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As someone who is approaching the apparently ~ancient~ age of 30, I've never really felt old. That is, until Gen Z came along with choreographed TikTok dances, decisions about what is fashionable and what's so out of style, and a totally new lingo.
Of course, generation wars are nothing new, which is why I was so intrigued by redditor u/the_ides_of_farts when they asked, "People older than 30, what are some annoying things that young people do?" Here are some of the responses.
1. "They send emails as if they're texting or DM'ing on Instagram. You're contacting me about a problem, which I gather from the fact that you are emailing me, but I need you to tell me more than 'I have a problem.' Give me some details to work with up front so I don't have to go back and forth with you all day in sentence-long emails."
2. "I can't take the look of astonishment I get when younger people find out my age. I’m only in my late 30s, but when someone in their 20s hears that, they develop this look of shock like it’s the 1500s and I should have died already from old age."
3. "When Gen Z kids act as if they invented fashion or discovered a 'brand new' trend, even though it's been around for a while. A young coworker was dressed in an outfit that looked like fashion from the 2000s. When I told this coworker that I had that same outfit in high school, she replied, 'No, they just started making this last year.' I remember dressing very '80s in my late teens, but I was fully aware that I was copying old fashion. On the other hand, these kids dress like it's the '90s or 2000s, but they convince themselves that they've invented the styles."
4. "How they take credit for every single idea. It's like, 'I mixed blue and yellow and created a new color: blellow!'"
5. "I'm 45 and I still play video games. I grew up in the '80s and '90s, when video games were everything. When some kid gets in our Xbox party chat and starts making fun of me because I 'shouldn't be there,' it drives me crazy. What are you gonna do when you're 45, kid? Tell the house robot to leave you alone?"
6. "When they go to events like concerts and sports games but watch through their phones as they take videos. They're denying themselves the whole experience! Put down the phone and fully enjoy being present."
7. "When they act like assholes just for TikTok views or whatever the heck the kids are doing these days on social media."
8. "The fact that they educate themselves solely based on what they've seen on the internet and then assume they're experts who are qualified to speak about it. Practical, real-world experience means a whole lot more than what you've read online."
9. "When they make fun of millennials for our skinny jeans — meanwhile, they think their new bell-bottom jeans are brand new, never before worn by anyone, ever."
10. "When they assume that I'm not up-to-date with what's going on in the internet. I am in my late 30s, and a friend's son tried to explain memes to me. He got it all wrong."
11. "When they sneer at younger kids or their own peers for being 'cringe.' I promise that you're just as cringey as they are...it's just going to take you 10 years to realize it."
12. "When a young person acts as if they've experienced more than I have. I'm only 33, but wow, the number of 16- to 22-year-olds who talk down to me is absurd."
13. "I’ve heard 20-year-olds say, 'I hope I die before I have to turn 30.' I wish them the best of luck."
14. "How they act as if they invented everything. It's infuriating watching someone who 'discovered' butterfly clips and makes tutorials on TikTok about how to wear them."
15. "When they hear my age and act as if 30-plus is old AF. Honestly, you'll be here before you know it, and you'll still feel as if you're 25 at age 40."
16. "When they say, 'I'm so mature for my age.' Yeah, you and every teenager since the dawn of time."
17. "When they listen to music in public without headphones. Or how they generally think it’s acceptable for their phone to make noise when they watch TikTok videos in public settings."
18. "That they generally care so much about what others think that they don't truly act like themselves. I find that most people I know over the age of 30 have stopped putting so much stress on what others think. They've matured enough to be unapologetically themselves. It's a relief!"
19. "‘Look at my cool new bag. It’s called a fanny pack and it just came on the market.’”
20. "The constant photo taking. I went to a café recently, and I watched two young girls next to me spend about 10 minutes taking pictures of each other. First a photo of one girl, then one of the second, next a photo of them together, then a pic of the first one pretending to eat, and now it's a photo of the plate of food, etc. I wanted to tell them that nobody needs that many pictures from a Thursday visit to a restaurant."
21. "When they speak with such confidence about topics they really don't know much about, especially when it relates to life experience."
22. "The way that they think every single thing has to be filmed and shared on the internet now. It really cheapens life, IMO."
23. "When they complain that millennials didn’t do enough to change the world, when they are actively making it much worse off themselves."
24. "When they broadcast their various kinks, thoughts, and desires to the entire world. Honestly, I think the ease of airing your dirty laundry on social media has broken some people's filters."
25. "When they say 'OK, boomer' to a millennial."
Do you have a hot take on any generation? Tell us in the comments below!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.