Yeah its weird to think everybody is old here. I am 17 and yall are about as mature as me.
One of the more disappointing things about growing up was when I realized that “adult” is an illusion and that all the adults I had looked up to as a kid, were pretty much just big babies doing their best in life while often not really knowing what the fuck they were doing. Cobble that with unresolved issues from childhood that has manifested in stunted growth in different areas and there you go.
We are all kids. The only thing that changes except out bodies, is that we gradually learn to deal with the challenges life throws at us so what is insane at 20 is not so insane at 30 and what is difficult at 30 is not that hard at 40 etc etc.
In some ways, it is a relief to know that there is no end stage. You are a kid for life and you learn for life.
Some other things do change. The brain continues to mature into our 20s, and a lot of people 25+ can start to tell the mental difference between themselves and somebody in their late teens. I personally noticed that I had stronger impulse control after about 25. As well, some of the things that bothered me when younger don’t bother me at all now.
Another change is, as you get older you may start to seek stability over excitement. For some people, they also become more rigid in their thoughts and beliefs, unable to keep up with new ideas, and the idea of changing becomes scary.
If I could give advice to young folk, I’d say to actively keep your mind open no matter what age you are. Actively seek to learn new concepts and skills throughout your life. Personally, I like to set at least one big goal to learn every year. Last year, I learned to label every country on a map. The year before that, I learned to solve a Rubix cube. One year I taught myself to read the katakana and hiragana scripts.
Pick something you’ve always wanted to learn, and keep going at it til you get there. Not only will it help keep your mind flexible, but you’ll get to grow in ways that make you into a more interesting person than you were before.
Great advice for all ages.
Actually one thing I remember most from being young is older folks (30s to 60s) always giving me all kinds advice, and it did seem smart but also so not, like, meeting me where I was at, at that age (teens, twenties).
It’s not until like my mid-thirties that I started to rediscover some of the advice I’d heard, and see it bear fruit.
Anyway, that’s all to say that even if it seems like some kid is ignoring your sage advice, they might just have it on the back-burner until they’re ready.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with laughing at the same things you thought were funny at age 10, but at the same time the way we process serious ideas should have more depth and reflect more life experience. More “let me think about that” and less “No U!!!”
Can confirm that I went to see Spaceballs in theatre last month fully expecting to cringe my way through, but in fact ended up laughing my ass off all the way.
It should have more depth, but that isn’t always the case, haha. We all do it to some extent. There some topics I flat out refuse to discuss with 99% of people because most people can’t discuss these things without opting to black and white thinking. Then there are topics I refuse to discuss with people because I fall into black and white thinking and I don’t want to put that out into the world. We should definitely hold ourselves to a higher standard, but most of us are emotional beings about something and whatever that something is, will result in very silly behavior if we get in our feelings too much. The number of instances and users I have decided to block for this very reason is probably higher than on any other platform I have ever been on. Sometimes it’s because I find them to be the childish ones and other times it’s because I feel like I would become the childish one if I engage further.
Lots of good pithy reflections there! Black and white thinking is my absolute top gripe about social media as well, and the reason most discussions just aren’t worth participating in. Every issue is filtered into a simplistic comic book or meme frame where there are exactly two diametrically opposed sides, with cackling villains vs noble heroes or underdog victims. Stepping out of the frame to acknowledge real-world subtleties makes you an evil apologist.
I think a disproportionate amount of content comes from people who find social media so much more comfortable than communicating in person, they use it like lab rats wired up to an orgasm button. They’re always partly engaging with the subject at hand and partly working out their own issues. Sifting through it all to stay on point (or even find one) can be a challenge.
Good way to put it. TBH I get the feeling middle schoolers post a hell of a lot more often than older people here.
A lot of people basically peak in highschool and dont mature much past then. Pretty jarring for people just approaching their 20s who are used to a pretty regular maturity curve in themselves and their peers from ages 0 to 18
Y’all are still in your 20s?
That might be average age across the user population, but I would guess the average age across the population of posts and comments is significantly lower.
You guys are old. And I say that as someone above 20
I don’t believe it, the majority of .ml, -grad, and -bear, have to be about 13yo or my faith in humanity is destroyed.
Remind your faith that roughly 75 million Americans, all over 18, voted for Donald Trump twice. Might want to have your faith sit down first.
I am convinced that Lemmy tankies are just in it for the sake of belonging in a group, albeit in a toxic way.
Yeah look at Lemmy outside of my instance and I really do wonder if these people are adults.
You should really ask us for rent
I figured it was over 30…
I’m pretty sure the average Fediverse user is a 37-year-old male working in tech or IT.
Darn…I fit all of those except the 37 year old part.
… Leave me alone.
37-year-old
36
male
Last time I checked
working
Yep
in tech or IT.
Ah, driving instructor. Cars are tech, though, right?
Close enough!
Cars have enough tech bullshit built-in nowadays that it might as well count
29 - miss Male - hit Engineer - hit
2/3 as well.
Damn, OP accidentally discovered a new social engineering hack…
Now everyone share your porn star name. I’m hunter2.
Mine’s Charles Spicebush
Sounds like a character from Monkey Island.
Rimshot
*******? What a weird name.
Honestly, y’all watch your opsec!
A modern car can have over a hundred different ECUs (electronic control units), all a little computer in itself, controlling the engine, brakes, seat heating and entertainment system etc.
If anything, you are working with MORE tech than a regular IT guy.
Why yes! This
humanuser here is absolutely right! There is nothing but human males here!Is that you Blue? Who let you on the internet? Goddamn it Owen!
There are a lot of us non-techies here, but you sure outnumber us
I love you non techies. And am happy you are on Lemmy. A lot of you are probably techie but you just don’t do it for a job.
Today I have read comments from a driving instructor and a high school teacher.
Weird thing to think about as a Lemmy instance admin in their mid 20’s, and not in tech at all (tech is a hobby)
Oh nice, I’m bringing the average down
…just
Oh man, I’m so seen
I JUST turned 30 last month, does that count?
Yes
Mostly I wanted to emphasize that we aren’t all borderline literal children here, but yes, the average age is probably higher.
I’m over forty and act like a child constantly
I thought I was immature, then I spent some time with some 18 year olds. I’m just a different kind of mature I guess…
You and me both, brother
Shut up, doodie head.
upvoting because avatar
Downvoting because Thanos.
i have no idea what you meant there buddy
Thanos values balance over all things. So if someone adds one, Thanos subtracts one.
It’s a cheeky character related comment to a general character/fanboy comment.
upvoting because i appreciate yoour effort (you are fanboy thanos here imo)
Fair enough.
Me approaching 50 in a couple of years…
I, too will be approaching 50 in a couple years…
And a couple years after that.
And a few more years after that.
And maybe several more afterwards, as well.
Almost 50. I’m driving up the numbers here.
In my 40s
over forty crew, represent
Hang on, give me a second to get up
I came to lie down
I came to lie down
Get on the couch don’t make a soundWord to your mom
I like a bath bomb
If my skin gets dry
I rub in a cream balm
Hunch! Hunch! Hunch! Hunch! Hunch!
Daddy’s back will make you… Hunch! Hunch!
I got a new knee brace today, took it for a test walk with the dog. Seemed fine. Knee didn’t betray me, which was nice.
How you doin’?
Wait, you mean you’re all real???
Brb, I need to apologise to my dealer.
We remember what the Internet used to be and naturally gravitate towards that.
Eternal September is real.
I miss the old internet. I feel we lost so much along the way. It was wild, but it didn’t feel like everything just existed just to sell you something. Or sell your data.
Feels like the average age is 15 whenever the discussion topic is political.
No, no, there’s definitely an at-least college-age level of idiocy going on in political topics.
I’ve ready the wiki for communism. I know what im talking about.
Ah. You know theory.
Definite ‘never progressed beyond their first year hot takes’ mentality in some spaces, but I’d argue an engaged older high-schooler will often end up in similar political boats
No u see its simply that university (in the states at least) has become so completely fucked that a graduate now is equivalent to a first year hot take a couple years back.
And your instance doesn’t even have hexbear.
I know you are, but what am I?!
Let’s be honest, Lemmy may not be the most difficult site on the internet, but the fact that it requires more thought than “sign up” is gonna drive away a lot of casual users of social media. Like the young ones.
I know for some folks it’s a barrier, but this always sounds weird to someone whose registration experience was “haha, funni name” ➡️ types in two fields and presses one button ➡️ fediverse citizen.
Edit: it is somewhat more complicated these days, in that there are now three fields and a captcha.
What is the sign up process like now on something like X or TikTok, phone verification via text message? I might think selfie, but they probably assume you will post those anyway so they don’t even need to ask.
What? I did just “sign up”… What did I miss??
Choosing an instance
The few times I’ve seen a teenager mention their age, they end up with a pack of down voters following them around. I don’t know if it’s the fact that they are teens or that they tend to post the type of cringe that comes with being young, but it’s happened enough times for my inattentive ass to notice
I never had this happen on lemmy. Granted I dont post much at all.
