Interested in exploring the subject further, Reddit user5h0gKur4C4ndlmade a post on the platform, asking its older users to list the things that they cannot understand about younger people.
From experiencing life through your phone to labeling everyone around you, we collected some of the most popular replies to shed more light on what drives the disconnect between us.Hopefully, that’ll bring us one step closer to bridging it.
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Their obsession with immediately diagnosing psychological things and turning everything into therapy-speak. “You’re gaslighting me”, etc.
Why do you want to watch a 100% of a concert, that you payed good money for, through your phone lens?
We got in touch with the person who started this discussion, and they agreed to chat with us about it.“I came up with the idea for the post when I was just scrolling through Reddit,” 5h0gKur4C4ndl explained toBored Panda.“It was the first time in a while; quitting and then coming back is a surefire way to get new material.”
We got in touch with the person who started this discussion, and they agreed to chat with us about it.
“I came up with the idea for the post when I was just scrolling through Reddit,” 5h0gKur4C4ndl explained toBored Panda.
“It was the first time in a while; quitting and then coming back is a surefire way to get new material.”
The emails I get from my students aged 18-25 are such a mess of incoherent garbage, I can’t tell if they are lazy or if it’s an actual literacy issue. And I’m barely older than they are so if this is a generational gap, it happened quickly!
Recording yourself crying.
As the thread went viral, 5h0gKur4C4ndl noticed that “most of the answers were reasonable enough.“The Redditor isn’t entirely sure if the conversations will remain civil as time goes on, but so far, the main points seem to be general attitude, convenience issues, and “whatever your grandparents would complain about.”
As the thread went viral, 5h0gKur4C4ndl noticed that “most of the answers were reasonable enough.”
The Redditor isn’t entirely sure if the conversations will remain civil as time goes on, but so far, the main points seem to be general attitude, convenience issues, and “whatever your grandparents would complain about.”
Taking public calls on speaker phone and sending voice messages. .
From how we vote to how we tackle climate change and other pressing issues, the generation gap sometimes seems bigger than ever before.
Then there are the millennials – folks born between the early ’80s and mid-’90s. The charges against them are that they’ve killed off everything from mayonnaise to fabric conditioner, and spend their money away on avocado on toast and oatmeal lattes instead of saving up for what’s important in life.
Generation X is sitting largely forgotten in the middle, and Generation Z, the youngsters raised on social media, are just entering the real world.
Their inability to see the nuance on a lot of issues. It’s black or white for them, completely ignoring the multitude of layers and shades of gray that exist in the world.
Apparently, despite growing up with technology around them, they don’t know how to use computers properly because they focus mostly on smartphones and tablets.
To some extent, a level of friction between the cohorts is to be expected. “We work together really well in groups,”saidCatherine Loveday, professor of psychology at Westminster University, UK. “We are more protective and more supportive towards people in our in-group and we will do a lot to help them.““The downside is that when we instinctively see someone as being part of an out-group, we tend to not be so supportive towards them.”
To some extent, a level of friction between the cohorts is to be expected. “We work together really well in groups,”saidCatherine Loveday, professor of psychology at Westminster University, UK. “We are more protective and more supportive towards people in our in-group and we will do a lot to help them.”
“The downside is that when we instinctively see someone as being part of an out-group, we tend to not be so supportive towards them.”
If I have to teach one more adult how alphabetical order works, I’m going to lose it.These are university graduates. They just throw the file back in. Like how did you find it in the first place?
Tiktok is an actual news source for some.
5h0gKur4C4ndl agrees. “Gaps are inevitable since everyone has their own preferences and needs,” the Redditor added.“If there will ever be something that will allow generations to finally close them, it will likely be because there is something so meaningful, it changes the whole world.“To begin, however, we could at least try and see each other’s best attributes and pick up on our similarities instead of antagonizing everyone we don’t agree with.
5h0gKur4C4ndl agrees. “Gaps are inevitable since everyone has their own preferences and needs,” the Redditor added.
“If there will ever be something that will allow generations to finally close them, it will likely be because there is something so meaningful, it changes the whole world.”
To begin, however, we could at least try and see each other’s best attributes and pick up on our similarities instead of antagonizing everyone we don’t agree with.
Gen Z has a very strong not my problem/not my job someone else will do it/fix it attitude.
37 year old attending college for the first time here. They have negative confidence. They barely speak above a mumble, especially when answering a question from the teacher. Most of them would rather die than talk to someone they’re interested in. It’s like 90% of them are cripplingly introverted.
Why they’d rather watch someone else play a video game than play it themselves. That was a punishment when I was a kid, not entertainment.
Treating fixable problems as core personality traits, and focusing on accommodating them rather than fixing them.Too anxious to go to the grocery store? Too fat to do well in gym class? Too shy to make friends? Too illiterate to enjoy reading? The ADA is not for you. Fix your s**t.
The lack of understanding that things put on the internet are public forever.
They’ve been so coddled and raised in front of screens rather than interacting in the real world that ANYTHING gives them anxiety.Talking to people, trying something new, going somewhere, literally anything can make them shut down.
The self victimization, clinging to whatever label they think will shield them from criticism, learned helplessness, refusal to consider viewpoints that doing align with their worldview. I could go on.
The need to document every thought, bite of food, outfit change , papsmear , and things that leave them " literally shaking right now”.. like the lady at Starbucks calling you sir when clearly you’re a they/them with a beard.
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We were saying what we would do if we won the big lottery jackpot. The new 22 yr old hire said he’d become an influencer. Can you imagine winning a billion at 22 and that’s what you would do. Not start a business, travel the world, charity, sports, property… Learn something… but become an influencer… with a billion dollars. I mean like he’s gonna hire a marketing company to fabricate interest in his social media? He’s gonna spend money on stupid things to make people cringe or rage comment? With a billion dollars.Just thought that was a weird and low bar and was hard to understand.
They don’t “go out”. Their friends are on social media or online, so there’s very little “going out”. Also, a marked disinterest in dating.
I don’t understand why most of them want to look rich with expensive s**t and most of them act like they run businesses or something.They take pictures with cars that are not theirs for example.Dude chill, you’re 16.
Why aren’t they voting!?! Do they not know how much power they could have? Willing to go to protests (and that is a good thing) but not willing to go to the voting booth (and that’s a bad thing).
Why do they go to the movies only to scroll through their phone the entire time?
Everything seems to have to have a label. Not just people and groups, but every concept or just generic thing that is popular has to be given a label or a hashtag. I find it so weird, especially when it’s something that people have been doing forever, but now Gen Z have discovered it, it’s got some brand new buzzy hashtag label as though it’s just been invented.
Speaking mostly for the middle schoolers I work with, but not caring about being smart, understanding the world, achieving success, or having empathy. I cannot fathom what keeps them going without caring about anything. I don’t know how to motivate these kids when things like getting something wrong loudly and publicly doesn’t even give them pause or introspection. They just move on and continue not caring about what really is right and wrong?
They’ve apparently lost the ability to step outside their comfort zone, I think. All that happens have to be safe and secure, otherwise it gives severe anxiety. No need for exploration, adventure.
Will never understand the constant need for external stimulation.I’m quite happy just to ponder my own thoughts. Love flying, because it gives me several hours to think on s**t without distraction.Ask young people to put down their phone? It’s as if you asked them to chop off their left hand.
I’m manage a lot of fresh graduates in my job, and I don’t understand how in the space of just 2 years (during Covid) we went from great graduates, able to operate independently and work things out themselves to graduates who need their hand held for the most basic tasks.
Why they can navigate through an entire digital universe with ease but can’t seem to find the kitchen without a GPS.
The rapid pace of technological advancement leaves me baffled. How do they effortlessly navigate through endless streams of information while maintaining attention spans shorter than a goldfish?
They don’t seem to care about learning to drive. I couldn’t wait to learn to drive and we didn’t even own a car.
Their dependency on authority and lack of self-reliancy.You have access to all the world’s knowledge in your pocket, but you are only using it as a toy and when you need to learn something you are looking for a teacher.
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