I’m 43 now. Is this why I hate the MS Office Ribbon and Windows 8?
Yes, I agree with both of these points. It’s why I never criticize people for putting their parents in a home. There shouldn’t even be any negative stigma for it. I could keep Dad in my home, where I would be miserable, my SO would be worse, since we could never have any free time, and Dad would be lonely and bored because we are busy young people, or I can put him in a home when the time comes, where they take care of him, relieve his mind of some smaller worries, give him stuff to do, and plenty of old-timers around to talk to and listen to.
(It’s also why I keep encouraging Dad to move into a neighborhood where there are lots of Indians around and where he can be with people like him. He keeps complaining about cost, but when he goes to look at cheaper places, he complains he doesn’t know anybody. I think he’s waiting for me to ask him to move in with us, which will never happen for many reasons.)
Due to some family dynamics I had grandparents that were much older than my peers (youngest son of a youngest son of a grandfather that married late). Most my age had grandfathers that were in WWII. My grandfather was a bit too old to be drafted for WWI. So he was an adult before he saw the widespread use of cars. He grew up with horses in the streets of Jersey City. By the time we started landing people on the moon he refused to believe it. I think he had just seen too much in his life.
I don’t know if it’s a “fill of change” or a resistance to change because of a perception that change is bad, but rather a certain skepticism toward change, especially change for it’s own sake. Maybe it could be called that it’s a recognition that change can be bad as well as good, sometimes at the same time.
By this, I mean that if you’ve been happy for 40 years wandering out into your yard every morning, picking up your newspaper, and reading it while you eat your toast and drink your coffee, I can totally see why the idea of a e-reader or reading it on the web would be something you’d be skeptical about.
I do think a lot of older people take it too far, and rather than looking with an age-sharpened critical eye, they pull out the pitchforks and torches and want to burn it because it’s a change, however minor, to their routine.
I think there’s a certain behavior difference that you see, and I think a lot of it has to do with retirees who don’t have a lot of social interaction once they retire. People get kooky when they don’t interact with some reasonable number of people, and retirees who aren’t active in church, school or golfing or something like that can start to behave funky.
My parents are starting to act stereotypically “old” - I give Dad a pass, because he wasn’t ever really that social, and he’s probably got some dementia because of his Parkinson’s by now. Mom, on the other hand, was never “old”, but once she retired, she’s become more stereotypically “old”, even though she’s barely “retirement age”. Neither are any more naive than they’ve ever been, although Mom has always been somewhat that way.
My in-laws on the other hand, are more active- they both are avid gardeners, and do a lot of stuff- FIL does some sort of history roundtable at the local university, and MIL does mentoring and volunteer work. Neither of them is kooky in an “old” sense, and I think it’s because they stayed connected and active.
None of the 4 are gullible though; if anything, they’re more paranoid and skeptical because they recognize that they’re getting older.
I think the “goofiness” comes from not giving a shit; if they think it’s funny, they don’t hold their tongues because they’re worried what other people will think. I mean, I think up all sorts of goofy stuff all the time, and usually don’t say it because I’m worried people will think I’m goofy. I bet once I quit caring, I’ll be the Spindletop of goofy old man sayings.
Speak for yourself, please. At 66, I’m fine with newer technologies, but I’m more selective about what my needs are. I don’t have an iPhone because I’m retired and have no need for one. I don’t text, I don’t sext, and don’t feel the need to be connected 24/7. I have a desktop, a laptop and a notebook. I have a Roku for my TV. I downsized from a component stereo system to an iPod and docking station. If I don’t have the latest technology, it’s because I choose not to have it, not because I don’t understand it.
I have less patience with foolish people now, but I don’t act out on it. If anything, I try to find some amusement in it. The number of people with their noses constantly glued to a smart phone is astounding to me, as the world passes them by unnoticed, but it’s their problem and nothing to get all cranky and vocal about. I suspect if I get rear-ended by a texter, there’s going to be a huge problem, but until that happens, big shrug.
My brother, who is 77, is as you describe. However, he has serious medical problems, including just having had a gangrenous leg removed below the knee. Between the medical issues and the meds he’s on, I barely recognize him as the same gregarious, amusing person he once was. I’m sure he would rather not be that way, and may not even realize what he’s become in the eyes of others, but sometimes we can’t choose our future selves. It makes people angry when they can’t function as they used to, and sometimes they take it out on others.
As for the OP. Get out more; your tunnel vision regarding older people is stunting your growth.
The Tea Party lineup is over there.
But you may not be typical. Consider yourself exceptional. 
I like to think that, at 76, I am none of those things. But who knows? One thing. If the world is going to hell in a handbasket, it will do it without me. If the young can’t take climate change seriously, why should I? If the young think that it is right for money to drive politics who I am to object. If they don’t like those things, it is up to them to change them, not me. I vote for Dems in federal elections in IL and that’s all I can do.
I lost my last mentor this week. She was ninety-two. She still rode her four-wheeler down to the river mud and had helped her grands and great-grands build a tree house.
She traveled all over the world. And always to the strangest places, not your usual touristy spots.
The last time I saw her was the first time I had ever seen her walking a little slowly and having to suddenly sit down. But she was still sharp as a tack.
Curiosity and love of nature were what kept her ticking, I think.
I worked as a construction supervisor at Robson Ranch for several years and have been dog cussed by 80 year old women, one of whom I still see in Robson TV ads. There’s a plenty of old people who are arrogant, intolerant, conniving, lustful, greedy and just downright mean! And now that I’m 60, I gotta tell you I can’t believe how piss ignorant you young people are…
It’s awfully silly to blame young people for such political positions, don’t you think? If there’s one thing politicians skew, it’s older. And right now, the Republican Party’s share among people under 30 is absolutely abysmal. I mean, it’s seriously bad. I’m not sure how anyone could pin indifference to climate change and money in politics on youth.
My father-in-law always said that when he retired, he wanted to do nothing but sit in the sun. And that’s what he did as of his early 60s when he retired. He gave up all his hobbies, became a snow bird, and except for his trips north and south and playing cards, he did nothing. He got old very fast. He’s 82 now and has obvious dementia. He seemed to want to get old.
My theory, for at least some elders, on the “gullible” and “naive” issues:
- Hearing loss makes it harder for them to understand what you’re saying.
- Slowed mental function - not dementia or stupidity, but just a general slowing of mental process, ever so slight - makes it harder for them to comprehend what you’re saying, especially if you make leaps in logic or change topics, or even use too many examples or analogies.
- Ego protection and self image makes it hard for them to admit they don’t understand or comprehend what you’re saying.
- A desire to please people (which is not remotely exclusive to elders, but it doesn’t always or even often disappear with age) makes them agree to what you’re saying, even though they don’t entirely understand or comprehend what you’re saying.
Substitute “vision loss” for hearing, and it works with written materials, too. Old people can’t always read the fine print, literally, and don’t care to admit it, so they sign without knowing what they’re signing.
The changes that happen as most of us age (assuming no dementia) remind me of what happens when folks drink. Some get mean, others get friendly, and most loose inhibitions. Same thing happens to most of us as we get older. I am only partly kidding here. With age, I’ve pretty much gone to wearing what I like, and having a good time as much as possible. My personality has simply become more of what I am…just like when I used to get under the influence.
(I’m seventy now, and am in the process of hooking up my new Apple TV to my laptop and desktop. So I love technology - always have - and one of my newest hobbies is fixing my friends watches)
When we retired, we made some hard and fast rules that we follow religiously:
*Never respond to phone solicitation, regardless of who it is or what it’s for. If they claim to be a relative, tell them you’ll call them back at their home number.
*Never entertain any ideas or requests for donations by anybody coming to the door, regardless of who it is or what it’s for (“no solicitors” sign posted).
*Never give out personal information of any sort to anybody, regardless of who they are or who they claim to be. This includes cops.
*Never open the front door to somebody you don’t recognize.
*Never invest savings in instruments that you don’t fully understand.
We donate to charities and candidates of our choosing, but it’s at our initiative, not because of solicitation. I buy stocks based on my research, not on promises of big profits. We reconcile our credit and checking accounts at least once or twice a week to make sure there is no fraudulent activity.
These rules serve us very well, and they’ve become habits that we will continue to exercise until we’re dead. I have little patience for those who fall victim to the most transparent of scams without even bothering to find out about who they are dealing with.
As a young buck, I had this notion that age was all a mindset and that I would never act like many elderly people I saw. But now in our mid-50s, the wife and I both are noticing our joints creaking up a bit, and we’re moving a little slower than we used to.
However, my uncle turned 90 on a three-day Danube River Cruise. Just before his 93rd birthday this year, he was off on an Alaska cruise and still plays a little golf, this after quadruple bypass surgery last year just before his 92nd birthday.
This. I’ll be 70 in 2 years and a couple of weeks. Until about 15 years ago, it was important to me to have the latest technology, because either I needed it for work or it improved the quality of my life. These days, not so much. I have no need for a smart phone or a phone with a camera in it. I have no need for an iPad or any other mobile device. I just got a new Mac Pro, and I’m hoping it’s my last computer. And I’ve made it very clear to my partner that I don’t need technology gifts.
One thing I’ve noticed is that I no longer care what anyone thinks of what I am or what I do. I’ve always been very independent, but I’m much more so now. I also don’t care as much about political issues that don’t impact me directly. I do care about same-sex marriage, but I’m kind of flip-flopping about Syria.
So all in all, I haven’t really changed that much. I move more slowly, for physical reasons. I can no longer do math in my head. And I have problems with people’s names, which is very common.
But I don’t care who walks on my lawn. It’s mostly weeds anyway . . . and I don’t care about that either.
On the positive side as one who I suspect has suffered from ADD most of my life I noticed in my fifties a new found ability to stick with things like a bull dog, for days, weeks, years and even decades until I figure them out. When I was younger I could quickly reach a certain level of understaning but quickly give up once the learning curve slowed so much. Now I relish the “aha” moments even when they are few and far apart.
There are special classes at the local recreation department that we go to in order to learn these behaviors, phrases and mannerisms. For example, at the ripe old age of 50, I consider texting to the stupidest invention ever. Why text when you can have an actual conversation? WTF youngsters? I can see the advantage to it as passing notes in class, but otherwise it is stupider than swallowing goldfish. And Facebook? Who the hell wants the whole damn world to know what they are doing every minute? Some teenagers are even so stupid as to post videos of their pranks that are criminal on Facebook.
I do find that learning new technologies is much harder and I get frustrated much quicker.
70
HD full
Young know everything now.
I do tech but my fingers are big & slow.
Body does not do what I want so good anymore.