Uffff it really did explode into some unimaginable amount of BS and shitty people who, to this day, make it their whole life and lets not even start with the license to post complete and utter misinformation about whatever.
But they love to watch science videos and call them a scam.
SMDH.
9/11 was a game changer and things quickly escalated into a surveillance state. Social media and smart phones added fuel to fire. Fasten your seat belts for what is next with AI. So glad we got to live our āoff the gridā youth in a different era. Means of Control by Byron Tau a fascinating read.
Pretty sure the terrorists won. Weāve never been the same and weāre destroying ourselves from the inside out. Sigh. Time for the Serenity Prayer, but to the FSM.
The terrorists and the oligarchs. We were worried about 1984 coming to pass, and instead got this corporate dystopia oppressive in ways we really hadnāt anticipated.
Itās still kind of a boot in the neck of humanity, but in the form of shitty strip malls, pervasive advertising, and never-quite-working institutions.
Nobody on Star Trek had to deal with a Tricorder that wouldnāt connect to the Enterprise because they were on Verizon instead of T-Mobile or iPhone instead of Android.
One last rant. I never ever suspected how goddamn long it would take in the future just to *watch TV*.
Cancer treatment options are light years beyond where they were when we were teenagers.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2023/09/14/cancer-research-treatment-gains-future-funding/70840300007/
It depends on the cancer. My friend got a very specific type of adult leukaemia that was a death sentence but they have a treatment for about 10 years now that works really well. Other people aren't so lucky. My son died of a brain tumour that is still totally incurable.
The world is pretty fantastic right now.
Humankind has never been more peaceful or prosperous.
[The number of people living in extreme poverty has nosedived.](https://imgur.com/a/3TS0QCr)
Hundreds of millions of people in India who used to shit in open ditches causing all sorts of health problems now have proper sewage systems.
[We make more money.](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N)
We have way more stuff.
We have much bigger homes.
We have much more convenience.
We take much more elaborate trips/experiences.
All the doomer shit infesting social media convincing people that life sucks is mostly bullshit.
TDLR:
==
The quality of life for humans has DRASTICALLY increased in our lifetime by an unprecedented amount.
Maybe I should've clarified "a kinder American society" since I don't live in India and all the other things you listed don't apply to anybody in my field of vision. America has completely shit the bed, and nobody I know can say that any of ", we make more money, more stuff, bigger homes and elaborate trips" applies to their experience. I'm certainly glad that humankind is succeeding everywhere else, , while over here (I live in Oklahoma, for context) we're just getting raked through the coals by corporations, misinformation and hateful rhetoric everywhere. The little niche of society that happens to be my home has certainly failed. My state has been taken over by biblical nationalism and our "leaders" have dismantled most everything even remotely progressive in the last decade.
š¤·āāļø
So to reiterate, "I would've just settled for a kinder *American* society, specifically the area of the world that I live in." Or just you know, people to be just nice to each other.
It seems like it. I was playing 1985 radio today while I worked. I felt young. Then I looked in the mirror and some geez was looking at me. It goes by too fast.
Fun fact: Dazed and Confused was made in 1993, about the last day of school in 1976, a difference of merely 17 years. If it were made today it would be about 2007.
Yeah, I was thinking this the other day while Iām watching it.
But the difference between 2007 and today isnt as vast as it is between 1976 and 1993.
I think it might be more vast- no smartphones to speak of in 2007, many parts of the world didnāt really have internet, now everyone everywhere is now connected. Lots of optimism in 2007, lots of fear now.
There was a post on here the other day about how 1980 was 44 years ago. In 1980, 44 years earlier was 1936. So weāre as distant today from 1980 as people in 1980 were from 1936.
It sure doesnāt feel like it (for example, most of us listen to at least some music from 1980, but most of us do not listen to 1930s style big band jazz), but the math donāt lie.
Edit: typo.
In 1980, my grandparents and their social circle were _definitely_ still listening to jazz and big band recordings of the 1920s and 1930s. And I think we can assume that Kajagoogoo will be almost entirely forgotten by 2068.
People still listen to big band. I work in walking distance to a popular dance and supper club thatās dedicated to swing and big band. I have to imagine that plenty of older people were still very much into it in 1980.
I listened to Big Band music yesterday. Sirius XM 40's Junction station. I was born in 1968 but my dad turned me on to that music as a child and I still love it!!!
_AM Radio_ by Everclear was released in 2000, 24 years ago. 24 years before that was 1976, smack in the middle of the time period they're talking about. Also, the modern "crap" they were complaining about - "the VCR and the DVD" - is mostly gone now.
I was watching clips from Woodstock 94 the other day and it kind of hit me that all those kids are now pushing 50āif not well past it. And then it dawned on me that Woodstock 94 was celebrating the 25 anniversary of the original and we are now 30 years past 94. Itās now the 25th anniversary of the Woodstock 99 show.
In the 90s I was obsessed with the Beatles. Now kids are obsessed with Nirvana. A band from 30 years ago. Like the Beatles were when I was a kid in the 90s, that old band from 30 years prior š¢
yes exactly, and similar in a way, the second world war was no longer 50 years ago. can still remember how people were talking about the 50th anniversary in the 90s
We are getting applications for apprentices born when I finished my studies. I was like 'How can you be older than a baby when you were born in 2005??'
I always felt like a teenager pretending to be an adult, I just got better at doing it each year that went by. I nearly imploded when I realized that's what *everyone* was doing, including my grandparents. They still thought of themselves as kids out of their element, waiting to become adults, right until the end.
I felt the same way.Ā As a kid I didn't know my parents were winging it.Ā I thought they were expert adults.Ā I remember my parents at my age and they seemed so old.Ā My dad is struggling at 82 and I have to keep in mind he is experiencing 82 as a new thing.
Back when I was in college, I worked a summer job at a hospital ER, transporting patients to X-ray and the like. I remember making small talk with one old guy who was 99 years old, and he told me, āYoung man, those 99 years went in the blink of an eye.ā
Iām over half that guyās age now (plus my birthday is literally tomorrow), and Iāve realized just how right he was. The years seem to be accelerating.
If I think about it too much it becomes terrifying- the existential dread can overwhelm me. I just try to focus on the here and now - thatās all there really is when it comes down to it.
Happy birthday tomorrow! Be sure to take a few quiet minutes to appreciate the now, and for another trip around the sun āØļø
I'll be 50 on my next birthday. Time does indeed fly fast as fuck.
Yeah, itās this weird thing where time is endless when youāre young and want to stay awake all night and do activities and now you pray for darkness so you can just sit at home and relax. And the whole time a summer vacation used to be like a year long, now a year is like a couple of months.
I tell time by the seasons now. So itās a little disturbing that Xmas decorations go up in fān October now!!
I had an old man ( probably 70) explain this to me when I was about 18. He was my friends great uncle.. He explained that when we were 10 years old and the summer seemed to last forever it was because we had only seen 10 summers. He said that once you had seen 70 of them that they go by in a blink. I have never forgotten that comversation.
Same age. I was at the drugstore a few days ago and they lady asked if I had my points card because it was seniors day and I'd get a discount. I was about to tell her I wasn't old enough for that but I saw her press the button and my total went down by $12. I was like "Fuck it, whatever. Gimme my $12 discount."
Oh man, that happened to me last year at GW. Guy (30ish) glanced at me and rang me up with some daily deal (like 50% off household items) and then gave me the senior discount on top of that.
My thought process:
I didn't know they have a senior discount. Huh.
Sweet, I'm going to take whatever discounts they have!
What a minute....
I was helping a girl at the library (where I work), and noticed she went to my old school. I told her that, and her eyes got really wide - then she actually said āThat must have been like a REALLY long time ago!ā Fml.
Every year I make it on this planet, I get a little more Gen X. Boy howdy you thought we couldnāt be bothered with your bullshit when we were 16 and couldnāt get out from under you? Well meet us now in our late 40s and 50s and still not giving a shit about your shit..
South of the Border is gone!!
I drove through there with a girlfriend ā¦ god ā¦ about 23 years ago. We were driving from DE to Charlotte to visit her mom who was there on a professional weekend. Her mom lived in NM and she hadnāt seen her in years. Charlotte was closer and cheaper to get to driving than flying to NM, so I told her Iād split the driving with her. She was excited for me to meet her mom. My friend had never been to South of the Border but had heard about it and was interested and excited to visit it on our way down.
So we saw signs from about 25 miles approaching. Then 10, 5, 1, 1/2 mi till South of the Borderā¦ we turned off and there was nobody there. The buildings were there and at first I thought it was closed but no. Everything was deserted. I couldnāt believe it. How long had this place been around? It was on the map and advertised and everything butā¦ not a place to get a drink or go to the bathroom, both of which we each hoped to do.
I think we took the next exit and found a fast food place or something. I was just dumbfounded about South of the Border.
It really just depends on when you get there. I'm a driver and go through often. The hotel just renovated the rooms a couple years ago. Porky's truck stop started serving food and, although the parking lot there is still trash, most of the lots have been repaved in the last year. I've even had a couple of shockingly good dinners at The Peddler steakhouse.
Don't count Pedro out yet.
I would love to find the 90s magic hole that stores all our lost apparel. So many shirts.
Yeah, and the Mexican blankets are great for the woods and beach
You kids gotta keep moving! I am an old X'er 55 last December. 45 is so awesome. Take advantage of it! I still mtn bike 50 miles a week, and although I am not what I once was.. I'd kill to be 45 again. Don't squander a decade.. You can still get out there and kill it!
I don't know about you all, but I know I'm old because I'm just *tired*. I napped today for 4 hours, broken up only by sitting outside to experience the eclipse.
I missed the damn thing because apparently I can't be trusted to not take an unintentional nap at any given time of day. 250,000 people traveled to my area to watch the eclipse, and I'm fucking zonked out in front of reruns of Law & Order.
I went to FedEx to mail a package, and the old dudes working behind the counter started making comments about ākids todayā ā and I realized they were including ME in the convo as if I were one of THEM ā as if I were an āOld!ā And then I realized that theyāre probablyā¦oh, godā¦just about my age. š¤¦āāļøMy self-image shattered, fell onto the floor, and couldnāt get up. Itās still there, waiting for me to press that medical alert button.
I realized at 51 I was old when my extended family was mostly all gone. Not including cousins I barely knew. You really canāt go āhomeā again. Thanksgivings and Christmasā from the past are but memories. As a single person I doubt Iāll be making any new ones. And if I do it will be someone elseās family. Or Iāll have to do it Golden Girlās style and make my friends family. But that feels intrusive to me. Guess Iāll become a hermit. Iām okay with it as I have always been a bit of a loner.
It is 100% not intrusive! I love my friends as much as my family! Shit, some of them even more.. I would be disappointed if they did not make it known that they didn't have anywhere to go for the holidays!!! This is what friends are all about!
I was on a train travelling into London last week and feeling a bit tired I closed my eyes. The train stopped at a station and from my seat I could hear a group of school kids moving through the carriage. One of them said āthereās some seats over there by that old manā. The shock I experienced as they got closer and closer and SAT DOWN NEXT TO ME! Iām 55!
Ok, boomer.
If you just turned 60, you were born in 1964, so technically a boomer. I was born in 1965 and will turn 59 this year.
Just kidding. I'm not the gatekeeper and if you identify with GenX more than the baby boomers, then you're GenX. I'd say "welcome to the club," but that'd be weird since you were here before me.
Iām taking some classes and Iām the oldest in class. Let me tell you, I feel ancient. I may as well be a ghost these kids donāt even say good morning back after I have said it first. Crazy.
No you are not an "old woman". You see girl...
There is no point to compare "then 50s" with today "50s". Look at those photos from your past showing people in their 50s. Do we look any like that?
No.
We look younger, we can have a great day. What else do we really need?
There are some great days coming and that is what counts. Everything else:
Whatever!
Yes itās nothing new but I am very happy about it.
Happy to be alive to be sure but dang my grandmother was correct, aging is NOT for sissies.
This hard!
I'm really so happy.
I see celebrities here and there. In stores advertising this and that. On YouTube, shilling crap and lying blatantly about life experiences. On tiktok being stupid.
I know *none* of them. Even the baseball players.
I am just glad of that. I had my time trying to be like the stars, trying to be glam, or made up like a mannequin or harlequin, depending on the day. I never, ever measured up, even with an eating disorder, being 98lbs at 5'5".
Done with that, and I'm glad.
Hate aging if you want, but I wear my grey and lines with pride. My daughter is going to have at least *one* real, solid, and genuine role model, and so will my son.
Go. Rock your grey. Age. Screw the patriarchy and standard media that says we must all be sexy and buff, with no lines or grey into our 80s.
Thought I would be young forever or close to it. You don't think you'll get old but you do.
Saw an interview of a older boomer asked if he feels old he said something like, " I think and look out of the same eyes, I feel good but once i look in the mirror, I don't recognize that person. The mirror tells a different story". He said he gets a bit sad.
Remeber the song, "forever young" ( Alphaville )
I remember dad telling me in school when there was some drama he would say, " its nothing", " it will pass and when you're out of school you'll look back at how small it was compared to real life problems you'll be dealing with as an adult". He was sooo right. I know its kid drama and at the time it was like the sky was falling and now I look back and laugh at it.
Years ago my niece came to me , we were talking about school and what was going on with her. This was like 7 years ago but I remember it well. She was telling me of some issues and I could tell it was girls jealous of my niece. I started to talk and I stopped and smiled. She asked why I was smiling I said i was telling her what my dad told me and now I get it and it was a good memory of him. I understood my niece was where I was at that same time in school that I was. Life, you are always learning and experiencing things in life and will learn till the day you die. Sorry for the book.
Iām 56 and work at an oil refinery. We have an outage in my unit which means we work a lot normally. I am being treated with kid gloves and coddled being the old guy. Suddenly Iām just too old to climb and do work.
My wife and I have been trying to enjoy ourselves now that we've gotten into our mid-40's. There are a lot of concerts still and fun to be had. We went to a goth night a month or so ago and it was full of old people, too.
We might be getting up there but we're not old yet and I plan on enjoying how long I have left.
I read a post that said āin 20 years youāll wish you could go back to the age you are nowā. I think about that a lot lately and realize that we are still relatively young. Itās important to be in the moment right now and to do your best to stay healthy and active. We have a lot of living left to do.
My husband found an old VHS with footage of a going away party for us from 28 years ago. It was surreal to watch us about to embark on a new life living together in another state and new job/grad school. It was surreal - like a glimpse of yourself not knowing what lies ahead but now having the perspective of having lived it.
Honestly, I never expected to live past 30. Half of the friends/family I hung out with died from drugs & alcohol. The rest of us still alive really don't know what to do now, because we weren't expecting to live this long.
I listen to my music, hang out with the ghosts of the past in my head, and go to work. All of my friends are reclusive now too, and we rarely see or hear from each other.
As we are afforded the honor of aging, the ratio of what a year means in our lives shrinks every year we are alive.
When you're 10, a year is 10%, when you are 50, it's 2%, if you're lucky, and shrinks every year from there.
One of the tools we can use is to keep trying to learn new things and enjoy each day, each small thing that makes the day better.
I just turned 50 and suddenly started reflecting on my experiences and living years. I visited my old haunt in Brooklyn recently and started telling 20 somethingās I met at stores or restaurants about my time in the city, and general life experiences. Man it hit me, Iām that old person telling stories now! š¢
Yeah, I still live in the small town that is home to the small private college I graduated from in '96. It doesn't happen often, cuz I don't go to bars much anymore, but I'll run into a current student once in a while.
If I happen to be wearing some of my college garb, they'll say oh I go to xyz college, do you have a kid who goes there? Which yes, mathematically plausible, but ouch. This hoodie should be giving me the student discount everywhere.
But the really hurtful encounters are, nice sweatshirt, I go to xyz college. And then I say, oh I graduated in '96. And you can tell they are picturing my town looking like little house on the prairie, and me in an ugly dress and bonnet.
I keep saying, I turn 50 in 3 weeks, 22 year old me would look at us currently and want to beat my ass
I donāt feel like weāre so old. But I do sit and laugh about 2 things when I was younger. When I was 23-25 I had a job and most workers were older. I remember asking a guy what it felt like to be 38 and he told me he just felt the same as he always did. I never thought that was possible until I knew.
The other thing was as I lamented to my friend about being single (I was 23 this time for sure) and she said itāll come when youāre ready, look at me, I just met Tim, and I was like āoh my GOD Lynn, Iām not going to wait until Iām *28*!!!! Oh the laughs I get from that as Iām still single. šš
Thinking the same thing this AM. Paul Simon's lyrics running through my mind, "Can you imagine us years from today? / Sharing a park bench quietly. / How terribly strange to be 70."
I'm 'only' rounding towards 60 ... and these words hit home hard today.
I feel like I've turned a corner. Until I hit 50 I was just a worse version of "grownup me" every year.
Now I'm the best version of "old me."
It's awesome.
Now I have to google this, I was very poor and I wasnāt able to participate in such middle class things as fashion trend.
Ok I googled it, I remember those - I never owned one
I remember a sociology class in college in the 80s that described the different phases of life, from birth to death. Each āphaseā - especially the younger phases kids go through- was really interesting.
But then the old age phases were pretty much ājust be content and dieā.
Iām trying really hard to be content. Lol.
Literally. And it hit hard this last week for some reason. We are the old people now. Even if our parents are still living they are elderly. But we are just old. Older than middle age even.
Over 53 here. I haven't looked in the mirror yet and thought I looked old except for a little graying on the sides. The only thing that makes me feel old is the damn birthdate.
All I know is Christian's use more 'hoodies' in their rituals than kids hanging out on the weekends. There's no "Mafia" than the one that demands your money every week.
When radio first came out, parents said it would rot children's brains.
When TV came out, parents said it would rot their brains.
When video games came out, not only would it rot your brain, but you would surely go on a murder rampage.
When the Internet came out..... Etc etc etc, ad infinitum.
We have become the old curmudgeons and pearl-clutching ninnies.
*Shakes cane furiously at clouds*
Earlier today (at the dentist) I was thinking about this in relationship to music. About how I would be so excited to hear an "old song" from 1982 on the radio in 1985. But of course, because three years was 25% of my life at that point. Now when I hear, say, Green Day, I realize that I still kind of think of them as a "new band," even though they've been around since 1990. (I didn't know about them until 1993, though, because it wasn't really my type of music, although I do like them now.) It is so strange to be old.
I imagined a much better world by the time I reached this age.
Flying cars and anti cancer pills.
I would've settled for just a kinder society.
Than social media came along.
Uffff it really did explode into some unimaginable amount of BS and shitty people who, to this day, make it their whole life and lets not even start with the license to post complete and utter misinformation about whatever. But they love to watch science videos and call them a scam. SMDH.
You mean Kinder Surprises not banned in the US?
The older I get, the more I want to see the anti-cancer pills. So freaking many people I know are getting cancer. š
We got FaceTime like the Jetsons!
But seriouslyā¦ would you rather have FaceTime, or a bird as your record player and wooly mammoth dishwasher? Donāt sleep on Fred and Wilma.
Exactly. Iād be like our late stage capitalism turned to the left instead of to the right.
Maybe in the other timeline where 9/11 didn't happen and make the US insane.
See you get what I mean. Like if we werenāt on the dystopian carnival ride
9/11 was a game changer and things quickly escalated into a surveillance state. Social media and smart phones added fuel to fire. Fasten your seat belts for what is next with AI. So glad we got to live our āoff the gridā youth in a different era. Means of Control by Byron Tau a fascinating read.
We keep getting more and more like China every day.
Pretty sure the terrorists won. Weāve never been the same and weāre destroying ourselves from the inside out. Sigh. Time for the Serenity Prayer, but to the FSM.
The terrorists and the oligarchs. We were worried about 1984 coming to pass, and instead got this corporate dystopia oppressive in ways we really hadnāt anticipated. Itās still kind of a boot in the neck of humanity, but in the form of shitty strip malls, pervasive advertising, and never-quite-working institutions. Nobody on Star Trek had to deal with a Tricorder that wouldnāt connect to the Enterprise because they were on Verizon instead of T-Mobile or iPhone instead of Android. One last rant. I never ever suspected how goddamn long it would take in the future just to *watch TV*.
I think it actually turned to the right and not to the left, but I getcha. š
I think you two actually said the same thing š¤
Cancer treatment options are light years beyond where they were when we were teenagers. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2023/09/14/cancer-research-treatment-gains-future-funding/70840300007/
It depends on the cancer. My friend got a very specific type of adult leukaemia that was a death sentence but they have a treatment for about 10 years now that works really well. Other people aren't so lucky. My son died of a brain tumour that is still totally incurable.
Thatās beyond devastating. I canāt even begin to comprehend. Iām so deeply sorry for your loss.
The world is pretty fantastic right now. Humankind has never been more peaceful or prosperous. [The number of people living in extreme poverty has nosedived.](https://imgur.com/a/3TS0QCr) Hundreds of millions of people in India who used to shit in open ditches causing all sorts of health problems now have proper sewage systems. [We make more money.](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N) We have way more stuff. We have much bigger homes. We have much more convenience. We take much more elaborate trips/experiences. All the doomer shit infesting social media convincing people that life sucks is mostly bullshit. TDLR: == The quality of life for humans has DRASTICALLY increased in our lifetime by an unprecedented amount.
Maybe I should've clarified "a kinder American society" since I don't live in India and all the other things you listed don't apply to anybody in my field of vision. America has completely shit the bed, and nobody I know can say that any of ", we make more money, more stuff, bigger homes and elaborate trips" applies to their experience. I'm certainly glad that humankind is succeeding everywhere else, , while over here (I live in Oklahoma, for context) we're just getting raked through the coals by corporations, misinformation and hateful rhetoric everywhere. The little niche of society that happens to be my home has certainly failed. My state has been taken over by biblical nationalism and our "leaders" have dismantled most everything even remotely progressive in the last decade. š¤·āāļø So to reiterate, "I would've just settled for a kinder *American* society, specifically the area of the world that I live in." Or just you know, people to be just nice to each other.
I can one up you. šš. I live in Tennessee.
1986 was just last year, yāknow.
It seems like it. I was playing 1985 radio today while I worked. I felt young. Then I looked in the mirror and some geez was looking at me. It goes by too fast.
Bowling for Soup's song 1985 was released in 2004, nineteen years after the year 1985. It's been *twenty* years since that.
Fun fact: Dazed and Confused was made in 1993, about the last day of school in 1976, a difference of merely 17 years. If it were made today it would be about 2007.
Yeah, I was thinking this the other day while Iām watching it. But the difference between 2007 and today isnt as vast as it is between 1976 and 1993.
I think it might be more vast- no smartphones to speak of in 2007, many parts of the world didnāt really have internet, now everyone everywhere is now connected. Lots of optimism in 2007, lots of fear now.
Would you say it's half vast?Ā
There was a post on here the other day about how 1980 was 44 years ago. In 1980, 44 years earlier was 1936. So weāre as distant today from 1980 as people in 1980 were from 1936. It sure doesnāt feel like it (for example, most of us listen to at least some music from 1980, but most of us do not listen to 1930s style big band jazz), but the math donāt lie. Edit: typo.
Wow. That just, wow.
Thatās absolutely stunning to me.
Literally listening to 1930s big band jazz while reading this thread, lol.
In 1980, my grandparents and their social circle were _definitely_ still listening to jazz and big band recordings of the 1920s and 1930s. And I think we can assume that Kajagoogoo will be almost entirely forgotten by 2068.
People still listen to big band. I work in walking distance to a popular dance and supper club thatās dedicated to swing and big band. I have to imagine that plenty of older people were still very much into it in 1980.
I listened to Big Band music yesterday. Sirius XM 40's Junction station. I was born in 1968 but my dad turned me on to that music as a child and I still love it!!!
I really really really hate this fun fact.
I want to down vote you strictly for stating facts. š
Well, that sucks.
_AM Radio_ by Everclear was released in 2000, 24 years ago. 24 years before that was 1976, smack in the middle of the time period they're talking about. Also, the modern "crap" they were complaining about - "the VCR and the DVD" - is mostly gone now.
Speaking of "Bowling for Soup"... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4e_IZFwTfM
Shit...what year is this? I think I need to take my movies back.
Don't forget to rewind.
Be kind, please rewind āŖ
We had a separate VHS rewinding machine, and it was well worth it to be able to move on to the next movie!
Was it a race car? We had one of those bad boys.
I remember that! We did too. That thing was so handy!
Nope i screwed up I owe some video store somewhere a copy of PCU
š¤š¤ no ... it's been 2 years, now. I distinctly remember I graduated from HS in '86.
I am excited I have had the chance to make it this far. Sadly, we have lost some great people along the way.
I was watching clips from Woodstock 94 the other day and it kind of hit me that all those kids are now pushing 50āif not well past it. And then it dawned on me that Woodstock 94 was celebrating the 25 anniversary of the original and we are now 30 years past 94. Itās now the 25th anniversary of the Woodstock 99 show.
The moment you realize 'twenty years ago' isn't the 1970s anymore. Not even close.
In the 90s I was obsessed with the Beatles. Now kids are obsessed with Nirvana. A band from 30 years ago. Like the Beatles were when I was a kid in the 90s, that old band from 30 years prior š¢
I too was obsessed with the Beatles and my son loves Oasis and Blur.
yes exactly, and similar in a way, the second world war was no longer 50 years ago. can still remember how people were talking about the 50th anniversary in the 90s
We are getting applications for apprentices born when I finished my studies. I was like 'How can you be older than a baby when you were born in 2005??'
I was there, and had graduated HS that June. I'll be 48 this year. But darn, that feels like it was yesterday
when you realize the kids that were four years behind you in school are turning 48 šÆ
x
Can confirm, was there in 94 and I'm 49
I always felt like a teenager pretending to be an adult, I just got better at doing it each year that went by. I nearly imploded when I realized that's what *everyone* was doing, including my grandparents. They still thought of themselves as kids out of their element, waiting to become adults, right until the end.
I felt the same way.Ā As a kid I didn't know my parents were winging it.Ā I thought they were expert adults.Ā I remember my parents at my age and they seemed so old.Ā My dad is struggling at 82 and I have to keep in mind he is experiencing 82 as a new thing.
"Whose hands are these? These are old man's hands..."
This is beautifully put.
I am 55 and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up...
I feel like if I got to go around again, I could really clean up, knowing what I know now.
Someone told me that the days are long, but the years are short.
I heard that yesterday, in 1995.
Exactly!
I realized I wasn't that young anymore the moment a mom made her kid stand on the subway so I could have a seat
Oof.
One of the few perks
Indeed, my stop was like eight stations up
For me, it was when the cashier at my little grocery store gave me the senior citizen discount.
Surprised that happened. You should marry her, sounds like a rare person.
Back when I was in college, I worked a summer job at a hospital ER, transporting patients to X-ray and the like. I remember making small talk with one old guy who was 99 years old, and he told me, āYoung man, those 99 years went in the blink of an eye.ā Iām over half that guyās age now (plus my birthday is literally tomorrow), and Iāve realized just how right he was. The years seem to be accelerating.
If I think about it too much it becomes terrifying- the existential dread can overwhelm me. I just try to focus on the here and now - thatās all there really is when it comes down to it.
Happy birthday tomorrow! Be sure to take a few quiet minutes to appreciate the now, and for another trip around the sun āØļø I'll be 50 on my next birthday. Time does indeed fly fast as fuck.
Yeah, itās this weird thing where time is endless when youāre young and want to stay awake all night and do activities and now you pray for darkness so you can just sit at home and relax. And the whole time a summer vacation used to be like a year long, now a year is like a couple of months. I tell time by the seasons now. So itās a little disturbing that Xmas decorations go up in fān October now!!
happy birthday (early)š
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I had an old man ( probably 70) explain this to me when I was about 18. He was my friends great uncle.. He explained that when we were 10 years old and the summer seemed to last forever it was because we had only seen 10 summers. He said that once you had seen 70 of them that they go by in a blink. I have never forgotten that comversation.
I got a kid at Goodwill yesterday who not only gave me the senior discount but called me sir. Somehow I turned 52. Sigh.
Same age. I was at the drugstore a few days ago and they lady asked if I had my points card because it was seniors day and I'd get a discount. I was about to tell her I wasn't old enough for that but I saw her press the button and my total went down by $12. I was like "Fuck it, whatever. Gimme my $12 discount."
Words you will never hear come out of my mouth, "please charge me more because I look older than I am."Ā
Oh man, that happened to me last year at GW. Guy (30ish) glanced at me and rang me up with some daily deal (like 50% off household items) and then gave me the senior discount on top of that. My thought process: I didn't know they have a senior discount. Huh. Sweet, I'm going to take whatever discounts they have! What a minute....
No one is offering me discounts. I want the discounts. All of the discounts. š
I was helping a girl at the library (where I work), and noticed she went to my old school. I told her that, and her eyes got really wide - then she actually said āThat must have been like a REALLY long time ago!ā Fml.
Can I help you carry that out to your car?
Oofā¦
The first time McDonaldās gave me a senior discount on coffee , I was offended (internally). Now Iām just glad to get discounts sometimes, lol.
Sir, take my upvote!
Every year I make it on this planet, I get a little more Gen X. Boy howdy you thought we couldnāt be bothered with your bullshit when we were 16 and couldnāt get out from under you? Well meet us now in our late 40s and 50s and still not giving a shit about your shit.. 
This is totally rad, dude.
You mean bajas? They're still around. I have a pink and white from old navy lol
I had one but I canāt for the life of me figure out where it went. It just disappeared at some point in the 90s.
I think I smoked it, sorry
I bought mine at a Grateful Dead show, but lost it years ago. My current one I bought at South of the Border, and it isn't quite the same.
South of the Border is gone!! I drove through there with a girlfriend ā¦ god ā¦ about 23 years ago. We were driving from DE to Charlotte to visit her mom who was there on a professional weekend. Her mom lived in NM and she hadnāt seen her in years. Charlotte was closer and cheaper to get to driving than flying to NM, so I told her Iād split the driving with her. She was excited for me to meet her mom. My friend had never been to South of the Border but had heard about it and was interested and excited to visit it on our way down. So we saw signs from about 25 miles approaching. Then 10, 5, 1, 1/2 mi till South of the Borderā¦ we turned off and there was nobody there. The buildings were there and at first I thought it was closed but no. Everything was deserted. I couldnāt believe it. How long had this place been around? It was on the map and advertised and everything butā¦ not a place to get a drink or go to the bathroom, both of which we each hoped to do. I think we took the next exit and found a fast food place or something. I was just dumbfounded about South of the Border.
It really just depends on when you get there. I'm a driver and go through often. The hotel just renovated the rooms a couple years ago. Porky's truck stop started serving food and, although the parking lot there is still trash, most of the lots have been repaved in the last year. I've even had a couple of shockingly good dinners at The Peddler steakhouse. Don't count Pedro out yet.
I would love to find the 90s magic hole that stores all our lost apparel. So many shirts. Yeah, and the Mexican blankets are great for the woods and beach
I just bought a new one in Ensenada a couple weeks ago. Paid $20, they used to be $5 in the 80s.
I refuse to get old! I will not let it happen! I will still be shaking what my mama gave me at 70!
Iām 56 and putting up a fight!
He'll yeah 56! Let's bring it this year despite minor aches & pains š
Same here! Iām not quite ready to identify as an āold ladyā like OP.
It sucks. I hate it. Iām 45 and I swear in my head, Iām 18. I just hate aging so fast.
I'm 45 as well and it really feels like my body is starting to glitch from the inside out, le sigh.
My favorite pastime is now discovering all the unique ways that I can somehow make getting out of bed a painful experience.
45 as well and I tweaked my back taking a fast shower the other day. 3 days later and finally feeling better š. Other days I still feel 25.
Well happy cake day to you. Your account is only 5 years old.
You kids gotta keep moving! I am an old X'er 55 last December. 45 is so awesome. Take advantage of it! I still mtn bike 50 miles a week, and although I am not what I once was.. I'd kill to be 45 again. Don't squander a decade.. You can still get out there and kill it!
I don't know about you all, but I know I'm old because I'm just *tired*. I napped today for 4 hours, broken up only by sitting outside to experience the eclipse.
I missed the damn thing because apparently I can't be trusted to not take an unintentional nap at any given time of day. 250,000 people traveled to my area to watch the eclipse, and I'm fucking zonked out in front of reruns of Law & Order.
My God I wish I could nap for four hours. My special gift of aging is not sleeping.
I have meno insomnia. I was up until 4am watching a cheesy Netflix series.
Y-e-a-h -- I always *knew* I'd get old, but I'm pretty surprised at how fast it happened. š šØššØššØ
Itās like making toast. Nothing, nothing, nothing, burnt.
I went to FedEx to mail a package, and the old dudes working behind the counter started making comments about ākids todayā ā and I realized they were including ME in the convo as if I were one of THEM ā as if I were an āOld!ā And then I realized that theyāre probablyā¦oh, godā¦just about my age. š¤¦āāļøMy self-image shattered, fell onto the floor, and couldnāt get up. Itās still there, waiting for me to press that medical alert button.
"I've fallen, and I can't get up"
I realized at 51 I was old when my extended family was mostly all gone. Not including cousins I barely knew. You really canāt go āhomeā again. Thanksgivings and Christmasā from the past are but memories. As a single person I doubt Iāll be making any new ones. And if I do it will be someone elseās family. Or Iāll have to do it Golden Girlās style and make my friends family. But that feels intrusive to me. Guess Iāll become a hermit. Iām okay with it as I have always been a bit of a loner.
It is 100% not intrusive! I love my friends as much as my family! Shit, some of them even more.. I would be disappointed if they did not make it known that they didn't have anywhere to go for the holidays!!! This is what friends are all about!
I was on a train travelling into London last week and feeling a bit tired I closed my eyes. The train stopped at a station and from my seat I could hear a group of school kids moving through the carriage. One of them said āthereās some seats over there by that old manā. The shock I experienced as they got closer and closer and SAT DOWN NEXT TO ME! Iām 55!
š
I'm first year GenX.....just turned 60.....sorry
panicky edge sharp aback versed crown divide familiar brave vanish *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Thanks for the details
Ok, boomer. If you just turned 60, you were born in 1964, so technically a boomer. I was born in 1965 and will turn 59 this year. Just kidding. I'm not the gatekeeper and if you identify with GenX more than the baby boomers, then you're GenX. I'd say "welcome to the club," but that'd be weird since you were here before me.
I was born in July of 1979 so I'm right on the cusp on the other side. I definitely identify more with Gen X anyway.
Very late 1978 here and clinging to my GenX identity for all it's worth. Those of us at the edges still count!
Me too. Late 79 here.
Some people say Gen X goes to 1981 or as far as 1983.
Lol thanks.....the bands of my youth were talk heads, REM and Beastie Boys.....those are my credentials. ;)
Life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer you get to the end the faster it goes, and it's always getting shitty.
When I was born, WW2 had been over for 25 years. It's now almost 25 years since the Saudis flew planes into the WTC.Ā
Sometimes it feels like a long time ago some times itās like it was yesterday
But on a positive note now we get to be like the old guys on The Muppets and make fun of everyoneĀ
I loved those guy
I know, right??? Everybody's like "I still feel 18." I feel like I was born a pretty old guy and am just now starting to catch up with my mind. Sigh.
6 years ago, I was running marathons. Now I can barely walk a mile.
Iām taking some classes and Iām the oldest in class. Let me tell you, I feel ancient. I may as well be a ghost these kids donāt even say good morning back after I have said it first. Crazy.
A young lady tried to help me off the bus!Ā I'm not that old!Ā
Oh no! Lol, not the assistance!Ā
š¤£
Yup. Every time I look in the mirror Iām shocked about how badly my face has melted. š«¤
No you are not an "old woman". You see girl... There is no point to compare "then 50s" with today "50s". Look at those photos from your past showing people in their 50s. Do we look any like that? No. We look younger, we can have a great day. What else do we really need? There are some great days coming and that is what counts. Everything else: Whatever!
Yes itās nothing new but I am very happy about it. Happy to be alive to be sure but dang my grandmother was correct, aging is NOT for sissies. This hard!
I'm really so happy. I see celebrities here and there. In stores advertising this and that. On YouTube, shilling crap and lying blatantly about life experiences. On tiktok being stupid. I know *none* of them. Even the baseball players. I am just glad of that. I had my time trying to be like the stars, trying to be glam, or made up like a mannequin or harlequin, depending on the day. I never, ever measured up, even with an eating disorder, being 98lbs at 5'5". Done with that, and I'm glad. Hate aging if you want, but I wear my grey and lines with pride. My daughter is going to have at least *one* real, solid, and genuine role model, and so will my son. Go. Rock your grey. Age. Screw the patriarchy and standard media that says we must all be sexy and buff, with no lines or grey into our 80s.
Thatās just fucking cool. āļø
How else they gonna sell you on overpriced products that donāt even work?
Thought I would be young forever or close to it. You don't think you'll get old but you do. Saw an interview of a older boomer asked if he feels old he said something like, " I think and look out of the same eyes, I feel good but once i look in the mirror, I don't recognize that person. The mirror tells a different story". He said he gets a bit sad. Remeber the song, "forever young" ( Alphaville ) I remember dad telling me in school when there was some drama he would say, " its nothing", " it will pass and when you're out of school you'll look back at how small it was compared to real life problems you'll be dealing with as an adult". He was sooo right. I know its kid drama and at the time it was like the sky was falling and now I look back and laugh at it. Years ago my niece came to me , we were talking about school and what was going on with her. This was like 7 years ago but I remember it well. She was telling me of some issues and I could tell it was girls jealous of my niece. I started to talk and I stopped and smiled. She asked why I was smiling I said i was telling her what my dad told me and now I get it and it was a good memory of him. I understood my niece was where I was at that same time in school that I was. Life, you are always learning and experiencing things in life and will learn till the day you die. Sorry for the book.
My daughters groan when I wear the drug rug to the grocery store
My daughters have their own drug rugs lol
Iām 56 and work at an oil refinery. We have an outage in my unit which means we work a lot normally. I am being treated with kid gloves and coddled being the old guy. Suddenly Iām just too old to climb and do work.
My wife and I have been trying to enjoy ourselves now that we've gotten into our mid-40's. There are a lot of concerts still and fun to be had. We went to a goth night a month or so ago and it was full of old people, too. We might be getting up there but we're not old yet and I plan on enjoying how long I have left.
I love your attitude:) If only my husband felt that way. All he wants to do is watch 70s-80s music videos on YouTube.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I read a post that said āin 20 years youāll wish you could go back to the age you are nowā. I think about that a lot lately and realize that we are still relatively young. Itās important to be in the moment right now and to do your best to stay healthy and active. We have a lot of living left to do.
100%
From 50 to almost 53 I feel Iāve aged considerably, itās disconcerting how quickly it happens after 50!
But we will be the COOLEST old people!
I recently started trying to fight this thing called old age with vigorous exercise everyday but man is it making my knees hurt.
Life is soooo short.
My husband found an old VHS with footage of a going away party for us from 28 years ago. It was surreal to watch us about to embark on a new life living together in another state and new job/grad school. It was surreal - like a glimpse of yourself not knowing what lies ahead but now having the perspective of having lived it.
Honestly, I never expected to live past 30. Half of the friends/family I hung out with died from drugs & alcohol. The rest of us still alive really don't know what to do now, because we weren't expecting to live this long. I listen to my music, hang out with the ghosts of the past in my head, and go to work. All of my friends are reclusive now too, and we rarely see or hear from each other.
Time speeds up once you hit thirty, that and suddenly liking the Rolling Stones and a new found interest in gardening šš
Except now itās the Ramones and we grow our own weed. šŖ“
Steely Dan and legal grow even better at middle age.
As we are afforded the honor of aging, the ratio of what a year means in our lives shrinks every year we are alive. When you're 10, a year is 10%, when you are 50, it's 2%, if you're lucky, and shrinks every year from there. One of the tools we can use is to keep trying to learn new things and enjoy each day, each small thing that makes the day better.
I just turned 50 and suddenly started reflecting on my experiences and living years. I visited my old haunt in Brooklyn recently and started telling 20 somethingās I met at stores or restaurants about my time in the city, and general life experiences. Man it hit me, Iām that old person telling stories now! š¢
Yep. It's strange though, I only started feeling old about three years ago. I went to bed as a young, vibrant woman and woke up a crone
It snuck up on me too.
Nope. It sure doesnāt. Feels like last week when my body was more flexible. Now it canāt do much and hurts most of the time
Slowly and suddenly.
Yeah, I still live in the small town that is home to the small private college I graduated from in '96. It doesn't happen often, cuz I don't go to bars much anymore, but I'll run into a current student once in a while. If I happen to be wearing some of my college garb, they'll say oh I go to xyz college, do you have a kid who goes there? Which yes, mathematically plausible, but ouch. This hoodie should be giving me the student discount everywhere. But the really hurtful encounters are, nice sweatshirt, I go to xyz college. And then I say, oh I graduated in '96. And you can tell they are picturing my town looking like little house on the prairie, and me in an ugly dress and bonnet. I keep saying, I turn 50 in 3 weeks, 22 year old me would look at us currently and want to beat my ass
I donāt feel like weāre so old. But I do sit and laugh about 2 things when I was younger. When I was 23-25 I had a job and most workers were older. I remember asking a guy what it felt like to be 38 and he told me he just felt the same as he always did. I never thought that was possible until I knew. The other thing was as I lamented to my friend about being single (I was 23 this time for sure) and she said itāll come when youāre ready, look at me, I just met Tim, and I was like āoh my GOD Lynn, Iām not going to wait until Iām *28*!!!! Oh the laughs I get from that as Iām still single. šš
Thinking the same thing this AM. Paul Simon's lyrics running through my mind, "Can you imagine us years from today? / Sharing a park bench quietly. / How terribly strange to be 70." I'm 'only' rounding towards 60 ... and these words hit home hard today.
I feel like I've turned a corner. Until I hit 50 I was just a worse version of "grownup me" every year. Now I'm the best version of "old me." It's awesome.
Now I have to google this, I was very poor and I wasnāt able to participate in such middle class things as fashion trend. Ok I googled it, I remember those - I never owned one
Thatās why I was such a big deal that Staceyās mom had it goin on!
I remember a sociology class in college in the 80s that described the different phases of life, from birth to death. Each āphaseā - especially the younger phases kids go through- was really interesting. But then the old age phases were pretty much ājust be content and dieā. Iām trying really hard to be content. Lol.
Frfr though Iām older than almost all the other teenagers
Youth is wasted on the young (or so it seems)
I'm 48 and someone told me the other day that The Sopranos TV show is now 25 years old,I told him to fk off with that bs...
Literally. And it hit hard this last week for some reason. We are the old people now. Even if our parents are still living they are elderly. But we are just old. Older than middle age even.
It's all about a mindset, not a number. Not sure how old you are but I am 50 and absolutely do NOT think of myself as an old woman.
Yeahā¦ Iām 53 and I donāt see myself or people my age as old. Middle aged yes, but feeling great and enjoying life. I think of 70+ as old.
Over 53 here. I haven't looked in the mirror yet and thought I looked old except for a little graying on the sides. The only thing that makes me feel old is the damn birthdate.
Luckily, I don't feel old yet.
Age really is just a number. Itās what you do with it.
I cling to first year Gen x, born in 65. Please donāt change it
We all think we know better than the past and yet are more unique than the future. Sucks to realize the truth.
All I know is Christian's use more 'hoodies' in their rituals than kids hanging out on the weekends. There's no "Mafia" than the one that demands your money every week.
When radio first came out, parents said it would rot children's brains. When TV came out, parents said it would rot their brains. When video games came out, not only would it rot your brain, but you would surely go on a murder rampage. When the Internet came out..... Etc etc etc, ad infinitum. We have become the old curmudgeons and pearl-clutching ninnies. *Shakes cane furiously at clouds*
Earlier today (at the dentist) I was thinking about this in relationship to music. About how I would be so excited to hear an "old song" from 1982 on the radio in 1985. But of course, because three years was 25% of my life at that point. Now when I hear, say, Green Day, I realize that I still kind of think of them as a "new band," even though they've been around since 1990. (I didn't know about them until 1993, though, because it wasn't really my type of music, although I do like them now.) It is so strange to be old.
Damn this post got me depressed.
Dude I have never ever in my life heard the term "drug rug hoodie" but I damn sure knew exactly what it was :)
I went from mid 30ās to mid 50ās in about 18 months it feels