Everybody gets old eventually, but sometimes our age creeps up on us unexpectedly and we're surprised at how much things have changed. Many people talk about how the younger generation doesn't know what a VHS is, doesn't recognize famous old-school bands, or was just born in the 2000s. And even more people feel old after interacting with younger folks, from their new slang terms to their still fresh and hopeful outlook towards life.
This online user focused mainly on the workplace and asked people to share how their younger coworkers made them feel old. A bunch of users delivered entertaining stories that might even leave you feeling old and confused.
This post may include affiliate links.
When i fell down the last couple of steps on a stairway. No one pointed and laughed like I expected, instead they helped me up and asked me if I was okay. That’s when I knew.
We spoke to Dr. Gleb Tsipursky who wrote "Never Go With Your Gut" and he shared some insights on the topic: "Younger people often make older individuals feel 'old' due to a generational gap in technology, language, and cultural references. This can create a sense of disconnect, making older employees feel as if they are not as adaptable or 'in the loop' as their younger counterparts. The rapid pace of change in the workplace also plays a role; younger individuals may be quicker to adopt new software or methodologies, potentially making older employees feel left behind."
When they absolutely love a "new" song and then I tell them it's a re-make of a song from 25 years ago. They almost always try to tell me I'm wrong, until I pull up the evidence and then it's shocked Pikachu face lol.
A few years ago I read about a Kanye West song featuring Paul McCartney and some Kanye fans were saying how great it was for him to help out an unknown (to them) singer.
had an intern refer to the 90s as 'the late 1900s'
wtf. its true, but it makes my teenage years sound like the oregon trail or something
Dr. Gleb also shared some tips and tricks on how to stay youthful in the office: "To stay on top, especially in the office, older people should focus on continuous learning and upskilling. Familiarize yourself with the latest industry trends and technologies. Mentoring younger employees can also be beneficial; it's a two-way street where both parties can learn from each other. Building a personal brand based on experience and wisdom can offer a unique value proposition that younger coworkers may lack. Lastly, ensure that you are networking both inside and outside of the office to keep your professional connections strong."
My childhood cat lived to 21.5 so teaching (freshman biology lab, so students were ~18) became very weird when I realized my cat was older than my students
Since you were teaching teenagers, you were lucky to have a long experience at herding cats.
Saying Go Go Gadget Arms to a table when reaching for items and getting blank stares in return.
Ok listen kids, you have no idea how funny this is. Lol.
Dr. Gleb also answered at what age people start feeling old: "Around their late 40s to early 50s. This is often when physical aging becomes more noticeable, and children may be leaving home, leading to a sense of emptiness and introspection. In the workplace, this might be the age when employees start to feel less in touch with younger colleagues or when they notice that higher-level positions are being filled by younger individuals."
I'm a (female) computer geek. I was running cables with this guy at work one night, and he kept trying to keep me out of the actual work part. I finally told him 'I've been doing this since before you were born!'
That was about 25 years ago, and as of right now, I've been working in the computer field for 44 years.
Had a co-worker ask me, “Back before cell phones, did you just have to wait around at your house for a call?” Uh, yeah, pretty much.
"Labeling oneself as 'old' in the context of intergenerational relationships can be detrimental. It might induce a self-fulfilling prophecy where the older individual starts behaving according to the limitations they assume come with being 'old,' thereby missing out on opportunities for growth and learning. However, acknowledging one's experience and wisdom as a form of 'positive aging' can be empowering," said Dr. Gleb when we asked if labeling oneself as old is a bad or good thing.
They were complaining how hard and awkward it is to meet women on Tinder. I asked if they ever had to call a girl at home and her Dad answered the phone. They were horrified.
Another time one of my guys asked what a payphone was. We worked at a phone company.
Way back then, my boyfriend's dad sounded exactly like him on the phone, and they both thought it was hysterical to pretend to be each other when I called!
Various colleagues were debating whether the Concorde had been real. They couldn’t fathom that supersonic civilian aircraft used to exist and now they don’t anymore.
The Concorde last flew in 2003, when these colleagues were toddlers.
"The dynamic between younger and older people in an office environment can be very beneficial if managed correctly. Younger employees often bring new perspectives, tech-savviness, and a willingness to take risks. Older employees, on the other hand, bring experience, industry knowledge, and a nuanced understanding of company politics. Organizations that create a culture of mutual respect and learning between these two groups are generally more innovative and adaptive to change," shared Dr. Gleb. So if at any time you feel "old" in your workplace, remember that you have a very important part to play and wisdom to share with the younger workers.
In trade school, we were doing introductions, saying a little bit about ourselves. One kid says "yeah, I'm really into classic cars, I have a 1997 *something or another*. Me, the other couple older folks, and the instructors all made audible groans of horror.
Getting a blank stare after saying we’d meet, “Same bat-time, same bat-channel.”
Went grocery shopping and I thought, "Hey, they're playing some pretty good music."
Software engineering manager here. I have team members that have never seen Lord of the Rings.
I was talking to a coworker about movies and our favorites. I said something like “I watched that movie so much when I had it on tape in my college years”
Her: Tape?
Me: You know, on VCR?
Her: VCR?
Me: Oh well I guess those are old now. Everything is on DVD now.
Her: DVD?
Me: I guess those are old too. I guess Blu-ray is what’s on disc now.
Her: Disc?
Me: Nevemind
She was half joking but nonetheless it made me feel old.
They started calling me "mom" or "Mama bear" on the walkie-talkies. I find it kind of endearing, actually.
When a younger female said she was going to come by "with some incredible tea." I was profoundly confused and disappointed when she showed up to my office without a calming elixir of the gods and instead proceeded to talk s**t about our co worker.
For me, it’s listening to a much younger group of girls complain about the guys they are hung up on. They are beautiful and young and have aspiring careers and they’ll tell me a story of what a guy did on a date and they’re like “I don’t know what to do!!” And I’m just sitting there like, “are you kidding me? Tell him to go f**k himself and find someone else who values and respects you?” I’m in my 40s now I don’t take s**t any more and my current boyfriend treats me like a queen. I’m always telling them to accept nothing less than absolute princess treatment from a guy. They never listen though.
I'm in IT. Co-worker needed to borrow a serial cable. The cable was older than the co-worker.
I'm a preschool teacher. It's been a TRIP to watch parents go from Soooo much older than me, to the same age as me, and now they're younger than me!?!?
Left a note for a new hire to call IT to help him set up his work phone and he couldn’t read cursive. Asked me what language I wrote the note in.
When I was talking to this new delivery driver and we realized I had delivered pizza to his mother in the hospital on the day he was born.
Younger dude said his first gaming console was the PlayStation 4, first computer ran windows 8, and had no idea what we meant by dial up or rotary phones. Had to stop and reevaluate my age lol.
(coworker) hey, a few of us are going out Friday night, wanna come?
(me) sure
(cw) great! Meet at my place at 11.
(me) wait, 11pm?...ok (to myself) that's when I was planning on going to bed
I'm in my 40s. When darkness falls, I like to be in my recliner with a tumbler of bourbon and watch TV.
Our payroll company went under (luckily not with our money), so for that month, we got real live, honest-to-goodness paper checks. Several co-workers didn't really know what they were or how they could turn them into money.
I'd never even seen a check before I changed country. In Sweden we haven't used them for ages.
This effing toddler "software developer" had the freaking nerve to tell me that Windows 95 was released BEFORE HE WAS BORN. I was like, no dude, it was just a few years ago. I asked him how old he was. He tells me he's 26, just finished his masters. He must be thinking of DOS 6 or around there.
Yup. He was born after Windows '95 was released.
I remember standing in line at the 'computer store' to buy Windows 95 (floppy edition) and then installing it over Windows 3.1
One of my coworkers said their parents got them into Nirvana and Soundgarden because “that’s what they listened to in highschool.” I think I went into a fugue state for a minute with that one. But I still maintain that I am not old, and that 1997 was a few years ago.
Not me but a friend named Jessica (my name is also Jessica) said she was working with a young woman also named Jessica who said “oh wow I’ve never met someone with my same name!” She was 22. If you grew up in the 90s there were so many Jessicas.
When I couldn't decipher the two youngest coworkers parts of the conversation. I had to search what some words meant.
I work at a brewery part-time as a beertender (aka bartender) for extra income and free beer. I'm 45, and most of them are in their early 20s. I like all of them, but boy, did I realize quickly that I was out of touch with today's slang in the US! We were trying a new beer, and my coworker was like, "Damn, this really slaps," and that was followed by "no cap" by another. I stood there so confused about what these guys just said. They have all taught me much more since😆
I just act privy to the slang like totally. Then later I'll do research.
Years ago, before I retired, when I met a new young troop and realized I'd been in the military longer than they had been alive...
I know someone who retired from the military on the day before his daughter would outrank him.
Note: this post originally had 61 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
My oldest son's history teacher was teaching about the Vietnam war, and he had to write an essay about it. I helped him out. He got an F and I knew then her facts were wrong. I had a meeting with her to rectify this problem and she proceeded to tell me all kinds of things that were just plain wrong. I finally had to say, "Lady, I was there, you weren't". Her eyes got really big. Anyway, the upshot of all this was I was invited to talk in her class about it. PS, My son got an A.
I think it's great that you were able to meet with the teacher and correct her, even better that you were invited to talk to her class. But, it begs the question, what was she taught about such an important part of your country's recent history, and how many have passed through her class learning these "facts" that you know to wrong?
Load More Replies...
When you talk to someone and you realise some of your clothes are older than they are.
I have shoes older than my boss. Quality shoes mind you
Load More Replies...
The internet has changed everything between generations. Media is partially democratized, allowing you to find and watch or listen to anything from any time, but is also increasingly spoon fed by algorithms. For us we over-40s television was as the primary means of media consumption, and whether you were 10 or 80, Sam Donaldson or Walter Kronkite presented the news. There weren’t many channels, so you watched old shows from 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago. From 8pm to 10pm the same shows were on for everybody. This means I knew about old phones, old radio shows, old movies, old singers, and old technology and old cultural mores. It’s just not true anymore.
Nailed it. We didn’t grow up so segregated from our parents’ or even grandparents’ pop culture or technology. I realise now that my partner and I have been raising our kiddo in a more old school way in that we still watch tv together (whatever it is), we share tech in the house (even have a family computer), listen to music together, have family dinner, just generally more inter-generational sharing. I didn’t realise this was unusual until now.
Load More Replies... My oldest son's history teacher was teaching about the Vietnam war, and he had to write an essay about it. I helped him out. He got an F and I knew then her facts were wrong. I had a meeting with her to rectify this problem and she proceeded to tell me all kinds of things that were just plain wrong. I finally had to say, "Lady, I was there, you weren't". Her eyes got really big. Anyway, the upshot of all this was I was invited to talk in her class about it. PS, My son got an A.
I think it's great that you were able to meet with the teacher and correct her, even better that you were invited to talk to her class. But, it begs the question, what was she taught about such an important part of your country's recent history, and how many have passed through her class learning these "facts" that you know to wrong?
Load More Replies... When you talk to someone and you realise some of your clothes are older than they are.
I have shoes older than my boss. Quality shoes mind you
Load More Replies... The internet has changed everything between generations. Media is partially democratized, allowing you to find and watch or listen to anything from any time, but is also increasingly spoon fed by algorithms. For us we over-40s television was as the primary means of media consumption, and whether you were 10 or 80, Sam Donaldson or Walter Kronkite presented the news. There weren’t many channels, so you watched old shows from 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago. From 8pm to 10pm the same shows were on for everybody. This means I knew about old phones, old radio shows, old movies, old singers, and old technology and old cultural mores. It’s just not true anymore.
Nailed it. We didn’t grow up so segregated from our parents’ or even grandparents’ pop culture or technology. I realise now that my partner and I have been raising our kiddo in a more old school way in that we still watch tv together (whatever it is), we share tech in the house (even have a family computer), listen to music together, have family dinner, just generally more inter-generational sharing. I didn’t realise this was unusual until now.
Load More Replies...