Things have changed a lot in the last few years, and trends are popping up left and right. While the younger generation often embraces these new trends with open arms, hopping onto the bandwagon, the same can't be said for many older folks. In fact, many older people are actually baffled by some of these trends and just can't seem to comprehend why they're so popular.
I was curious about which trends were the most offensive, so I took to Reddit to investigate. Redditor Kitz00n23 asked, "What's something your children/grandchildren are into, but that you don't understand or feel out of touch with?" Here are the 19 responses that stood out the most to me:
1. "I don't get the fascination with influencers. The idea is so ridiculous. Why on earth would I care what some 22-year-old girl who is a total stranger and lives nowhere near me thinks of anything? Also, I have never gotten into computer gaming. I saw and played the first one in 1980; it bored me then and still seems like a total bore to me. Finally, I am totally not interested in watching various people dance. If I have one more 'special wedding dance' that was performed by a bride and her father or a bunch of people for the bride and groom, I'll lose my mind. The whole dance thing is just cringe to me."
2. "There are two things relating to phones that confuse me. First are reaction videos, where they just watch the video and add nothing other than saying, 'That was really good/wild/funny,' at the end. I don't understand why my daughter likes them; just watch the video yourself. Second, I don't get idle games, merge games, or those games where you get money from repeatedly clicking on something. If the point is that they are pointless, then they do that well — but I don't get why you would want to 'play' something that requires no skill whatsoever. It's just endless tapping."
3. "I don't get why the newer generations love anime. I don't care for the style of it, and I don't care for the dialogue. Also, I can entirely do without people wearing cat ears and such for no reason, and I don't care for all the screaming that happens in it. I've tried to watch a few of them, and while some of the stories are interesting, the above factors turn me off immediately.
4. "I don’t like TikTok; it’s annoying. Plus, to me, following 'influencers' looks just dumb. What confounds me even more is Roblox. My 6-year-old granddaughter keeps calling me via FaceTime and asks me to 'join the game.' What does that even mean, and how would I do that? I still don’t get it."
5. "Snapchat is something I can't get behind. I am 55 and still play video games online with my kids. I feel mostly savvy and have a good handle on social media in general. That being said, I really don't see the point of Snapchat. I don't see why you would want to send photos through the app rather than in other ways."
6. "Why are so many people taking selfies? It seems so conceited to me. I’ll post an occasional picture of my husband and me on a date, but I'd never post one just standing in front of a mirror posing. I see so many selfies on social media. It always makes me feel off."
7. "I am 60 years old. I just experienced something I don't understand today. I simply don't understand modern-day adult 'cartoons'; shows like Rick and Morty, Family Guy, and Bob's Burgers. I don't understand the attraction of them; they look dumb, and I don't get the humor at all. Watching them just annoys me and makes me feel old."
8. "The drink craze is baffling to me. There are drink places everywhere now. Young people these days would rather get an $8 fruity drink than go out to eat somewhere."
9. "Last November, my granddaughter was elected to a 3-year term as a councilwoman for her town. I don't understand her eagerness to enter politics and to hold an exhausting position that's constantly criticized, especially because she clearly saw my frustrations when I was an elected official. But she jumped in, immersing herself in the headaches of budgets, contracts, bidding, and running a town. She has thicker skin and more patience than I do, and is certainly a lot more intelligent, but geez — why go looking for aggravation and headaches? I also worry about threats of physical harm that she and the other council members receive. I am, however, very happy to support her fully."
10. "This is likely region-specific, but young male fashion is strange to me. They often wear dark T-shirts and thin, oversized fabric slacks, or square-looking, thin, oversized fabric shirts and slacks. It seems they get bonus points for center-split hair with long bangs on each side. It looks cheap and, well, 1960s polyester in the worst possible way. It's becoming the norm in Japan, where I live, and it's objectively bad-looking. Young people without actual taste mindlessly adopt whatever the perceived fashion is at the time in the hopes of being cool. Just like the cauliflower hair in the United States."
11. "I don't get Magic: The Gathering and other similar games that feature card trading or tabletop play. I can see the appeal, but when I hear young people talk about which cards are the best to have, I feel like they are speaking a foreign language."
12. "I don't think I'll ever understand Instagram and the culture surrounding it. For the young people in my life, it seems like everything is for the Instagram post. I wish they would just take the darn picture. Do it for the memories, not for the likes, or just live and don't capture it."
13. "I don't understand bedrotting. Why would you not want to get up and do something? In my mind, do anything, literally. Don't just lie there on your phone doing nothing."
14. "Why do so many kids now love NeeDoh and squishies? People will pay a lot for them and drive around to find them; I just don't get the appeal at all."
15. "The majority of what is called 'music' these days is awful to me; in particular, these 'DJ parties.' Why do they insist on taking a perfectly good song and, in their opinion, making it 'better' by changing it and adding 'hu hu hu' to it? Their changes never improve it to me."
16. "Most of today's entertainment, such as TV shows and music, confuses me. When I was a kid, they had writers make up a storyline. Today, people are so bizarre that they insist on watching reality shows. Also, I don't get the music. What is the appeal of rap? I love boomer music; bands like Queen, Led Zeppelin, Karen Carpenter, and The Mamas & the Papas are what I grew up on. I don't get rap; it's just talking to music. Seriously, where is the talent in doing that?"
17. "Why would anyone want to play mindless role-playing video games where you just wander around as an avatar, with no strategy involved? It never ends and is so boring to play; I don't understand the appeal."
18. "It's confusing why people insist on watching streams of other people playing video games for hours instead of actually playing said video game themselves."
19. And lastly: "It seems like everyone is obsessed with Pokémon. I never got the appeal, but people love it. I can't understand why."
While I'm with the older generation on a few of these, but others have my 20-something-year-old heart breaking. Older readers, is there something you just can't understand about this new generation? Let me know what your takes are in the comments, or use the anonymous form below to chime in and add your take!
Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
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