If there’s one truth of growing up that remains constant through the years, it’s the fact that older people will offer out-of-touch, unsolicited advice and comments. It’s probably been happening since the dawn of time, and it’s probably not going to stop anytime soon.
What are some of the most annoying things you’ve heard from older generations? The r/AskReddit subreddit has a few ideas .
When you don’t understand how generations work.
“I’m an older millennial. I have a good job, own a house, am married, and have two kids.
It is 2022 and at least half the times I hear someone older reference ‘millennials’ it’s talking about people who are currently the age my cohort was 22 years ago when the millennium was a thing.”
– u/_tx
Take credit for the bad if you want credit for the good.
“I’m not younger, but I’m a fed up with some older people expecting gratitude ‘for all that they have done’ while taking zero responsibility for the problems that they will leave future generations.”
Wait, you’re supposed to love your spouse?
“Tired of people referring to their significant others as the old ball and chain or just talking [trash] about their wives to friends a lot. It’s like their wives are a burden to them?”
It isn’t a contest.
“Older folks constantly trying to tell anybody younger than them that they don’t know what getting old is!
35 year old: ‘Damn, I’m starting to feel more tired in the morning and feel a little more sore after exercise than I used to!’
55 year old: ‘You think you’re old!? You’re not old! I’M OLD! You think that’s old!? Well wait to you get to be as old as I am!'”
Weird how that works.
“I hate how we’ve gone from me getting Facebook as a teenager and my parents being like ‘DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU SEE ON THE INTERNET’ to them sending me ‘medical research’ from unverified/unreputable sources.”
– u/y4mat3
“I’d just send my parents the research paper their source is referencing and rip into it or if there isn’t one.”
Have you even looked at house prices lately?
“‘You just have to work harder if you want to buy a house, that’s what I did.’
Yeah well I don’t make 50% of the price of a house, a year, like you did.”
“‘You don’t know what hard work is, I worked till I could afford my own home! It was 20 dollars and I worked my ass off for it!'”
Can’t fix everything.
“How we can’t fix anything ourselves. Then promptly ask us to fix their WiFi, set up their new phone and figure out why their computer is running slow.
We can do plenty, we just have a different skill set!”
– u/alehel
Wait, what’s wrong with tea?
“I’m 32 so not young, not old, but definitely hate hearing [stuff] … like for example, my BF’s dad saying he didn’t know he raised 3 girls when he found out my BF and his brother drink tea.”
You can’t just work your way to wealth.
“Pull yourself up by your boot straps and work harder.
Buddy, I’ve been working 60+ hours a week and prices keep going up and my pay is not and I actually cannot afford to change jobs, change my living situation, buy a more fuel efficient car, or go to college. There actually is no out. There is no work harder and I’ll make it. I’m literally in the poverty trap.”
Being older doesn’t give you license to be a bigot.
“They’re so judgemental and rude. I’m a restaurant worker and I swear young people are way more polite and easy going while older people have zero patience (even though they’re the ones who are already retired), oftentimes make racist, sexist, homophobic and bodyshaming comments and still act like they’re above the younger generation simply because they’ve been alive for longer.”
Gotta kill time somehow.
“I’m sick of hearing about how young people just spend all their time on tik tok. How they have stupid dances. How they’re just staring at screens all day, blah blah blah.
Yes, they do all that stuff, but we had stupid dances when we were younger. We sat in front of the TV all day. I’ve yet to see someone with square eyes.”
Gotta change with the times.
“Excuses for the fact that they haven’t learned anything new since they were 30.
Like bro come on computers been around for 30 years at the very least and you still don’t know how to use one?
The only excuse that you have is laziness.”
Don’t get married just to be married.
“Just had someone the other day ask me ‘so why arent you married?’ I’m like.. ‘if i met someone worth marrying, then I would!'”
“My grandma used to tell us she didn’t really know my grandpa that well when she married him. She didn’t really start liking him until a year later and the warm feelings only lasted a couple years.”
Believe me, you’re talking loud.
“My father: ‘You only overheard me from the other room, you don’t know what I’m actually talking about.’
Me: ‘I know exactly what you’re talking about because I can hear you on the other side of the house.'”
That isn’t how disagreements work.
“‘When you’re older you’ll agree with me.’
Ffs just because you’re older doesn’t mean you’re always right or that you know the answers to all my life’s problems. You grew up in a different time period, with different problems, and different social views.”
Some folks just don’t want kids, and that’s okay.
“‘When I was your age, I already had 5 kids and two grandchildren’ or ‘My granddaughter is your age and she already has 3 kids. When are you going to give you mom some grandkids?!’
I’m 30. Not that old, not that young. But this kind of comment? Definitely old for me. I’m so tired of older ladies saying this. I think I wasn’t even 18 when they started!”
If they’re terrible, and you raised them…
“I’m tired of people complaining about how younger people are terrible as though they weren’t the ones that raised those younger people to be what they are.”
“‘These millennials and damn participation trophies.’
Who were the ones handing them out? They weren’t giving them to themselves as children.”
If people don’t want to work, ask yourself why.
“‘No one wants to work anymore.’
First of all no one ever wanted to work. That’s why it’s called, ‘work,’ and not ‘fun.’
Second of all, maybe it’s that no one wants to work at your job that lists itself as entry level but wants 5 years of experience and a master’s degree along with being able to work 12 hour days at minimum wage.”
It’s possible to be both young and informed.
“That we know nothing about the world, that we can’t give our two cents because of that, and our opinions are invalid because we’re young.”
“Every generation before you heard this. I’m 58 and heard this.”
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Youth doesn’t make one impervious to pain.
“Anything to the effect of ‘young people can’t have back pain (or any other physical disability).’ Like, dude, I wish being in my twenties made me immune to being injured. But that’s literally just not how the human body works.”