Millennials Are Sharing The Biggest Lies They Were Told Growing Up

I feel like we've been told some pretty interesting lies as kids. Some are harmless, little white lies our parents would tell us to get us to behave. Others...well, they just don't make any sense.

Someone once posed a simple question: what lie were you told growing up? Millennials everywhere had plenty of answers to that question.

"That turning on the lights in the car is illegal."

Unsplash | Brecht Denil

My mom used to tell me this all the time as a kid, and one day when she did it, I thought we were going to be sent to jail. That's when I figured out the lie, and my entire life changed.

"That some dude is gonna walk up to me and offer me free drugs."

Unsplash | Paul Garaizar

"I've said no once, 'hey man, you wanna hit?', 'No thanks.' Was not nearly as dramatic as they made it out to be," one comment read.

I do remember my parents and teachers being very adamant about peer pressure, but it never really came up.

'"You'll regret spending so much time on that computer when you're older.'"

Considering the fact that most office jobs require you to stare at a screen for eight hours a day, that's kind of funny. Even now, I'm using a computer to type this out.

"You need to define yourself by your job."

Unsplash | Saulo Mohana

"I wasn't told this directly but we live in a culture of dream jobs or people asking 'what's your job' when they meet you. My work is cool but it's just work. My hobbies are what I define myself around."

"'You won't have a calculator everywhere you go.'"

Unsplash | Amol Tyagi

I used to hate math tests because my teachers wouldn't let me use a calculator. Not too long after that, everyone started carrying around smartphones, which, surprise surprise, have calculators in them.

You don't even actually need to know simple math these days (but it is nice to know).

"'Be loyal to your company. They'll take care of you.'"

Unsplash | Cytonn Photography

Some jobs, well, they don't always care about you. It's a lot harder these days to stick with one company for decades, both because of turnaround and because you may not want to do the same job for more than a few years.

Gone are the days of being loyal to one employer for your professional life.

"'Most people on the internet are dangerous weirdos!'"

That's not to say that there aren't dangerous people out there, but for the most part, people don't really lie about who they are online. And most people you'll meet on the internet are just as normal as the ones you'd meet in real life.

"That I would need and use cursive."

Writing in cursive is kind of fun sometimes, but it's really just a form of writing that's too hard to read. Nowadays, since we all type almost everything, we definitely don't need or use cursive anymore.

"My grandpa told me the world was in black & white before colour TV existed."

I can't believe we used to think this was true. As if the invention of color TV also brought about color in the real world. I don't know why our parents and grandparents used to tell us this.

"That if I don't have my life figured out by the time I'm 25 then I have some serious problems."

Adults used to put so much pressure on us as kids and teenagers to figure out what we wanted to do for the rest of our lives. It's okay not to know, and to try different things out before settling on a career.

"That we could buy a house, grow old and retire."

Unsplash | Sieuwert Otterloo

With housing prices the way they are, it's pretty much impossible for a lot of use to become homeowners without our parents' help. And don't even get me started on retirement.

"Fats are bad for you."

I remember a time where we used to assume any fat was bad and unhealthy. But there actually a lot of foods with healthy fats in them that you probably already have in your diet, like avocados or olive oil.

"That receiving 'participation trophies' were our fault."

"No kid was out there demanding a trophy for losing." I think I was on one sports team, and we ended up winning first place, so I never got a participation trophy. But I'd rather walk away with nothing than with one of those.

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