assuming..
Bronze
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- May 21, 2026
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If my parents would have instilled in me early on that biologically you only get a small window at the beginning of life where your aesthetics peak before aging trashes your face and body (as well as your ability to love spontaneously without an agenda, not be an unc, get jbs, etc), I would've reoriented my priorities/direction radically differently.
When my boomer cusper parents occasionally go thru old slides of themselves on the projector, almost all of the pictures take place in their 30s and early 40s, surrounded by others same age range. There are virtually no pictures from their 20s. They show house parties, group trips, pranks, costume parties, etc. Sure everyone is sun damaged to shit, visibly aging, and balding, but they're all laughing, dressed up like some 80s tv show, having their grand old time. If anything men tried to descend their looks back then, with smoking, tanning, and hard living (as well as many cultures throughout history where males intentionally ripped out their hairlines or scarred their faces). Nowadays however there seems to be a pervasive sentiment that all the "living" in life ends around 30, and many people retreat to a vampiric state where they stay in and don't do much besides work anymore. When 30 something couples move to my neighborhood they are noted to not engage with anyone, walking around with defeated scowls on their faces whenever they do go out.
And when you look at most societies throughout history, I suppose the older accomplished men with their titles were revered much more, and stood imposing on young men who were just getting their lives started. But being older is no longer an accomplishment anymore, as everyone lives to old age now. I dont know if it's just marketing/media or a genuine societal shift, but existing past 30 or late 20s even, let alone having any fun past then, is considered cringe vibes. Automatic irrelevancy. Perhaps with birthrate decline and population balances shifting towards the old outnumbering the young, being young is rather suddenly the rare, special thing
When my boomer cusper parents occasionally go thru old slides of themselves on the projector, almost all of the pictures take place in their 30s and early 40s, surrounded by others same age range. There are virtually no pictures from their 20s. They show house parties, group trips, pranks, costume parties, etc. Sure everyone is sun damaged to shit, visibly aging, and balding, but they're all laughing, dressed up like some 80s tv show, having their grand old time. If anything men tried to descend their looks back then, with smoking, tanning, and hard living (as well as many cultures throughout history where males intentionally ripped out their hairlines or scarred their faces). Nowadays however there seems to be a pervasive sentiment that all the "living" in life ends around 30, and many people retreat to a vampiric state where they stay in and don't do much besides work anymore. When 30 something couples move to my neighborhood they are noted to not engage with anyone, walking around with defeated scowls on their faces whenever they do go out.
And when you look at most societies throughout history, I suppose the older accomplished men with their titles were revered much more, and stood imposing on young men who were just getting their lives started. But being older is no longer an accomplishment anymore, as everyone lives to old age now. I dont know if it's just marketing/media or a genuine societal shift, but existing past 30 or late 20s even, let alone having any fun past then, is considered cringe vibes. Automatic irrelevancy. Perhaps with birthrate decline and population balances shifting towards the old outnumbering the young, being young is rather suddenly the rare, special thing
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I suppose my parents had plenty of time to get acquainted with the internet when I was growing up, but my mother refused to learn anything new in life (still needs to be reminded how to type a website into the URL), and my father was already checked out, talking to his online filipina making plans to leave. Even if he did now anything he probably wouldn't have shared it with me ig....
