28 Things People Admitted They Find Increasingly Annoying As They Age
Reddit user u/Secret_Agent4706 asked people of the Reddit community to share the things they like less and less as they get older. Here's what they shared:
1."Food chains on every corner. As a kid, I loved Panera, Chipotle, Starbucks, etc., but I’ve grown so tired of traveling the country and finding the same stuff in every city. I live in an area with massive growth, and I swear 80% of it is chains."
"I feel this way about a lot of shops, not just restaurants. Maybe I've grown disillusioned because of the Wayfair/Amazon/Alibaba internet surfing, but I have a hard time justifying buying ANYTHING in a store unless it's ridiculously cheap or a really specific version of a thing I want. Otherwise, it all seems to be the same crap over and over again."
2."Summer. The older I get, the more I hate the heat/humidity, as well as the bugs (specifically spiders). I cannot wait for winter to get here."
3."Technology. I used to look forward to new innovations. Now, I look at ChatGPT destroying industries and robbing young people of their capacity to learn, and I want to burn it all down and start over by candlelight."
"Electronics/tech. Touchscreen everything, even in cars, increasingly limited functionality in phones/operating systems. Focused on form over function in general. I don't care for always online game consoles. It just bums me out now."
4."This is going to get me generally hated: dogs. They are everywhere and encroach on all aspects of life. All outdoor spaces seem to be monopolized by dogs and their owners. You can't enjoy a sunny afternoon in the garden without an accompaniment of yapping dogs. Can't go on a walk anywhere without having to avoid stepping in dog crap, or seeing bags of dog crap thrown on the ground or hanging from bushes, or a dog bounding up to you and getting its muddy paws and drool on your clothes, while the owner gets very offended if you don't make a fuss of it and tell them how wonderful their dog is. No other pet is like that."
"If your neighbor has a cat, hamster, rabbit, snake, tarantula etc., you wouldn't know unless they told you. If your neighbor has a dog, you, and everyone within 200 feet, knows all about it. It's down to this weird dog-worshipping culture which seems to have started in the last 10 years or so. Say you don't like cats, rabbits, snakes, elephants, or any other animal, and nobody bats an eyelid. Say you don't like children, and nobody bats an eyelid. Say you don't like dogs, and you get a horrified reaction, as if you're some sort of psychopath. To be honest, I was always largely indifferent to dogs, but the entitlement of owners is shifting me toward active dislike."
5."Why is everything a subscription these days? Literally air will be $9.99 a month at some point. Also, I miss when apps were truly free with no ads. Sometimes, I pull out my old first iPad (that still kind of works), and play Bookworm for free...in peace!"
6."Driving. I used to love to drive as much as possible when I was a teenager and into my late 20s. Now, I would rather have someone else drive. There’s a lot more cars on the road now with a lot more dumb drivers."
"Driving in general, and at speed particularly. I’d rather get on the bus or train and take a nap or get lost in something to read."
7."Gossip. I never enjoyed it, but being around grown adults who speculate to overcompensate for their own insecurities is unbelievable."
"I'll never understand excessive gossip. I get it if it's a mutual person you know, but most of the time, it's just someone you only know the name of. Like, okay? Why should I care? It's like some people just straight-up don't have a personality outside of gossip. It's sad."
8."Crowds. It doesn't have to do with disliking people; I just found that into my 30s, I kind of lost any enjoyment I once had when going to a place that's busy. It used to be a case of, 'Ooh, there's loads of people over there! Let's go see what it's all about!' Whereas now, it's, 'Oh, there's loads of people over there. Let's avoid it like the plague.'"
9."The five-day work week."
"Going to work 40+ hours per week. I don’t know how previous generations maintained this for decades."
10."Birthdays. I don't know; they just don't excite me anymore. They feel like any other day."
11."The loss of what I consider undisturbed personal time. I used to have more time to focus on personal endeavors like writing, reading, and diving into long, story-driven video games, but now, not so much. I've got a backlog of interests, and it just grows by the month. I find myself so tired and unfocused, I can't give these interests the attention they deserve."
12."Traveling, but not specifically seeing the sites or any of that. I mean the actual transition from one location to another. I did a few trips in my 20s where I found all these different ways to save money and go to as many places as possible — overnight buses, sleepless nights, budget airlines, etc. My last trip like that was four years ago at age 29, then I didn't travel because of the pandemic. Recently, I did my first trip since then, and all the 'transition' stuff between countries really got me tired. Early rides to airports, immigration, customs, security, waiting at the gate, budget airlines that charge for everything, waiting for the plane door to open so I can finally get off... Next time, I'm just doing one country and flying an airline that will at least give me water."
13."Social media. It's just gotten worse and worse since I was in high school."
"People seemed to be much happier in general pre-social media."
14."Meeting new people."
"What's exhausting to me is the constant need to initiate. It's not even like I don't realize someone doesn't want to hang out with me because they always tell me they're glad I invited them, and we have a great time. But, if I don't reach out, almost no one does. Then, they're upset if I go too long without inviting them to hang out. People have made being friends a lot of work and are weirdly passive-aggressive about it."
15."The vicious cycle of people treating each other poorly because someone treated them poorly in the past, so they feel the need to treat others poorly. And so on. So exhausting."
16."Social obligations. I used to be so sad when I didn't get invited to anything, but now, I'm pretty good with it. Two to four social activities a year is more than fine with me at this point."
17."The internet in general. Nowadays, you can’t escape it. It’s on your phone, your TV, your video game console, your laptop, etc. At one point, it felt like a tool. Now, it feels like an extension of our being. Our phones hold so much of our lives right in our pockets. It’s kind of scary to think about."
"The internet was cool before the corporations figured out how to better monetize and control it."
18."Fashion. Or, trends. The older I get and the more I see trends coming back over and over again, I realize how dumb it all is. Wear a style that works for you and don’t change your whole personality and life because some paid influencer proclaimed something is now in."
"The worst part about trends, in my opinion, is the price inflation. Throughout every 'new' trend, the price of my shoes and jeans has fluctuated wildly. That, and how hard it is to find certain things when they fall out of or come into style."
19."Everything needing an app. Why can't I just use this perfectly fine browser?"
20."My cellphone. I almost want to get a landline again. I hate feeling like I need to respond to everyone immediately and that I have to constantly be available."
21."Responsibility. Honestly, I'd rather be a kid/young adult and deal with very little. Now, I'm responsible for my family, work, income, bills, a house, chores, insurances, parenting, etc. And, it doesn't get any less; it seems like there's just more being piled on."
22."Celebrity worship."
23."People complaining about things that are within their control to change. Make changes, get help, reach out, do what you can."
24."Loud environments. As people age, they often prefer quieter settings over loud bars or concerts."
"Noise. People make so much noise in public for no reason. Get headphones. I shouldn’t hear your kid’s tablet in a halfway-decent restaurant or you scrolling TikTok in the lobby of the doctor’s office. It’s just getting worse, too."
25."Alcohol, going out, dealing with parking when going out, not getting enough sleep, sleeping too much, not having enough time to do chores and errands. Lastly…PEOPLE."
26."Gatekeeping and elitism, especially in music. I used to do it myself, and when I see people do it now, I'm disgusted that I ever sounded like that."
27."Trying to be cool and get attention, especially with people I'm not close to. Now I just wish to be peaceful."
28.Finally: "People who are judgmental toward others who are experiencing a life challenge. Life has a way of humbling us all, and you never know when you’re going to go through a challenging period, need help, have a medical crisis, etc. Saying, 'I would never let myself get into that situation,' is ignorant because stuff seriously happens sometimes. We all have periods of vulnerability where we don’t make our best decisions."
Is there anything specific you've realized you like less and less as you get older??? Tell us!
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
