Dating apps have ruined our generation istg

Let's find birthday twins!

Hey guys, let's play a fun comment game, birthday matching, maybe?

Mine is Nov 17th

I'm a late bloomer. I'm ashamed of myself 😔

This is genuine just a curiosity what if scenario in my head, one of those late night overthinking thoughts

Hypothetical scenario such as, both are in college one is an older returning student (like 29, 30,21) and the other is like, 19, 20 or 21

Not trying to date each other, just casual hookups

Me personally, it's whatever. As long as the older one isn't like trying to manipulate them or making unwanted advances, or like trying to get them drunk and then doing it I personally don't care, we have actual natzees in our government I bigger issues to worry about than that

Let's discuss (and as usual please keep it respectful and civil)

(This sub won't let me link to a YouTube trailer in the post, sadly.)

It's a horror movie riff on Barney, which I appreciate was still around until the early 2000s, but the whole aesthetic is obviously very 1990s, and the "90s kids' shows but eerie" stuff like Don't Hug Me I'm Scared feels very ten years ago at least.

Does this look appealing at all to Gen Z, or is this like cringe Millennial humour personified? Does the aesthetic resonate at all?

As a Millennial, the "lol Barney" stuff felt played out by the end of the 1990s, even. But I'm interested to know what the next generation thinks.

It seems like a lot of Gen Z people don't have the skills that their parents did. I'm talking about things like cooking, home repair, and other basic abilities that make it possible to live fully independently.

Do you feel that your parents equipped you with the skills you need to navigate adulthood?
Or did they just expect you to magically manifest them on your own?

Are We Raising Children who are Incapable of Independence?

Throughout college, I found it easy to meet new people constantly and even have good conversations, but I've found it difficult to ever actually turn them into real friends. Then other thing is the people I meet tend to already have their own friend group already.

For example, my first semester as a freshman, I probably had over 30+ people added to my contacts list. Then by my 2nd year, I only talked to maybe 2-3. Then by my 3rd year, I had to make new friends again. Since I liked working out, I found this powerlifting club. I ended up spending like 10 hours a week at the rec working out and/or socializing. I made so many connections and memories and even competed at meets.

Now that I graduated and moved, I'm back to square one again. How do I actually make friends and have them last? The two things working against me is my hobbies can be done alone, and most events I find are unfortunately a 30 minute drive to get to the city. If I'm being honest, all I do is go to the gym, get food, learn a language (been slacking), and go grocery shopping.

I’m 24 and my dad has fronto temporal dementia currently and he’s fairly late stage (forgot English and can speak in his home language albeit broken-ly, likely has problems peeing, barely able to walk, etc) and his situation makes me ask a lot of existential questions. He’s only 62.

Curious is anyone else is dealing with this

Did your high school football team have a no-cut policy? Mine did. Every student could join, regardless of their skill level, experience, or understanding of the game. We had around 50 to 80 players practicing from July to October, which was amusing because the soccer players would often look at us like we were crazy. In contrast, sports like soccer, basketball, and baseball had cuts or tryouts and only allowed their top players to participate. The only other teams that had a no-cut policy similar to football were cross country and track and field.

Reflecting on it now, it seems unreasonable since we only had three buses for all the players, coaches, and cheerleaders, which was quite a lot for one team. I’m unsure how my high school managed to supply all that gear for players who mostly sat on the sidelines while only the best ones got to play. Why would a football team need 80 players when only 25 got to play?

There was quite a bit of bullying as well; the star players would often take advantage of those who rarely got to play, making them fetch gear, water, and other equipment. From July to October, with half the team just standing around unable to play, what was the purpose?

From what I’ve observed, they seemed to have abolished this policy during or after COVID because it had become unmanageable. Coaches often overlooked bullying or were unaware of what was happening on the sidelines. My school was one of the few that had a no-cut policy for football. Other schools had teams of around 25 players and one bus. When they visited us, they were surprised to see 80 players on our team, most of whom were sitting out while the same 25 played. The others were geared up but essentially just there for appearances.

This took place between 2016 and 2019. Additionally, they had students selling gold cards and transporting groups of kids to different neighborhoods. People often questioned why we had so many players, and the explanation was usually about how some kids made the cuts for soccer and were recognized as star athletes. They would point out that a sports team shouldn’t operate like a recreation center or an after-school club. Unfortunately, that’s how our school’s football program functioned. Many kids showed up for practices and games but rarely got to play. When bullying or issues arose, the coaches often seemed surprised or indifferent.

Full disclosure I'm a millennial. But I just asked this question in our sub and I'd be super interested in seeing how it differs.

As a 26M, I have never been part of a male friend group that was supportive. Every experience has been more hostile than comfortable (shitting on each other, talking shit behind other guys backs, kicking ppl while down etc). There is constant jockeying to be the “alpha/leader” of the group and it gets exhausting after a while. And god forbid you stand up for yourself when someone takes things to far and it’s “just a joke” and you’re “too sensitive” and next thing you know they treat you like an outsider. One of my former college friends even called me an “easy target” for being clowned on… just because Im “the quiet one”. Also faced backlash from them for not enjoying their hobbies (anime and video games) while prioritizing my own (music and reading).

My friendships with other women in this generation have been much more fruitful and supportive. Guys only ever talk abt surface level BS, while women seem to actually care abt their friends at a deep personal level. And it’s never transactional. I only ever keep in touch with the ladies I made friends with in college, and have completely cut off my guy friends due to the behavior I listed above.

I would love to find a good group of guys or at least 1-2 where there is common ground and mutual respect, where it is centered around lifting each other/others up rather than putting down. I enjoy good roasting sessions also, but there needs to be some balance. Is this even possible in today’s age? Are guys actually capable of this without it turning toxic, transactional or boring? I’d love to get married one day, but I won’t be able to have any groomsmen if all my friends are women.

If anyone has advice on how to make friends at this age, I’m open to all suggestions.

I have searched many times when gen z ends, and gen alpha starts, but it is never the same throughout all the sources I have checked. I thought this is probably the place that makes the most sense to see, so when does gen z end, and gen alpha actually start?

Seeing Boomers pass down Precious Moments and Beanie Baby collections to their kids has made me wonder what worthless collections we’ll pass down to our kids one day. For me personally, it’ll be my Smiski collection.

I used to watch this one all the time on Boomerang UK and Popgirl

Im on the tinders and a shorty hit me up we talking exchanged pleasantries and boom I’m asking basic questions trying to get to know you , and the responses are so dry it’s like if you didn’t want to talk why hit me up . Her replying was like Sahara Desert on the sun dry . I just asked eventually what are you looking for on this app and I’m just so annoyed . 😑 On to he next

Recently I've seen countless photos and videos of people, mostly Gen Z, having their keychains on a carabiner on their belt or pants. Is this just a trend or does it have a practical purpose, apart from the annoying sound? Why not but it in a bag or backpack, especially when hiking in nature all day or going around a city? It's present in both cases. Is it part of the granola guy aesthetic? As gen z myself, I don't understand.

I run into Millennials online all the time, but it’s so hard to relate to them because millennial culture just feels so detached from Gen Z. On the flip side, my favorite fandoms are filled with kids born after 2008, and they feel very alien for me. Back when I was a pre-teen, the internet felt full of older people, and I constantly had to lie that I’m 16 just to fit in. Where did all the older and core Gen Z go?

I understand that older Gen Z are now young adults who are working and starting their own families, but millennials are still part of the working population and have children, and Alpha is still in school and is busy as well.

I used to think this was just a regional thing because of the economic crisis and aftermath of the default in my country around the time I was born. But once I started joining online spaces for my favorite fandoms, I realized that even in global, English-speaking communities, people my age are way outnumbered compared to Millennials, late Gen Z, and Gen Alpha.

This is killing me, first week of college and I've made 0 actual friends, only people I go to parties and get drunk or high with, and some people I met at frat parties, on top of being the only ethnic dude in my residence hall, this is like genuinely fucking my brain up lmao, I go through crazy spirals sometimes, how do yall do it? Am I stupid? Am I just ugly? I don't wanna live and die alone. I'm a dude btw, freshman in college. Honestly a love life is not in the cards for me ever, I just gotta make some friends at this point.