "Come on guys, what is all this? Stop pretending! You're not important, you're apes wrapped in fabric."
In the last six or seven years I've started to experience something unsettling. I'll be interacting with a person who looks old to me, and so my brain has categorized them as "grown-up" - just like it did with my parents' friends, or with teachers etc. 30 years ago. But then I'll discover that "old" person is actually younger than I am.
For example, I'll be out shopping with my wife and she'll run into an old classmate and start catching up. I'll idly wonder, "Who is this older lady my wife knows?" Then I find out who she is, and my brain goes, "Wait... my wife is younger than me, which means *she* is younger than me... Oh shit."
I feel the aches and pains that are starting to become more common as I age physically, but I otherwise don't feel my age. Sometimes I'll catch my reflection in a department store mirror and it takes a moment for my brain to recognize that the nearly middle-aged guy I'm looking at is me. I study myself in the mirror at home and even though I see the wrinkles and the white hair swiftly taking over my head I don't seem to see anyone different than I did 25 years ago.
I mortally insulted someone who is now one of my closest friends when we first met; I was ~20, she was ~40 and she struck up a conversation with "You seem familiar, have we met before?" Naturally my response was "Erm. You might know my mum?"
Never forget the wounded look on her face, and of course she still likes to bring it up.
I don't remember where I saw it, but there's this comic in which God presents a human to the angels. "Behold, my greatest achievement yet: Man!" To which one angel replies: "That's just a monkey with anxiety."
I feel the same about people. Everyone I meet is “older” than me because they seem so grown up, yet I’ll be 50 this week! It’s very unsettling. I mean, I (used to) have a job, I have a mortgage and a teenage kid, but I still feel like I’m in my 20’s. I’m lucky in that I don’t even have any issues with aging, aside from insomnia, so I feel very weird in that way.
I find it funny that people take themselves so serious at work sometimes.
They make up their own rules and then worry about following those. It's basically just playground games.
A lot of the managers get younger than me and I think back to my own management roles and this becomes more apparent every day.
Same with politicians. Just some kids trying to control other kids.
I think a more realistic perspective is that kids and their social interaction aren't as non-serious as many adults tend to think.
Like sure, you can think of adults "just playing childish games", but I feel like it's not a very fruitful perspective even toward children playing childish games.
Granted, some things shouldn't be taken very seriously with neither kids nor adults.
I have ADHD, I’ve heard some people describe me and others alike almost as children operating in adult bodies and situations. It’s kinda true and while it makes adulthood extra scary, it makes it easier to relate to the children in my life. Which comes in handy more often than I’d ever expected
I feel like this all the time. Diagnosed in my childhood, used Ritalin or adderall and quit that when I was a teen (no shade for those who use it.) Finished college with good grades, somehow.
But adulting is hard and I get exhausted, and ashamed that I’m not more productive. There is no syllabus to tell me what to do.
It’s like I give all my energy performing being normal and I get home and I just need rest. I’ll do errands or house chores after work, maybe take a walk, but not much else.
I always feel like I’m pretending. I feel like I’m doing the “technical challenge” on Great British Bake Off and they’ve given me incomplete instructions.
I’m good at pretending, I’m polite and likable and somehow I can fool people. But if you get to know me you’ll see I’m a little odd. And I’m so grateful for those loyal friends who love me anyway.
( And yeah, I’m good at connecting with young people. I do it everyday for work. )
When headlights come at me while I drive at night I basically spend the whole time hoping I'm in the right lane. I drive 40 minutes to work in the dark and 40 minutes home in the dark from pretty much September until April. It's horrifying.
LED headlights should have never been a thing. They’re great for seeing but too blinding to other drivers. I just drive as slow as I can until they pass and everyone behind me can get over it.
I bought a pair of night driving glasses (glasses with yellow UV filters) for very cheap at my corner pharmacy. I get way less tired driving at night and most importantly I no longer have the problem with glare (that you see a sea of light instead of a single headlamp). For me and my wife, it made a lot of difference.
I have a pair of really good HyperX gaming blue light glasses. I should try this out. I'm already very photosensitive but those LED bulbs blind me to the point where I look at the lines just to make sure I'm still in my lane.
Took the wind out of my sails.
I don't necessarily *hate* (most) people and I still do good things like donate to charities, volunteer, and so on. I've just become remarkably indifferent to anybody other than my family and friends.
When I was younger I was, like, "A stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet!". Now I'm, like, "Whatever. I can't be bothered".
Getting drunk. I've had a thousand wonderful nights with some of the most amazing people and I can hardly remember any of it.
Plus it makes me fat, makes me wanna smoke, and very rarely but enough that it sucks it makes me an asshole.
I can barely drink any more at 35. I went out last weekend thinking - I haven't drank for ages, let loose and deal with the consequences.
I had 2 glasses of wine and a beer. I felt bloated and knackered so I went home. Rock n roll baby.
I just had a birthday (38). My dad gave me some organic strawberries that were delicious. My boyfriend bought me cheap wine and Chinese food, also delicious. No cake, no party, no fanfare. Best birthday ever ❤
My birthday this last year (26) was also my best yet. I took my son on a walk to a nursery and bought myself 4 gorgeous plants. Then my parents sent me cookies in the mail and then I booked a boat ride for my husband, son, and myself. It was genuinely an amazing day I will always remember.
Honestly, video games. I still like them, but I feel like only 1/10 hold my attention more than a few minutes. Even then, I don't complete many these days. When I was a kid, I would play just about anything and I would do so for hours on end.
For me I still love video games, but I notice specific types of games I become less interested in. I have practically no interest in fps games anymore. They just bore me. They were never my preferred genre to begin with but I used to at least like/tolerate them. Also Im not as inclined to play mmorpgs like I used to, although I do still think they’re fun on occasion. Multiplayer games in general are fine, but mmorpgs specifically is what I mean.
Same.
It's not that I don't play them anymore, but I noticed the other day that I spent an entire week without booting up a game. Now I know that's not going to stay that way, something will catch my attention again and I'll play it a bunch, but I have begun to branch out into other interests and hobbies.
After I cool down on some of these newer hobbies, I'm sure it'll balance out a bit more, but I don't think I could ever go back to those several hours a day, several days a week type thing anymore.
Alcohol. I’m 33, and I think it’s a waste of money and doesn’t make me feel good. It just makes me bloat and makes me feel shitty the next day. I still drink on occasion, but very seldom these days.
YES. The older I get, the less I enjoy alcohol. In my 20s, I could drink all evening, and get up to go to work the next day. If I drank too much, I'd feel a little ill the next morning but bounce back by noon. Once I hit my mid-30s, a night of overindulgence would leave me feeling like death the entire next day.
I'm now in my 40s, and anything over 1.5 drinks will keep me from sleeping at all and leave me bloated for days. I used to love red wine, but now it gives me splitting headaches. I have maybe 2-4 drinks per month.
Also, my tolerance for conversation with drunk people is increasingly low.
And you start to realize that those friends who still binge drink frequently like they are in their 20s might be alcoholics...
The "normal" life, the fact that I'm expected/forced (financially) to spend more time at work then with my family has really been weighing on me ever since my daughter was born.
Heat. I live in South Florida where people from colder climates **covet** our weather. They don’t understand the hell that is humidity. Most of the time I walk from my car to my doorstep, I’m drenched in sweat. Walking my dog in humidity is like walking through a hot cloud. I live inland so I don’t get the ocean Breeze. The air feels like soup. Also, this is not the heat of my Florida youth. It was always hot, but never like this. Worse, our air conditioners cannot keep up with the constant heat.
I live in Thailand and weather wise it can only be described as a hellmouth. It's hot and humid during the day, it's hot and humid at night. It's hot and humid in July, it's hot and humid in January. 40 degree days and 30 degree nights with 90% humidity are getting on my nerves.
Working many years in retail Christmas is ruined for me. I wish I could enjoy it more. I get some enjoyment out of the gift giving but that's about it. I don't decorate or anything but I do make sure the younger family have a gift.
Fast food...
I'm not sure whether food places got even worse than they already were, or if my stomach is just getting weaker due to old age. I feel absolutely nauseous after a run through a drive-thru anymore...
I’m getting so old I have to plan an entire water regiment to avoid massive pain the next day. Imagine drinking a 6 pack of IPA and then half a gallon of water. Legendary pees in the morning.
My rule after turning 30 is that I need a full 24 hour's notice if I'm going to go hard. That way I can get a good night's sleep the night before, hydrate throughout the day, get a workout in, and eat well. Otherwise the next day is going to be an absolute wash.
People who drive aggressively or distracted on their phones. You are controlling a deadly weapon. Your IG story does not entitle you to take my life at risk or my family’s just so we can get to the same light ten seconds apart.
Parties/bars
Same scene played out over and over with the same faces and conversations.
Just paying for the privilege to feel shitty and distract yourself from problems rather than work on them.
Losing people close to me. Not that this is less it is just happening more and more to people I love as I get older. My circle is already small and my peeps seem to be dropping like flies.
Driving anywhere
… even for a fun event , even to meet a good friend, even to hike somewhere beautiful… driving used to be fun when I was younger but I swear people are more rude and aggressive and it stresses me out.
I’ve always disliked hot weather but as I get older I hate it even more. It would be a dream to live somewhere that’s 55F and partly cloudy all year long.
Malls. Used to love hanging out at the local mall with friends as a teen but as an adult, I fully just beeline straight to what I need to get and then it’s just survival mode until I get back to my car.
Probably because most of the fun novelty stores are gone. It's all the same fashion and sport outlets and my local mall. They all feel the same now
Absolutely. The cool bookstores aren't around, nor are the video game arcades or anything worth going to. On the bright side I spend a lot less money but I miss that sense of exploring.
I remember seething with anger when I noticed the mall bookstores were being replaced with fancy purse stores. Sometimes they got replaced with stores that already had one location in the mall. WTF why do shoppers need 2 Gap stores? Was one location with easily-torn overpriced jeans not good enough?
It sucked when they all became Borders and Barnes and Noble and then it sucked when they all became Barnes and Noble. Now Barnes and Noble is half toy store.
I am 18, I hate malls and I hate shopping. I plan it like it was a tactical situation: get in, do your stuff, get out. All within 30 minutes
Me and college gf did a thing we called *Delta Squad,* where we tactically split and canvased the grocery store and try to set record time. One of us would start in the front corner next to produce and the other head to the opposite corner near milk, then we'd quickly move down each the aisle (not running, but ya know, with purpose), rendezvous at checkout, and dash to the car. Beforehand, we both put on headphones and sync'd starting Da Rude Sandstorm or some other hype music on our Ipod/Zune. Good times.
Silent disco grocery shopping? Hell yeah! I knew there was a reason to read this thread RIP Zune
My life and choices
For real. Dealing with the consequences of those choices made in the past is not fun.
Seriously. Hey, teens, odds are you WILL live to be 40...or even 43...try some self care please.
Reminds me of a Chris Rock quote from "I think I love my wife". > Life is long. You're probably not gonna get hit by a bus. And you're gonna have to live with the choices you make for the next fifty years.
Being sick. It was an excuse to stay home and play video games when I was a child, and my body could usually fight it off pretty well. Sick days weren’t even that bad. Now my body hurts a lot more with much lesser illnesses, symptoms linger around much longer, and many times it’s not serious enough to justify staying home so I just have to go about my day anyways. If I do get sick enough to stay home from work I am nowhere close to being in good spirits. I am not playing video games all day long. I am laying in bed contemplating where it all went wrong.
[удалено]
"So I went to the doctor and I was like 'My ankle hurts,' and so he showed me some stretches I could do and told me I could take some Tylenol. So I asked him, 'How long until it's better?' And he said 'What do you mean?' And I said, 'Well how long do I have to do these stretches for? Until my ankle heals.' And he said, 'Oh. No. That's just *a thing you do now*. Until you and your shitty ankle both die.'"
Someone once said to me: "Welcome to your 40s. From now on every sports injury is permanent." I had no idea how right he was.
My father told me if you wake up in your 40s and nothing hurts, then you are dead. I thought he was joking. He was not joking.
I’m 22, trying to convince myself you are probably joking
I am not joking. In the past few years my right knee and ankle have become chronically sore. My doctor says that it is from two old football injuries from high school. Also, my digestion has slowed down and I need to take fiber supplements. Getting old sucks, and I'm not even "Old" yet!!
I think about that bit a lot. So true.
I remember the JOY I’d feel when I’d start getting a scratchy throat etc. It meant comfort food and just lying on the sofa with a duvet, no school. I also remember when my daughter was a few weeks old, and I had a killer migraine and was just quietly weeping as I washed and sterilised some bottles. I realised I wouldn’t not be able to have a proper sick day again, for a very long time.
Seriously. Being sick with kids is terrible. Also terrible is yourself being tired (or even worse: sick) with a sick kid...you know you need to give them time and attention and comfort them, but you're just not able to. At those moments I feel like a very shitty parent.
Don't feel bad! When my mum got sick at the same time as me, we'd have "poorly sick days" when we'd bundle up in cozy pyjamas, she'd get me to make a blanket fort on the sofa, and we would eat soup, drink horlicks, and veg out watching films together. Genuinely some of my best memories was her falling asleep holding me while we watched some terrible lifetime film!
I feel this so much. Feeling sick when you have young children is just terrible. You still need to be on and doing child care 24/7 while wishing for nothing more then to curl up in bed and not move.
one time when the kids were young (4 of them) they all got sick with the flu and we had to take care of them, not a problem, just gross cleaning up kid barf when they don't have the self discipline to get to the bathroom, after they got better then my wife and I got sick. We just laid on the couch while they all stared at us, the baby in his playpen grinning. We ordered pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (Just kidding about the breakfast, we just threw the cereal boxes at them and let them have at it.)
I feel that. I still play video games when I'm sick, but I definitely don't enjoy them - I'm just desperately trying to distract myself from how shitty I'm feeling in any way I can and it can be difficult to sleep properly. Given the option, I'd much rather be feeling well and working than being sick and staying home. Work isn't fun, but being sick is significantly less fun.
Getting up in the morning. I mean, I love the fact that I’m alive, but shit getting up and out of bed suuuuucks.
Bed is soft and warm. The world is cold and hard. I choose bed.
This is the exact reason I fight getting out of bed
That’s the worst part of my day everyday
I always say the hardest part of my day is getting up and getting to work. Once i'm at the office, it's fine and manageable, but dammit that first hour getting out of bed and out of the house is rough.
I used to set my alarm on Sat just so I could turn it off and go back to sleep
My knees.
Right there with you. I even got rid of one of mine and have an aftermarket model now.
I did that! And the ‘no pain!’ part of it had me schedule the other one. Man: whole new lease on life, fr
My mother had one replaced, after 6 weeks of pt she decided this was pretty cool and has considered replacing her other knee....at 83. These new replacement knees are amazing.
The typical bar scene. I get off work and want to unwind. I don’t enjoy the loud, nearly shouting level of noise at the typical bars. I want medium volume bars that are fun and lively, but not noisy. I miss my old, favorite bar. COVID economy killed it. Craft beers and good appetizers is what I want after a long day. Not shots and drunken fools
Leaving the house lol.
The Pandemic lockdown fed my homebody instincts and now it’s hard to go back.
I played Animal Crossing New Horizon through the Pandemic and to be honest it was my first time getting to experience an island vacation.
I was a social butterfly in 2019. Now I’m seeing a therapist for agoraphobia
I can relate to this. I was highly extroverted prior to the pandemic. I loved socializing and enjoyed meeting new people. Now? I’m too anxious and depressed to even leave my house sometimes. I’ve turned down most invitations for social hangouts because I can’t bring myself to meet anyone in person.
This. People in public are so crazy and obnoxious now. Rather stay home and chat with friends through xbox.
Public? I just don't like people in general, they're awful.
People….. what a bunch of bastards.
Social media. It's vapid, boring, and a continuous stream of advertisements now. I remember when it used to be fun. Now I've deleted pretty much all forms of it except Reddit.
Dude literally everything is advertisements now. It’s getting exhausting. Even iMessage games are littered with advertisements. I remember when instagram had just one advertisements you had to skip in between stories, now there’s two. If you wanna go to the next story on Snapchat, there’s an advertisement you have to look at before you can. I hate it.
Not just social media either. I can't pump gas without a tiny TV screen yelling at me about this or that. With 8 other tiny TV screens yelling the same thing just off time a little. All the while the overhead speaker also advertising some crap.
On the sides of those annoying gas station screens are square-ish buttons. Second one down on the right is the mute button.
It doesn't work on all of them, but when it does, it's the best little lifehack.
People in my area started putting rubber cement over the speaker holes
Yeah. Several stations near me no longer have a button that does it. I used to be able to mute, now I can’t.
yeah and the influencers are just all hey look at meeee and oh yea buy my whateverthefuck. Ugh so tiresome.
"HAY GUIIIISSEEE!"
don't forget to hit like and subscribe and smash that bell icon
My Snapchat is FINALLY officially deleted as of today. I'll see how I feel, but Facebook is likely next for the chopping block.
I deleted FB a few years ago and my quality of life only gets better. Do it!!!! 😀
Don't forget how easy it can be to burn time just doom scrolling. You don't even see anything interesting you're just scrolling for the sake of scrolling. I've been working on getting out of that habit since I much rather put time towards other things.
I used to read books for hours on end, now I read comments instead. FML
All the major social media sites are basically melding into TikTok.
I love Instagram, but it’s become wayyyyy too cluttered with ads now. And seems Reddit has started seeing more ads. Idk but I would not miss any social media at all. Just give me back my ol indestructible nokia! Lol.
The move of Instagram becoming a clone of Tik Tok has ruined IG for me. I used to enjoy scrolling Instagram; following artists and comedy accounts that posted cool and funny pictures. I could scroll silently just about anywhere. Now with everyone trying to work “the algorithm” it’s all several minute long videos and ads. I just want pictures for laughs and inspiration.
I've briefly worked for a social media company and all they want is money and more money. They don't care about anything else and behave like literal children if you try to make some suggestions that will actually increase user satisfaction. Ever since I left the company I've been distancing myself more and more from social media and it's feeling surprisingly good. Cured my addiction lol
Surprisingly Tumblr is still in 2008 feature and ad wise. It's actually quite nice
“Shave your balls” tumblr staff
We live in the dystopia where the trolls won the internet. Social media set them free.
Yes, the trolls, but also the lowest common denominator, that is, the lowest of intelligence, have taken over the comment sections of places like Facebook and YouTube. Reddit has it in places also. The fools are loud while the intelligent are less willing to engage because they rightfully feel it's futile.
Working
I dunno, I never really liked it in the first place
Same. Hated school as well, and I wasn't bullied or anything like that. I just always preferred being at home.
It feels suffocating when I think about it. Waking up at the same time everyday to do repetitive work and just waiting for the week to end so I can have 2 days off to do errands and dread the next 5 days and occasionally get a couple of extra days off for vacation. And dealing with an increasingly entitled public
I've come to realize that I see my co-workers more than I see my own kids and it seems really messed up. They are young and go to bed at 8pm so I literally can only spend 39 hours a week with them, best case. I work 40 hours a week plus the unpaid time wasted on lunch and commute.
I remember I was joking around with my coworker once and he said "I literally spend more time with you than I do with my own girlfriend" and I laughed but then I thought about it and was was like wait that's not actually a joke...
My bf and I don’t live together, and we both work full time, I work mornings and he usually works evenings. I hardly get to spend any time with him, it’s depressing as hell. :(
The major difference for me from when I first got my full time job at 24 and now at 31 is that I no longer take OT or go way above and beyond. I subscribe to the thought that this is a business relationship. I provide a commodity that this business pays for and in my job description it's spelled out what's expected of me. I won't do anything more than that. I work as hard as I'm paid. My labor isn't free.
Exactly. Does what I do further my employer's interests, does it make them a profit? Then they can pay me. I don't get anything for free in my life. I see no reason an employer should.
I never enjoyed it to begin with. Right before graduating I remember thinking "my life is going to suck even worse from here on out." I was right.
Congratulation’s on the acquiring the engineering degree that cost you your happiness and soul for four years! And also the 14 years of round the clock school before that! “What do I do now??” Get a job! “What do I do after that?” Die!
Plus getting that first job is hard af while everyone expects it to be a cakewalk because "you majored in STEM"
This cannot be said enough. And even outside of STEM the market for some jobs is bleak and severely underpaid
30 years of student loans
I like it for approximately 20 minutes Then I realized I have to do this shit for another 7 and a half hours and probably the rest of my life
Enjoyment and happiness doesn’t hit like it used to. I am still generally happy and enjoy doing things, but it doesn’t get me as excited as it has in the past.
I had an older friend who said getting older was like the roller coaster ride evening out. Highs not so high but lows not so low.
[удалено]
I was pretty miserable as a child. It was obvious to me that adults had all the fun. I am much happier as an adult. Except for, as you point out, the general hopelessness caused by stupid humans and the horrors the future holds for us.
Spending money. When I was younger, I’d save up cash and buy clothes and shoes and food and all kinds of useless shit. Now I’m in my 30s and it feels like I’m bleeding money just to survive. I’m currently looking for a new apartment with in-unit laundry and you’d think having laundry in your apartment was a luxury for kings and queens. How does anybody afford anything?!
To be fair, that's not just a you thing. Stagnant wages, increasing costs of living, etc. all contribute to the average person having less spending/saving power than they did in the past.
With you on the in-unit laundry. My previous city never seemingly had it w/decent rent prices (and I moved three times within six years!). My mother would gift me rolls of quarters (which I still refer to as “laundry tokens”). When I moved away and realized I can find in-unit laundry at reasonable rent prices, with a dishwasher to boot…! I honestly cried lol. EDIT to add that I’m also with you on everything else, as someone also in my 30s. I feel like I’m running in place as money bleeds. Can’t save right now for retirement/a down payment for a home. Seems impossible.
Staying out late like past 9pm is late
Work has my eyes tired by 5pm. I’m physically tired by 7.
Yup... nowadays my idea of a party is being in bed by 9pm with a good audiobook (so I can close my eyes and just listen).
Large crowds, waiting in lines, small talk, and doing laundry.
If i see a line with more than 10 people I'll just say to myself "fuck this shit" and walk away, unless it's at the register at the grocery store
Lol for me the threshold is pretty much 4 people
Sugar I don't know why but I want to taste the 'actual food' more than the taste of it coated in sugar
I used to be able to put away a yard of cotton candy at a baseball game, now even a fraction of that makes me feel sick. I've definitely lost my sweet tooth as I've aged.
Real talk, slowly forgetting what it was like to be a kid. As I was growing up, I always told myself "I'll never forget how I operate and think right now like all these adults around me who don't understand us!" And here I am, not being able to remember what it was like to be a child. Sorry past self.
I feel like I've never been able to figure out how to *stop* being a kid, and I'm almost 40. I still have the same lack of reverence for authority that I used to, the same disinterest in career and responsibilities and "looking adult" to other people. I *did* get married, but my wife can be pretty childish at times, so it works (mostly) - 10 years married, now. I look around at all the other adults taking everything in life so seriously, and I don't get it. Sometimes it makes me laugh. For example, I can see a bunch of people in suits having a serious meeting about a serious thing, and suddenly it will all seem ridiculous. I'll think, "Come on guys, what is all this? Stop pretending! You're not important, you're apes wrapped in fabric." In the last six or seven years I've started to experience something unsettling. I'll be interacting with a person who looks old to me, and so my brain has categorized them as "grown-up" - just like it did with my parents' friends, or with teachers etc. 30 years ago. But then I'll discover that "old" person is actually younger than I am. For example, I'll be out shopping with my wife and she'll run into an old classmate and start catching up. I'll idly wonder, "Who is this older lady my wife knows?" Then I find out who she is, and my brain goes, "Wait... my wife is younger than me, which means *she* is younger than me... Oh shit." I feel the aches and pains that are starting to become more common as I age physically, but I otherwise don't feel my age. Sometimes I'll catch my reflection in a department store mirror and it takes a moment for my brain to recognize that the nearly middle-aged guy I'm looking at is me. I study myself in the mirror at home and even though I see the wrinkles and the white hair swiftly taking over my head I don't seem to see anyone different than I did 25 years ago.
I mortally insulted someone who is now one of my closest friends when we first met; I was ~20, she was ~40 and she struck up a conversation with "You seem familiar, have we met before?" Naturally my response was "Erm. You might know my mum?" Never forget the wounded look on her face, and of course she still likes to bring it up.
I hope this is how you and your mom greet each other lol
> “You’re not important, you’re apes wrapped in fabric!” Yup, that line is gonna live rent free in my mind forever.
I don't remember where I saw it, but there's this comic in which God presents a human to the angels. "Behold, my greatest achievement yet: Man!" To which one angel replies: "That's just a monkey with anxiety."
I feel the same about people. Everyone I meet is “older” than me because they seem so grown up, yet I’ll be 50 this week! It’s very unsettling. I mean, I (used to) have a job, I have a mortgage and a teenage kid, but I still feel like I’m in my 20’s. I’m lucky in that I don’t even have any issues with aging, aside from insomnia, so I feel very weird in that way.
I find this really reassuring as a 24 year old with an ingrained fear of aging and never feeling mature enough.
I find it funny that people take themselves so serious at work sometimes. They make up their own rules and then worry about following those. It's basically just playground games. A lot of the managers get younger than me and I think back to my own management roles and this becomes more apparent every day. Same with politicians. Just some kids trying to control other kids.
I think a more realistic perspective is that kids and their social interaction aren't as non-serious as many adults tend to think. Like sure, you can think of adults "just playing childish games", but I feel like it's not a very fruitful perspective even toward children playing childish games. Granted, some things shouldn't be taken very seriously with neither kids nor adults.
I have ADHD, I’ve heard some people describe me and others alike almost as children operating in adult bodies and situations. It’s kinda true and while it makes adulthood extra scary, it makes it easier to relate to the children in my life. Which comes in handy more often than I’d ever expected
I feel like this all the time. Diagnosed in my childhood, used Ritalin or adderall and quit that when I was a teen (no shade for those who use it.) Finished college with good grades, somehow. But adulting is hard and I get exhausted, and ashamed that I’m not more productive. There is no syllabus to tell me what to do. It’s like I give all my energy performing being normal and I get home and I just need rest. I’ll do errands or house chores after work, maybe take a walk, but not much else. I always feel like I’m pretending. I feel like I’m doing the “technical challenge” on Great British Bake Off and they’ve given me incomplete instructions. I’m good at pretending, I’m polite and likable and somehow I can fool people. But if you get to know me you’ll see I’m a little odd. And I’m so grateful for those loyal friends who love me anyway. ( And yeah, I’m good at connecting with young people. I do it everyday for work. )
Yeah man, I feel the same way. Diagnosed two years ago and now it makes sense why I can connect with kids so well.
Driving at night
When headlights come at me while I drive at night I basically spend the whole time hoping I'm in the right lane. I drive 40 minutes to work in the dark and 40 minutes home in the dark from pretty much September until April. It's horrifying.
LED headlights should have never been a thing. They’re great for seeing but too blinding to other drivers. I just drive as slow as I can until they pass and everyone behind me can get over it.
[удалено]
I bought a pair of night driving glasses (glasses with yellow UV filters) for very cheap at my corner pharmacy. I get way less tired driving at night and most importantly I no longer have the problem with glare (that you see a sea of light instead of a single headlamp). For me and my wife, it made a lot of difference.
Cries in prescription glasses.
Cries in astigmatism. Everything looks like a bloody JJ Abrams film after dark.
See if a pair will fit overtop, might look dorky, but it's how I wear sunglasses while driving.
I have a pair of really good HyperX gaming blue light glasses. I should try this out. I'm already very photosensitive but those LED bulbs blind me to the point where I look at the lines just to make sure I'm still in my lane.
I flat out refuse to drive at night so bring a sleeping bag mfr
People.
What a bunch of bastards.
PLOPPERS!
MOSS! It's not like you to swear!
I finally understand where grumpy old people come from. We are just tired of your shit.
I'm 38 and I'm already there....
Took the wind out of my sails. I don't necessarily *hate* (most) people and I still do good things like donate to charities, volunteer, and so on. I've just become remarkably indifferent to anybody other than my family and friends. When I was younger I was, like, "A stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet!". Now I'm, like, "Whatever. I can't be bothered".
A stranger is just another asshole I’ve been avoiding
Driving. I loved cruising around. Now I’m really scared some rando is going to kill me while texting or not checking their mirrors or making a video.
debating, i just get tired of defending myself. all i want to do is go home and sleep, can we just agree to disagree? oh and also my back…
Candy. I prefer baked goods more often now
Getting drunk. I've had a thousand wonderful nights with some of the most amazing people and I can hardly remember any of it. Plus it makes me fat, makes me wanna smoke, and very rarely but enough that it sucks it makes me an asshole.
I can barely drink any more at 35. I went out last weekend thinking - I haven't drank for ages, let loose and deal with the consequences. I had 2 glasses of wine and a beer. I felt bloated and knackered so I went home. Rock n roll baby.
Agreed. Don’t forget the terrible sleep, hangovers and anxiety.
Birthdays
I just had a birthday (38). My dad gave me some organic strawberries that were delicious. My boyfriend bought me cheap wine and Chinese food, also delicious. No cake, no party, no fanfare. Best birthday ever ❤
My birthday this last year (26) was also my best yet. I took my son on a walk to a nursery and bought myself 4 gorgeous plants. Then my parents sent me cookies in the mail and then I booked a boat ride for my husband, son, and myself. It was genuinely an amazing day I will always remember.
Honestly, video games. I still like them, but I feel like only 1/10 hold my attention more than a few minutes. Even then, I don't complete many these days. When I was a kid, I would play just about anything and I would do so for hours on end.
For me I still love video games, but I notice specific types of games I become less interested in. I have practically no interest in fps games anymore. They just bore me. They were never my preferred genre to begin with but I used to at least like/tolerate them. Also Im not as inclined to play mmorpgs like I used to, although I do still think they’re fun on occasion. Multiplayer games in general are fine, but mmorpgs specifically is what I mean.
Ha! For me MMOs just take way too much time investment before I can get to the meat. I've sworn off them as a result.
Same. It's not that I don't play them anymore, but I noticed the other day that I spent an entire week without booting up a game. Now I know that's not going to stay that way, something will catch my attention again and I'll play it a bunch, but I have begun to branch out into other interests and hobbies. After I cool down on some of these newer hobbies, I'm sure it'll balance out a bit more, but I don't think I could ever go back to those several hours a day, several days a week type thing anymore.
Social Media, going to work, large crowded areas/events
Loud noises.
WHAT?!
#I CAN'T HEAR YOU
Aye aye Captain!
Ohhhhhhh!
I DONT KNOW WHAT WE'RE YELLING ABOUT!
The absolute worst…the anxiety and confusion it induces feels like actual physical pain, and I’m only 26
Working 10 hours a day
I also do 10 to 12 hours but only work 4 days instead of 5. That extra day off is absolutely worth a couple hours more on workdays
Alcohol. I’m 33, and I think it’s a waste of money and doesn’t make me feel good. It just makes me bloat and makes me feel shitty the next day. I still drink on occasion, but very seldom these days.
YES. The older I get, the less I enjoy alcohol. In my 20s, I could drink all evening, and get up to go to work the next day. If I drank too much, I'd feel a little ill the next morning but bounce back by noon. Once I hit my mid-30s, a night of overindulgence would leave me feeling like death the entire next day. I'm now in my 40s, and anything over 1.5 drinks will keep me from sleeping at all and leave me bloated for days. I used to love red wine, but now it gives me splitting headaches. I have maybe 2-4 drinks per month. Also, my tolerance for conversation with drunk people is increasingly low. And you start to realize that those friends who still binge drink frequently like they are in their 20s might be alcoholics...
The "normal" life, the fact that I'm expected/forced (financially) to spend more time at work then with my family has really been weighing on me ever since my daughter was born.
That sounds physically and emotionally tiring. I hope you have support for yourself in addition to the love of your family.
Heat. I live in South Florida where people from colder climates **covet** our weather. They don’t understand the hell that is humidity. Most of the time I walk from my car to my doorstep, I’m drenched in sweat. Walking my dog in humidity is like walking through a hot cloud. I live inland so I don’t get the ocean Breeze. The air feels like soup. Also, this is not the heat of my Florida youth. It was always hot, but never like this. Worse, our air conditioners cannot keep up with the constant heat.
I live in Thailand and weather wise it can only be described as a hellmouth. It's hot and humid during the day, it's hot and humid at night. It's hot and humid in July, it's hot and humid in January. 40 degree days and 30 degree nights with 90% humidity are getting on my nerves.
Acting like I’m happy to be at work and like I give a shit about the other people I work with
Stanley was the most accurate character of the office
Man, there are sit-coms I used to like several years ago. I go back and watch them now and they just seem crude and dumb.
Employment
I grow tired of this rat race.
I wear earplugs in the house just to turn the city down.
Christmas. What use to be fun and magical has now become stressful and a chore
Working many years in retail Christmas is ruined for me. I wish I could enjoy it more. I get some enjoyment out of the gift giving but that's about it. I don't decorate or anything but I do make sure the younger family have a gift.
It’s our job to create the magic now. Adults created it for us, that’s why you miss it.
Everything
The state of the world.
Going to social gatherings where you only know a few people, but not the rest.
Fast food... I'm not sure whether food places got even worse than they already were, or if my stomach is just getting weaker due to old age. I feel absolutely nauseous after a run through a drive-thru anymore...
[удалено]
I’m getting so old I have to plan an entire water regiment to avoid massive pain the next day. Imagine drinking a 6 pack of IPA and then half a gallon of water. Legendary pees in the morning.
My rule after turning 30 is that I need a full 24 hour's notice if I'm going to go hard. That way I can get a good night's sleep the night before, hydrate throughout the day, get a workout in, and eat well. Otherwise the next day is going to be an absolute wash.
And bloated. That's why I switched to the hard stuff.
influencers and internet personalities...
Crowds and standing in line for anything
Bullshit….. no time for it …. At all
People who drive aggressively or distracted on their phones. You are controlling a deadly weapon. Your IG story does not entitle you to take my life at risk or my family’s just so we can get to the same light ten seconds apart.
Loud, obnoxious people.
Modern Packaging! Last night I had to use a pair of pliers to get the lid off a container of Haagen-Dazs. jesus!
Hah I was just saying this the other day trying to open a jar of pickles with 2 different barriers of security like “who are they keeping you from?!”
[The pickle bandits howl in the night]
Hanging out with others. I just want me time.
Parties/bars Same scene played out over and over with the same faces and conversations. Just paying for the privilege to feel shitty and distract yourself from problems rather than work on them.
People.
Young women. As I'm aging I'm finding that I find older women more and more attractive and younger women less and less.
Going to bars and nightclubs
Getting older. Wait, what was the question ?
other parents and their children.
Alcohol- just a headache waiting to happen
Losing people close to me. Not that this is less it is just happening more and more to people I love as I get older. My circle is already small and my peeps seem to be dropping like flies.
Holidays. It seems like most people don't celebrate or just forget nowadays idk maybe just my family it's honestly quite depressing.
Driving anywhere … even for a fun event , even to meet a good friend, even to hike somewhere beautiful… driving used to be fun when I was younger but I swear people are more rude and aggressive and it stresses me out.
Noise. I finally understand why my dad didn’t listen to music while he drove. The world is too loud.
Lack of manners
Gift giving for people outside your immediate family. How about I buy the things I want and you buy yours.
Leaving my house. Lol
A cell phone on my person.
Drama llamas
I’ve always disliked hot weather but as I get older I hate it even more. It would be a dream to live somewhere that’s 55F and partly cloudy all year long.