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37 Out-Of-Touch Things Older People Said That Infuriated Others
Americans aged 60 and older are alone for about seven hours a day, and among those who live by themselves, the number rises to over 10 hours a day.
While time spent alone isn't necessarily associated with adverse effects, it can be used as a measure of social isolation, which medical experts suspect leads to less cognitive stimulation.
Amidst these concerns, Reddit user TherapistsCouch made a post on the platform, asking others "What is the most out-of-touch thing an older person has told you?"
It quickly went viral and as of now has over 5.8K comments. Here are the ones that have received the most upvotes.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
When I was 16 (1990) I was visiting my grandpa (age 93) at his seniors residence. We were chatting in the common room about politics (grandpa was Very interested in politics) and I mentioned that I was looking forward to being old enough to vote.
Some miserable man (who was younger than grandpa) overheard and said that there was no point in me voting because women didn’t have the intellect to focus on politics and when I got married my husband would tell me who to vote for.
Well…. Grandpa didn’t like that!! He was a very quiet man but he bristled up like an offended hedgehog and said “Voting was probably beyond the mental capacity of both your parents. Inbreeding does tend to make people a bit dim”
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#2
My dad owned a auto repair shop and my little brother had worked for him as a mechanic for 10 years. My dad was complaining about my brother wanting to be paid 30/hr. My dad told me when he was working at the porsche dealership in the mid to late 70s he was only making $6/hr. I showed him that with inflation he was making $32/hr at 19 years old and 1 to 2 years of experience.
#3
"People were kinder and less judgmental in my day, we didn't have any of this identity politics c**p."
They literally called in the military because black kids were going to school.
#4
Old woman said, those tattoos are going to look “great” when you’re 75. I said, does anything look good when you’re 75? She didn’t reply. She was about 75.
#5
I've become the mediator between my boomer mom & millennial daughter. When my mom was complaining that my daughter never takes her advice on parenting I asked her if she took the advice her older relatives offered when she was raising me. Her answer, without any irony, was "but their advice didn't apply because times were different by then". You just answered your own question, Ma.
#6
My boomer ex father-in-law was ashamed of the fact that my son, his grandson, is epileptic. He tried to forbid me from referring to his seizures as seizures, and instead call them "episodes", so people wouldn't know.
Ummm, no. I'm not going to trivialize a potentially life-threatening condition so that your golf buddies don't think less of your descendants and subsequently, your gene pool. Calling it an episode will prevent him getting the urgent the medical attention he would need in an emergency.
#7
Grandma told me not to continue my education as I'd be knocked up in my early 20ies anyways and married, I'd need no education as my husband would care for me. Anyway, one degree and no pregnancies later (also no relationship later), I am glad I never listened to her.
#8
A woman told me "I always see you reading books. You'll never get a man if you're too smart. They don't like that sort of thing."
#9
I've suffered from endometriosis since being a teenager. Every month I got such cramps that I couldn't even stand up and sometimes so severe that I blacked out of pain. My mom never got the idea to take me to a doctor or a gynecologist. She thought I was just dramatic and wanted to get out of going to school. I suffered for a few years. I remember once my mom told me, when I have a child it will go away. That's because it was what she was told by her doctor in the 90's...
I went to a gynecologist and got prescribed meds that have helped me a big time and I can now function like a normal human.
#10
My parents once kicked my bother out of the house for days, not allowing him back inside without a job, because they were convinced you can still walk into any business like "Hello, one job please" and get hired on the spot. Neither of them have even had an interview in 30 years.
#11
My mom, who hasn't worked outside the home in 40 years, complaining about the homeless beggar outside Walmart where there was a big banner saying they're hiring. "Why can't they just go in and get a job?!"
I had to explain that when I was looking for a job, I had a home, reliable transportation, good work history, good references, an education, I had clean and professional clothing, the ability to keep myself hygienic, an ID, a phone and computer I can reliably be contacted at, I come from an upper middle class family, and the ability to take care of and treat my mental health... and even WITH all that, I sometimes wouldn't even get called in for an interview at an entry level job. Or if I was lucky enough to get an interview, I wouldn't necessarily get a call back to even tell me I didn't get the job.
Like I know Walmart isn't looking for much, but the job market is still competitive. Do you really think Walmart is going to hire someone who doesn't have basic resources available to even ensure they can show up to a job? I couldn't believe how out of touch she was and how much she takes for granted to believe you can just stroll in anywhere and be handed a job without anything to your name.
#12
I recently had a conversation with my dad where he said 'I was a very active parent, I came home to you every day.' But all he did was work. He didn't cook, clean, help us with homework, make me feel better when sad, help me with bullies, do my hair, guide me to handle relationships or problems, or help me develop hobbies or character. He only paid bills. If he wasn't screaming at us for not cleaning, he was not interacting with us. I truly don't think my dad knows any of us. He still calls us by the wrong names. My stepmother and bio mother raised us. But he is convinced he was an active parent because he came home at night.
#13
You'll understand Republicans when you're older. It's been 15 years and they're more absurd than ever.
#14
Had a boomer aunt say how kids are so lucky today they don't have to do nuclear bomb drills. To her credit, when I said that, no, kids just have to do active shooter drills, her eyes went wide with realization that that was a more real threat than a nuke ever turned out to be.
#15
My dad told me if I voted for Obama I was a traitor to my country, and he said it with literal tears and rage in his eyes. I didn’t say a word to him in response, I just shook my head sadly and left.
#16
My mother believes that mental illness and ✨ThE gAyS✨ is just a made up thing that the new generation made up for attention. I'm autistic...
#17
My mother said to me just a few days ago that a down payment for a house isn't that hard to save up for. I told her I barely have 5 grand saved up so far, she insisted that that is more than enough. I had to stress that 20% down has been the norm in our area since the 2008 crash. She hasn't bought property since the 90's.
#18
My grandma tells me to gain weight so that my hips can better support childbirth.
Like every time she sees me I hear this, including when I was fighting cervical cancer. My only purpose in her eyes is to make babies, I guess.
#19
My dad visited me in the restaurant I was working in at the moment during peak hours and said "just tell your boss you're taking your break now and sit with me." Yeah, that's not how it works...
#20
"I survived napalm bombings during the Korean War. I can survive some stupid head cold."
Final conversation I had with my grandfather, asking what he did to prepare for the Covid19 pandemic. He and grandma passed away because of it 6 months later.
He was anti-smoking and felt that those who passed away were those with weak lungs from years of smoking. It was their punishment for torturing nonsmokers according to him, and he didn't need to worry because as a nonsmoker, his lungs were strong enough.
#21
My grandpa told me if I can't afford a house to just buy some land and build a house on it.
#22
My retired parents still say unless you go to college and get a bachelors degree you’ll end up “digging ditches”. I never went to college and make more than both of them did. They’ll die on that hill.
#23
My mom asked why I can't just give my kid some kind of herbal medication for her severe mental illness... like sorry you want to die, have you tried ginko ??
#24
“Young people have no pride left. Why do they think it’s okay to still live with their parents at 20?” The average age to move out of a parents home in the U.K. is 35. Because there’s a rental crisis and a housing crisis especially in non-English countries partially because the retired English keep buying second homes in wales, Scotland and N.I. Wages have barely increased but rent and mortgages have increased extreme amounts and this is because of their generation Why older people don’t understand this concept is beyond me.
#25
Two older people have told me to forgive my ex. The ex that abducted our children who I haven't seen for 3,5 years now. They both told me to forgive him for my own sake. Not happening. Some things are unforgivable. Especially during an ongoing trauma. My girls are still gone.
#26
“Minimum wage jobs are entry level, mostly for high schoolers to get a foot in the working world. If you want a better job you have to work for it.” So I said “ok, so, if it’s for high schoolers it should run on high school time right? So, every minimum wage job should be closed from 7-3 and from 8 pm on? So, who’s making the coffee? Or fixing your hamburger for lunch?” He had no response and quickly changed the subject.
#27
In Southern California, my aunt, who heard we still rent, was like, "You don't have to buy a new home, just get yourself a $200k starter home and fix it up."
I was like, "starter homes that need fixing up in LA are like $1.2M" starting.
#28
My grandmother is always about how I should make children, be SAHM and how my SO should support the household on his income alone.
She's born in the 60's, was a SAHM with 3 kids and a big nice house while my grandfather was a coal miner.
So once again she is on about me having kids soon. I explain that our apartment is too small and I haven't been able to get full time job to put money aside (I have no interest in having kids, but she just doesn't understand it). She told me to "just get pregnant" and it will sort itself out.
#29
Elderly aunt just advised me to marry "the oldest person I could seduce" to "set me up for the future". She's been married 7 times. No thanks!
#30
A newlywed couple I'm related to was out taking wedding pictures in a little town square with their entire bridal party. We're a big Asian family, and it's reflected in who's in the bridal party aside from one of the groomsmen who served in the armed forces with the groom. An older white woman and her husband saw them and made their way to the venue, a hall that opened up to the main street. She came up to my uncle and me, who were ushering people in, and said, "Are you the wedding for the bridal party taking pictures outside?" We both said yes, and she went on, "Oh, everyone looks so nice, but one of the groomsmen is white?" I didn't think anything of her comment the first time and explained how he's a close friend who served with the groom. She decided to double down and said again, "But, he's white." Again, I said, "Well, yes, but he's a close friend of the groom." "But, he's white." Which prompted my uncle with, "Well, we asked for another minority at the groomsmen store, but all they had left were white boys." During this whole exchange, the husband of the lady was walking ahead her not really catching what was going on. He turned back to see what his wife was doing, pushed her along, and apologized to my uncle and I for what had just happened. The whole experience left me dumbfounded. Like, what is this the 50s? Are we still not allowed to have interracial friendships?
#31
“Kids aren’t expensive at all!” HAHAHHAA ok grandpa.
Varla-Stone:
He probably never raised a kid in his life because that's "a woman's job."
#32
“Nobody wants to work anymore.” Actually tons of people are looking for work but are not gonna work for less than they deserve.
#33
"When you're feeling better..." Dad, I'm disabled, because my body is made from your and mom's s****y broken DNA. "I didn't get any help!" He said, as he *walked into a building with his dad's name on it.* Edit: He embezzled all of Grandpa's money and bankrupted the company and went to jail so I can't work there. Also, he says he did it because "God told him to and it was the right thing to do, and I should thank him for setting such a good example" as nine year old me watched my dad get taken away in handcuffs *for a crime he absolutely committed.*
#34
My grandma was shocked and couldn’t understand why I couldn’t just take as many days off work as I wanted to come to my grandpa's funeral.
#35
That I talk like a man, because I used the term “surface area”. Women can be scientists too!
#36
When I was in my 20s I was in a serious relationship with a black man and my grandma sat me down and told me that no white man would want me after this. She was honestly concerned about my well being and didn't mean it harshly. I just shrugged and told her I wouldn't want to date anyone who judged me like that anyway. My grandma was born in the 1930s to give some insight into her rationale.
#37
i love asking my dad, who’s had a six figure career and owned property since the early 2000s, questions like how much he thinks i make a year (i’m a retail associate), how much he thinks my rent is, etc. apparently i make $80k and my brooklyn apartment costs $400 a month. if only 🫠
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