Young people approach life with a go-getter attitude, saying yes to everything and enjoying the ride. As we age, the thrill fades, and the things we used to love don’t seem exciting anymore.
While scrolling through the R/askreddit community, I stumbled upon a post asking users to share the things they start to dislike as they age.
Many of the items listed are things we loved when younger but started to lose their appeal the older we got.
Leaving the House
The top response received a Reddit Gold award and over 8,000 upvotes. The user responded by saying, “Anything that takes place outside my house.”
A lot of people can relate. “It’s all so expensive, so crowded, such a pain in the ass to get to, and often so underwhelming, too,” replied one user.
Another said, “This is exactly what I was going to say. The older I get, the more I become a hermit.”
It makes sense. When we’re young, our homes aren’t typically ours. We live with our parents, then roommates, and then ourselves in tiny shoebox apartments. As we age, we create our homes precisely how we want them. Why would we want to leave?
Grocery Stores
One user’s response was something no one ever liked, but that gets worse the older we get.
“When they rearrange the grocery store,” the user shared, as something they dislike more and more as they age.
Many users agreed, saying the new looks seldom even make sense. “The grocery store near me recently rearranged, and suddenly the peanut butter was in the aisle with the ketchup instead of over by the jams and jellies,” shared one, baffled by the new arrangement.
People
Our disklike of people grows with each passing day. Young people can live in blissful naivety, looking at the best in humanity, but as we get older, we discover the bitter truth. People are the worst.
“The majority are two-faced and snakey. Maybe I’m jaded, but it’s a hard push to find someone with genuine intentions. People suck,” stated one user.
“I feel like most of the people I encounter nowadays are just rude and inconsiderate,” added another.
Not everyone hates people. As one Redditor shared, “I don’t hate people. I’m just happier when they’re not around.”
Hustling
When you’re young and energetic, hustling seems like the obvious choice. Young folks spend all their time working to build their wealth for the future.
As we age, working long hours loses its appeal.
One user said they’ve come to dislike “The idea of needing to “hustle” to have a decent life.”
“Yeah. I don’t want to rise and grind. I want to rise and immediately go back to bed,” said another.
Hustle culture invaded our society. It permeates every aspect of our lives and conveys that you deserve to be poor if you aren’t working every waking second. The culture needs a massive paradigm shift.
Also Read: The Downsides of American Work Culture
Not Sleeping
When we were in our early 20s, it was easy to head out to the bars until 1 am, get up at 5, work for the whole day, and do it all again.
As we age, the idea of staying out all night loses its appeal, especially the part about not sleeping.
One user shared that their body could no longer function on minimal sleep. “ It used to be that I could get like 5-6h a night during the week and recharge with a couple of 8-10s on the weekend and be largely fine. Now by the 2nd or 3rd day, I’m really feeling it and have to pencil in a few hours to recharge,” they said.
Another added that they have no idea how they made it through their 20s with five hours of sleep per night.
Late Night Activities
As we age, we learn how vital sleep is and scorn the late-night activities we used to love.
One user shared their inner thoughts about seeing a late-night act. “I love house music,” they shared, saying they always want to grab tickets to see famous DJs whenever they roll into town. “But after spending money and skipping a few shows because reality set in, I’ve finally admitted waiting until 1 am for them to come on, then getting home at like 3 or 4 am… is just out of my realm now,” they added.
“I went out last night to see a friend play that I haven’t seen in probably 5 years. Doors were at 8, friend and I got there at about 8:15/8:20. The first band didn’t go on until almost 9:45, and I was basically readily for bed then,” shared another, adding they left before the final act, and still felt awful the following day.
Noise
Those late-night concerts are automatic nos for many of us now because they’re too dang loud. Noises we used to tolerate now drive us crazy.
Users in the thread mentioned loud car exhaust systems, boom box stereos, and gas leaf blowers as examples of things they’ve grown to hate due to the obnoxious noise.
Getting Older
Kids long to become teenagers, teenagers can’t wait until they’re adults, and adults want to go back to being kids.
When we’re younger, we can’t wait to get older, but as we age, we begin to wonder why we take the youth for granted.
“Kid me wanted to be an adult so bad,” shared one user. “I miss not having crippling debt and back pain.”
“I miss the days of having boundless energy and running around just because I felt like it. Now in my early 30s and all my joints ache, and I barely have the energy to get out of bed some days.” replied another.
Remember when Facebook was cool? The millennial generation loved Facebook when it first appeared on college campuses nationwide. It was a great way to connect with friends in the new online world.
The older we get, the more we realize how awful Facebook is. Sure, we can keep in touch with old friends, but it’s also a cesspool of toxic opinions and propaganda.
A Large Friend Group
When you’re younger, a large friend group means you’re popular and have many weekend activity options.
As you age, you realize that quality is much more valuable than quantity regarding friendships.
“The two or three really good friends I have are all I really need. They are so amazing, and I’m so lucky to have them in my life!!” said one user.
What Did You Stop Caring About As You Got Older?
Do you agree with Redditors in this thread that these things lose their appeal the older you get, or do you think you’ll still want to rock out to late-night shows in your sixties?
What did you lose interest in when you got older?
Melanie launched Partners in Fire in 2017 to document her quest for financial independence with a mix of finance, fun, and solving the world’s problems. She’s self educated in personal finance and passionate about fighting systematic problems that prevent others from achieving their own financial goals. She also loves travel, anthropology, gaming and her cats.