Do you ever avoid noting certain things for fear you'll make people "feel old"?

Sometimes I am reluctant, with a bud who's 6-10 years older, to be like "Dude I loved that album/movie/thing with a release date when I was 14!" knowing they'll say out loud (or feel internally) "UGH, I am SO OLD!" (This is usually when I know they'll whine tho.)

I got this, my first taste, sort of, with a coworker who was telling me what "shitty music" he like in sixth grade, like the Slim Shady album. I said it came out when I was in tenth grade and he was like "DUDE YOU are OLD!" inverse, see – I was not like 'ugh I feel so old.' But it was a new sensation that got a hold on me.

slim shady came out when i was 24 i think :/

I'm much older than u, but when I'm around even older folks, I sometimes refrain from geeking on stuff I know they can't comprehend. So yeah.

Slim Shady: uniting us with old

I always tell people like this, "Step off, you have the rest of your life to be old!" The world won't listen.

i sometimes like to make lol old joeks more or less to poke fun at myself, but sometimes i forget that a couple of my bros are like 38 (albeit a very young looking and acting 38) and they probably think i'm fucking with them

I put "Lido Shuffle" on a mix CD for my bandmates one time and they acted like I had just namechecked Woody Hermann.

There is no part of that post I'm familiar with.

Going to concerts & clubs makes me feel old :(

ILX: Making the old feel young, and the young feel SO unnecessary!

Other side of this is I'll sometimes be talking to some seemingly normal, not indefensibly young person, and they'll suddenly come out with some ridiculously naive shit, or like not know who Richard Nixon was, and I'll have to bite back on "how fucking new are you?"

It's true! I was afraid to post here forever bcz I felt like such a kid.

xp

contenderizer it is not that they're fucking new, it's that they're fucking DUMB.

I like hanging out with my nephews, who are generally about 10-15 years younger than me, b/c I can bring over classic dude movies (Die Hard for example) that EVERYONE in and around my generation has seen & they'll get into it & I'll be able to vicariously re-live such media experiences for a second time anew.

A few of my good friends are 6 years older than me, and I've gradually phased out all mentions of any year and what I was doing at the time, because the "I'm SO OLD!" comment it inevitably provokes is getting really, erm, old.

Other side of this is I'll sometimes be talking to some seemingly normal, not indefensibly young person, and they'll suddenly come out with some ridiculously naive shit, or like not know who Richard Nixon was, and I'll have to bite back on "how fucking new are you?"

this happens to me all the time, particularly with my younger coworkers. Recent examples: coworker never having heard the White Album (specifically Revolution No. 9), not knowing who Jim Jarmusch was, never having heard or heard of the film and song "9 to 5"... I could go on and on. On the other hand I cringed when they were discussing songs used in the Gilmore Girls (specifically one by Paula Cole...? Which was a horrible song but shit at least I knew who she was).

although tbh I don't snap "how NEW are you" at them, I'm just kinda surprised.

but I know I'm old now. I have kid! eh so what.

I don't snap "how NEW are you" at them

Yeah, I don't either. Not often. But I wanna. Anyway, re Paula Cole: one of the great pleasures of getting old is becoming totally clueless about shit that sucks.

what's old is being worried that you're old. I don't usually get Stoic but wtf: everyone ages, you have no control over that, so worry about what you can control (like ignorance)

coworker never having heard the White Album (specifically Revolution No. 9), not knowing who Jim Jarmusch was

These two don't seem like they have anything to do with old vs. young. Unless you're older than I think, it's not like you were jamming to the White Album on the day of its release. And it's probably true that Jarmusch was more of a "name" at one point than he is now, but he's always been a pretty cult dude, so I wouldn't expect random co-workers to know who he is, unless they're really into independent film or whatever.

ha, i remember paula cole briefly crossing over when i was in high school

i find that when i do this to my older friends (sometimes deliberately for lols), they just laugh and don't mind it too much - what they mind is when i genuinely have a crisis of my own about feeling old. then they yell at me to stop it, when i'm going "no but i'm being serious..."

Jarmusch was more of a "name" at one point than he is now, but he's always been a pretty cult dude, so I wouldn't expect random co-workers to know who he is, unless they're really into independent film or whatever.

she's a lesbian folkie type who was in college in the early 00s, I figured at least she would know Dead Man.

the biggest part is when you're speaking to someone young and they're all YOUNG and YOUNG and YOUNG and basically unbroken in any way by life and they ask you questions like "why did you do that" when you describe doing something vaguely depressive and boring and you have NO FUCKING ANSWER.

and you're like "oh I..." and you can't bring yourself to say "maybe you'll feel like this in a few years".

sometimes this is fun tho, I kind of like the way people who are 20 or 21 or whatever can be so enthusiastic cos it reminds me of me, not that I'm finished with enthusiasm for good, but...you know. recently was speaking to girl I've been seeing who's 20 (lol dating thread) and she was joking around "oh I'm smarter than you you know, plus I'm younger and still learning". I just paused and said "did you ever even consider that you might get stupider as you get older?" that sure scared her.

Dead Man is still pretty obscure to like 90% of the population, I wouldn't expect any random schmoe I talked to, no matter what age, to automatically know that film.

I dunno how to explain that she isn't a "random shmoe" - she's a fairly literate, curious, underground cultur-ally minded person. I mean she knows who Joanna Newsome and Devendra Banhardt are, y'know?

lolz I did enjoy laughing at a different 20-something coworker who paid money to see "the Wailers" over the weekend and was then surprised at how much it suckd (see also: Mos Def show she recently attended)

over the years I have gotten better at almost everything except 1) staying skinny and 2) staying awake all night

really don't see the downside to aging, at the end you even get to DIE, it's like a handful of aces imo

downside: balding, evaporating dreams.

it is still so weird to me on aim chatzing with ilxors sometimes half my age but they are cool peeps and i very rarely find myself shaking my head at "kids these days"

they ask you questions like "why did you do that" when you describe doing something vaguely depressive and boring and you have NO FUCKING ANSWER.

i am pretty sure i've asked you this and i'm older than you! i am much much happier now than when i was young and innocent and knew nothing - if anything life has fixed me up a bit

yeah thanks for that, haha

In general I am pro-aging except for the "losing the ability to stelay skinny without trying" part

^^^never in my wildest dreams did i think this would be an issue

I'm forty-ish and I never feel too young or too old!!

even that's pretty good though b/c before, when i never needed to exercise, i never realised that it could make you feel pretty fucking good

xp

That is true, but I have grown very fond of my "sit on my fucking ass" lifestyle and I am sad to know it has to go if I don't want to die before I hit 60.

^^tru, but i would prefer that to be the only reason i exercise - flexibility, energy gen sense of well-being etc... i don't want the flabbby genetic cummerbund marring my otherwise greek god-like (l.o.l) physique to be the nagging reminder to get to the gym

xpost

"sit on my fucking ass punctuated with the occasional run" seems like a good, workable compromise here

xp

I was in a freshman college class this fall with a bunch of 18 year olds. It was kind of awesome talking to the girls at my table about what songs they first remember hearing when they were kids. One of them has video of her singing "Achey Breaky Heart" when she was three, and they both were really into N'Sync and Britney when they where in 3rd grade. They kind of boggled that I was already done with college at that point.

Compared to my peers, and especially to myself, I often find people under 25 thrillingly exciting! For example, I recently met a seventeen year old who had never heard of the Beatles. That gave me quite a rush, as they have been in my face my whole life to an unpleasant degree. It's quite hard for me to imagine what that would be like. One thing older men have to gradually train themselves to do is not look at young women. You sort of have to pretend not to see them. Which is of course a LIE.

never heard of the beatles? i don't think that's possible.

I didn't listen to a single Beatles album until I was 20 or so but I had always known who they were.

The thread question is bullshit: I have no fear of "feeling" old. I like being 34 more than 24, although I sure could metabolize gin more efficiently then.

I have a friend who grew up from ages 8-16 without any electricity in the middle of nowhere, reading about horses and generally obsessing about horses. Consequently, she's extremely unworldly! I never realized how much I talk about pop culture, which she knows basically nothing about. We do have in common: classic literature, science & Carl Sagan love. Some of my favorite things, so it's great. Plus just life in general. But she's never heard of any bands, tv shows, movies (except about horses), anything. It is crazy and GREAT!

She's really into hip hip, tho, as far as car radio choices go.

She wears the same pants every day and her shirts all have horses or are from chemistry conferences.

c.f. "Do you ever avoid noting certain things for fear you'll make people feel stupid?"

She has a locket with a picture of her mom and a scripture. I said, "aw," and she said, "I don't believe in god anymore and I hate my mom." She just wears it bcz she feels she should wear a piece of jewelry sometimes.

I have a friend who grew up from ages 8-16 without any electricity in the middle of nowhere, reading about horses and generally obsessing about horses. Consequently, she's extremely unworldly! I never realized how much I talk about pop culture, which she knows basically nothing about. We do have in common: classic literature, science & Carl Sagan love. Some of my favorite things, so it's great. Plus just life in general. But she's never heard of any bands, tv shows, movies (except about horses), anything. It is crazy and GREAT!

― Abbott of the Trapezoid Monks (Abbott)

I would like Terry Gilliam to make his next movie about this person.

about 10 years ago when my brother-in-law was 18 my wife and I were talking about journey and he was like "who's journey?"

I used to find it freaky when younger people displayed no awareness of major pop phenomena but I'm accustomed to it now

you know you're old when you stop worrying about this

Some of this is culturally relative, of course. The idea that anyone had not heard of Preity Zinta would be astounding to many Indians.

"One thing older men have to gradually train themselves to do is not look at young women. You sort of have to pretend not to see them. Which is of course a LIE."

No indeed. I'm a younger woman who prefers younger men. Look at us, you fuckers. Do you want us to be stuck with terribly self-involved, incompetent & un-worldly guys in their 20's? Bleah.

I'm 28 though, I guess it's different with like college students.

I draw the line at women under 30. I'm 41. I think that's a fair call, I mean I don't want to be creepy.

you know you're old when you stop worrying about this

This happened so long ago for me it disappeared over the horizon in the rear view mirror.

I kind of enjoy feeling "old"; I didn't have such a great time being young anyway. Sometimes my friends will be going to these stupid parties/concerts in like drafty warehouses that are filled with ppl in their early 20's, & I'm like "I am TOO OLD to go to that fucking place, I need a real bar." It makes me feel all crotchety, plus then I don't have to go to a party in a warehouse.

I've noticed some very old people (say, 70 years plus) positively revel in being around young people - they ask them all kinds of questions and just enjoy having a window into their very different outlook and world view, just for its own sake. I can feel some of that stealing up on me too.

Haha, that's why I hang around sixty-year-olds. Those salty nutags!

My wife's grandmother is 87 and is still completely with it mentally and loves hanging out with young people. She still lives alone in the house she's lived in for 60-something years and goes to the retirement home to play the piano for "the old folks" most of whom are younger than she is.

I was at my sister's house recently, and we wanted to watch a basketball game. She was trying to find out which channel it was on, and I asked, "Is it on channel 43?" Which, to us, is WUAB-TV, a longtime independent station here which is now a "MyTV" affiliate. (And brands itself now as "My43.") Her 13-year-old son was like, "Channel 43? That's SpikeTV. They wouldn't be showing the Cavs." And so we had to explain to him that, like, once upon a time, TV came via invisible airwaves and you had to turn a dial on your TV to the same number as the channel you wanted to watch, etc. My sister and I were both like "We are old ;_; "

Fortunately I increasingly hang out w/ younger people who like to hear me tell ancient tales of rotary phones and edgy Hollywood cinema.

hah I was thinking about rotary phones the other day

blisters > carpal tunnel

Haha -- "And the phone was WIRED straight into the WALL. If you needed a new one, AT&T had to come install it for you! Did I mention AT&T was the ONLY phone company?"

oldmanyellsatcloud.jpg, etc.

Someday I'm gonna give you a caning & spoonful of castor oil

pancakes are you from cleveland? (you must be, w/ channel 43/cavs). i grew up there.

I have a rotary phone at home and it works very well.

Well, from Perry, but yeah, I live in Cleveland Hts. now. Growing up, for me Channel 43 = "Star Trek" at 6pm Saturdays.

Just this morning I was telling a coworker that when I was at university there was one phone on our landing (shared between 70 people), so no-one bothered phoning anyone. If I wanted to visit a friend in another city I'd write to them, they'd write back, I'd walk to the station to find out train times, write to them to tell them when I was coming etc.
This was 1990, but I guess in 1970, 1950, 1930? the situation would have been similar.

I wish I had a rotary phone, I miss the way the dial was weighted and how it spun when you dialed a number -- it made phone calls seem important.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/00780/estelle-getty-460_780459c.jpg

Me, yesterday.

It makes navigating automated menus a breeze. I just wait, and nine times out of ten I get put straight through to a real person within a couple of minutes.

I can't say I have the fear in the thread title, no.

(xpost to bham's post)

I started uni in 1998 and probably only a tenth of my year had mobile phones at the start, so we were still dealing with the one phone per landing thing. I had a mental map of all outside payphones within 10 minutes' walk, but only for phoning my parents, because as you said hardly any of my friends had their own phone either. Within 18 months I was almost the only person not to have one.

(Luckily I and most of my friends were still in halls in the second year and then shared houses near each other, and we were used to the "if you want to find someone, visit their room, then the student bar" way of doing things, so I don't think I lost out by not having one. It'd be pretty much social suicide now, I suppose, to be a student and not be textable all the time.)

The rest had changed, though, with everyone using the internet.

I handwrote my dissertation because there weren't enough computers to go round! (I also had the no method on contacting people, just wandering round halls or student bars thing, and use to write letters to my parents to keep in touch)