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Guess what -- you cannot stop time. 20 somethings will not be 20 somethings 10 years from now etc.. Many don't realize that those 'things that happen to old people' (job loss, illness) CAN AND WILL HAPPEN to a sizable percentage of those who are in their 20s today.. Many are shell shocked when one day they lose their job in a NY minute and and the rent payment is still due (which averages now between $3500 - $5000 a month in most areas of the city) as well as dealing with the 'stigma and embarrassment' of those life events that arent 'supposed to happen' when you are young, affluent etc..
When do "kids" stop interacting with older people? They seem to get along well until middle school then...nothing. Of course the typical self-centeredness and angst kicks in then and until their cognitive facilities are fully developed at 30. Seriously...even taken at face value, "fully" doesn't mean kids are helpless and must be treated with care until they hit 30. Many "kids" get married in their 20's and start successful families so I think most are doing okay - no excuses needed.
Everyone is impatient with everyone - ever read all the posts on here about old people driving and old people holding up checkout lines counting out change?
Plenty of "old people" are on here asking advice as well so I think your experience or your recollection is biased to see what you want to see. If you think the mix of people is too old...go to reddit or whatever...problem solved.
but these days 20 somethings are for the most part NOT 100% self supporting (even though they have much more expensive tech & designer clothing than 20 somethings 20 years ago did), I mean if you are making $50,000 a year I cannot fathom how the 'math works' for one to have even a one year old leased SUV, the lastest Iphone, coats and shoes costing in the 4 figures each
There are other message boards out there--go to reddit or google special interests if you want something younger and hipper.
This isn't directed at you personally, but since you mentioned it--yeah, I really dislike Reddit. What a cesspool, overall. That's why I personally, at age 31, don't mind what has always appeared to me to be the advanced collective age of the city-data forum...because every forum I've seen out there is worse than this one. Maybe there's some specialized academic forum out there somewhere that's 'better', but as far as a general forum goes, I don't know if you can do much better than this one. My next-favorite forum is 2+2, which is geared towards poker players, but the quality of that one really varies based on subforum subject matter and isn't as generally appealing as this one. Say what we might about people's opinions here, but the average poster on city-data at least attempts to write coherently--and in most cases those attempts are successful. That's more than can be said about most other Internet venues.
At What point do older people stop relating to younger people?
I defining younger people as those in the age ranges 0-29. I'd say when the older person gets in their 40s they stop relating to younger people somewhat and it grows more pronounced with each decade they grow older.
This isn't directed at you personally, but since you mentioned it--yeah, I really dislike Reddit. What a cesspool, overall. That's why I personally, at age 31, don't mind what has always appeared to me to be the advanced collective age of the city-data forum...because every forum I've seen out there is worse than this one. Maybe there's some specialized academic forum out there somewhere that's 'better', but as far as a general forum goes, I don't know if you can do much better than this one. My next-favorite forum is 2+2, which is geared towards poker players, but the quality of that one really varies based on subforum subject matter and isn't as generally appealing as this one. Say what we might about people's opinions here, but the average poster on city-data at least attempts to write coherently--and in most cases those attempts are successful. That's more than can be said about most other Internet venues.
Yeah, forums are really dangerous places to hang out if you expect a certain level of courtesy, and are made unhappy if you don't get it. USENET, for example, is a zoo where teenagers hang out who have some hacking skills and cause all sorts of mischief, falsifying headers, trolling with sock puppets and gaslighting people for fun. Prior to USENET were listservs based at universities. Even those are not safe any more.
I like CityData because of the moderation. I don't know how the moderators are paid, if they are, if they work for the company, or who owns the company. Or how many members there are. But they really do stay on top of the ad hominem attacks, and that's pretty great.
One thing that seems common with older people is their lack of ability to relate to the issues of younger people. At times, it would seem that they were born into a 50 year old body with 30 years of life experience from the very beginning. There were no learning experiences, no problems they experienced as a young person. Everything was already figured out and it's always been that way. Therefore, there is a complete and utter lack of empathy towards younger peoples' issues.
This forum is particularly guilty when it comes to this behavior. In the 'About the Forum' section, there is a poll identifying that over 70% of participants are 40 years of age or older. So it's not uncommon that when I see a younger person seeking advice as they are experiencing many things for the first time in their lives, that older people jump all over them for not already knowing the answer (because it's SOO obvious). Do older people here realize that the human adult brain (primarily concerning critical reasoning faculties) doesn't fully develop until mid to late 20s in males, and a little earlier in females? So many of these younger people's brains don't have the world experience, or even the critical reasoning faculties, to have the answers that they seek. So why are old people, who have sometimes 20-40 years on them, so impatient with them and so critical of their lack of experience and knowledge of the world around them?
With all due respect, do "younger people" realize that many "older people", were younger once themselves and without those "critical reasoning faculties" as well and they were already out of the parental home, hustling and working (sometimes 2-3 jobs)? They were also "experiencing many things for the first time in their lives" as well.
They were going to school, renting apartments and not being financially supported by their parents. Not all Baby Boomers and Gen X'ers were born knowing everything either, they had to learn the 'hard way'.
I just think people who are less empathetic are more likely to post hateful things, and since they don't get positive feedback in real life, they use the Internet to reach out to other blowhards.
Whether it's a young forum, or an old forum, you get a lot of people with no sense of humanity at all.
There's limited social accountability online. You're out nothing, really, if you're a dick, whereas in face-to-face situations, behaving the way many people do online will come with sometimes not-insigificant personal and social ramifications.
I'd like to see a little more compassion and respect from the younger people toward the elders. It's critical to respect all people but in my own life I see the younger people want so little to do with the elders. I enjoyed being around my family and hearing their life stories....maybe being born after the depression makes me a lot more caring and understanding. We struggled...today, not so much struggle. Not that struggle is great but it does build character, I think.
What I see today even with the struggle of the 21st century children, they come up with money for their tech stuff.
I am going to reply to this through the lense of someone in their late fifties who plays often with elders in the game of Bridge. Also I am a member of several women's clubs and groups where there is a wide range of ages.
I have met many elderly women who love having me around in their bridge group and social clubs...and plenty who have not.....I never had problems with groups of women closer to my age range, give or take ten years or so.
Since I never experienced this prior in my social activities, I actually wondered if it was me? The answer as no, it's not
Who provided me with this answer? Other men and women of various ages and backgrounds in the groups.
Their take on things.
Many elderly people attempt to command respect from younger people, even people who are hardly young themselves, so to speak. I am an early stage senior citizen myself, but have often been called "Baby, or sweetie in a condensending tone" when some sort of issue or discussion arises. The elder person seems to consider their knowledge and expertise above anyone else...especially those who are a few years younger. So it seems like we do not count, in their eyes.
Many single elderly ladies do not like slightly younger senior ladies around, especially if the men are present. They seem to consider the younger senior ladies as competition for attention of the men in the group. This attitude extends towards women who are married ( and henceforth,should not be seen as some sort of competition) as well. Before you state that this is incorrect ( and this is not directed at the poster of which I am replying to, nor any one person in particular) the men have noticed this, and comment about it. My spouse states the same thing.
As far as my church groups and social club affiliations.,the younger group of seniors are to carry the majority of the work and volunteer load in the day to day activities of the group. I believe no one has a problem with this, as those older members have paid their dues, and done their time, so to speak. But they refuse to allow any changes to the groups and clubs...this actually turns off the younger members coming into the group-- male or female. And remember, our new members are not so young!
One such example: We had the hardest time getting the various groups to go along with a monthly newsletter sent via email...yes, you are reading that correctly, they did NOT want to read the newsletter via an email, but wanted the newsletter to continue to be sent by actual mail service- Snail mail.
The expense and effort needed to mail out newsletters did not matter to them...believe it or not! Considering that many early age seniors still work...this was an incredible eye opening experience to those of us between the ages of 50 to say age 65.
So there is a sense of entitlement amoungst some seniors regarding those just under them in age and rank. Most of these folks would be the elder boomer generation.
I do not see this sort of mindset amoungst those seniors who are still with us from the Greatest Generation they seem to enjoy having younger people around, and are rather willing to partake to the best of their abilities.
BTW. My elderly in- laws note the same thing in their social and church groups and clubs.
I mean Gen X & those horrible boomers still together make up a larger segment in the workplace than millenials
That's a particularly nasty comment. I'm a boomer and I've adopted practically all the culture of the younger generation, particularly the music, and just this week decided to take dance lessons to learn whatever people in their 20s are doing these days. I have tickets for a concert in Hollywood this weekend for what is probably a young band. Almost half of my friends are in their 20s and 30s.
You generalize and you lose every time. Group people together so you can hate them as a group. Good going!
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Seriously...even taken at face value, "fully" doesn't mean kids are helpless and must be treated with care until they hit 30. Many "kids" get married in their 20's and start successful families so I think most are doing okay - no excuses needed.
40s and up
