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GregoryZero
Joined: 04 Jan 2008 Posts: 2338 Location: California
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 5:40 am Post subject: Pretentious Youth |
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As an avid fan of some of the more popular social networking sites, I have noticed for quite a while now that a very large percentage of other teens who frequent these sites love to act like pretentious douchebags. I'm not talking PBR or indie music pretentious, I'm talking about shit like this, this, and this. To be honest here, it's outright annoying to see anyone made idiotic status updates or posts that try to provoke "deep thought" or show how shitty their love life is or just make them seem important because they're different.
I'm willing to bet that I'm certainly not the only one here who has seen those Facebook updates from emotional teens who say drastic things like "nobody understands me" or "maybe I'll just disappear" to attempt to draw attention to themselves by saying something stupid that's usually filled with shitty grammar and very vague.
Now, my main reason for making this topic is to ask the question: why are they like this? What could have caused such an idiotic trend? Is it the recent ability to essentially gain a public "platform" in which to "speak their mind" or is it something that's always been there but has seen a big gain in being brought out into the public?
I feel that expression in this way has somewhat become the norm, evolving from seemingly depressed teens sitting in their room and doing nothing to seemingly depressed teens sitting in their room on the computer doing nothing but browsing Facebook and Tumblr. As to why they feel that way, I think it's simply a case of teenage angst that stems from the trials and tribulations of growing up.
Also, the Rant Thread can still go fuck itself. _________________
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PiemanLK
Joined: 03 Dec 2007 Posts: 4711 Location: /export/home
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 5:43 am Post subject: |
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Kids are stupid _________________
[quote=''Otend'']Id come up with a long post, but Pieman said what we are all thinking, as usual[/quote]
[quote=''youhas'']EDIT TO ADD: Hey, post #3000! Neat! I will eagerly anticipate my set of ScoreHero-branded steak knives within six to eight weeks.[/quote]
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DragoonKain
Joined: 11 Jul 2007 Posts: 942
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 5:59 am Post subject: |
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I hardly think it's a "trend;" this stuff was going on 5-8 years ago when I was in high school too. And I'm sure it existed before the Internet, just in different forms. I think it's just something to do with minds that haven't fully grown and matured yet. Plus the hormonal rushes going on vastly exacerbate it. I know this isn't very thought-provoking of a post, but I really think the answer is as simple as "its always been that way." _________________
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Silly
Joined: 06 Jul 2007 Posts: 3450 Location: Nottingham, England
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 11:16 am Post subject: |
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Emo and self-pity is narcissism disguised as depth.
It's all attention whoring, and it's fucking retarded. _________________
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woozerkristen
Joined: 16 Mar 2007 Posts: 1917 Location: Auburn/Tuskegee, AL
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 11:31 am Post subject: |
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I think part of the issue here is that all these are pre-made. They'd never think of them on their own but I think most teens are naturally followers; they see others post them and repost them themselves in search of validation and fitting in, ala "Check it out--I feel the same complex emotional adult thoughts as you do!" Tumblr is designed to be (and facebook has evolved into) a place where people largely just repost and pass along things created by others. Combine that lack of needing to create original content with a lack of experience and desperate need for validation, and this is what you get. _________________
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GuitarHailz
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 4910 Location: Austin, Texas
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 1:56 pm Post subject: |
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Every generation complains about the generation after it. We were the same to the people who were born a few years ahead of us, it's always been a phenomenon and will always be one. The difference now, though, is that the kids nowadays have an outlet to post their thoughts and feelings that millions can see. I'm sure if I posted my feelings and depressing things on the Internet in 9th grade I'd look pretty retarded too. The Internet gives annoying and/or young people a voice, for better or for worse.
The other difference is that now "adults" (20-30+) share the same social space as high school and middle school kids since young adults still pay attention to Internet trends. Rewind a few years, and people years older than 13-year-old me didn't know or care about my thoughts because it's not like they sat at my school lunch table, it was a much more private affair (whereas now everyone, young and old, is on Facebook/Tumblr/whatever)
All that being said the first example you posted made my blood boil because it reeked of the friendzone "my-friends-who-are-girls-owe-ME-something" bullshit mentality. I could write a huge rant about whiny boys and this friendzone crap but that might better be saved for the Rant thread :p _________________
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HellAshes
Joined: 06 Apr 2006 Posts: 8320 Location: Livingston, NY
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 2:30 pm Post subject: |
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Trust me, I'm a guy and I can't stand this friend zone bullshit. Grow a pair and do something about it. It worked for me. XD _________________
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Yewb
Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Posts: 3020 Location: Plymouth, UK
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 4:08 pm Post subject: |
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GuitarHailz wrote: |
All that being said the first example you posted made my blood boil because it reeked of the friendzone "my-friends-who-are-girls-owe-ME-something" bullshit mentality. I could write a huge rant about whiny boys and this friendzone crap but that might better be saved for the Rant thread :p |
Exactly. And these SAME PEOPLE then take it upon themselves to wonder why girls think men only want one thing from them (sex, by the way!) - I can approach this from both angles, because I used to be that guy and now I'm thankfully not. And now I have several close female friends who I actually appreciate without there being any sexual weirdness or fear thereof. Looking back at myself (shamefully few) years ago, I have to wonder what the hell I was thinking
OT: well, I think everyone else, especially woozerkristen and Silly, pretty much nailed it there. But I'll add this I guess: some people (everyone) have a desperate need to talk about themselves*, and teens are the ones who haven't figured out yet that a) nobody wants to hear it; and b) everything they're posting is derivative, stockphoto.com crap.
* source: first non-quoted paragraph of post _________________
expertwin wrote: | ShadoWolf wrote: | expertwin wrote: | I just want to, you know, get my name out there. BTW, it updates every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Was just the first two, decided to do Saturdays as well. | Serious advice now: No-one likes indecision in their work, so find what you like that you're even remotely good at, and stick with it. Don't flit from one thing to another, because that just smacks of a large lack of determination and drive. And people don't like you for that, and won't remember you for it. I mean, I get that you have a plucky spirit and a willingness to try new things, but there's a limit, man. | I might knock it down to just Thursday and Friday. |
JOE2210 wrote: | Leave me alone, I have been drinking and your made up words mean nothing to me. |
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blingdomepiece
Joined: 03 Aug 2007 Posts: 4358 Location: Ottawa ON Canada
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 4:34 pm Post subject: |
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Yewb wrote: | But I'll add this I guess: some people (everyone) have a desperate need to talk about themselves*, and teens are the ones who haven't figured out yet that a) nobody wants to hear it; and b) everything they're posting is derivative, stockphoto.com crap. |
I'm with you on that to some extent. I also think of the old saying that goes along the lines of, "When your child is young treat what they say as important and with respect. If they can't trust you with the little things, then when they are older they won't trust you with the big things, because to them it's always been big things."
The part of that expression that's relevant is "to them it's always been big things." I think when you're growing up and going through different kinds of adversity for the first time, it's just "holy shit, really?" and you might not have the coping mechanisms in place to deal with them. This is especially the case if you come from a relatively sheltered problem where you've faced few survival-level threats. The more you go through that process the better you get at it, but at the start it can all be a bit hard to watch.
I think as an older person it's important not to trivialize the feelings teens have about what they are going through, even if you might trivialize the actual thing they are going through because you've been through it, or you are aware of a wider world of problems that puts the problem in context. To them it's still a big thing. And hopefully they get through it. _________________
Expert Pro Keys: 50/63 GS, most recent The Killing Moon
Expert Pro Drums: 53/83 GS, most recent Free Bird / Oh My God / Oye Mi Amor
Expert Pro Bass: 6/83 GS, most recent Everybody Wants to Rule the World
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Rikuthemaster
Joined: 03 Apr 2007 Posts: 2401 Location: My own personal hell
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 5:47 pm Post subject: |
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Simple. Kids are attention whores. I know because I was one. The reason for these stupid ass emo statuses about how shitty their love life is and such, is mainly for attention, and support, I suppose. It's stupid to try and seek support from a bunch of people on the internet, because that's pretty much the equivalent of little or no actual support. Not necessarily proud that I used to be one of those teens about 2 years back, but it helps me understand them, I suppose.
The statuses, however, aren't really what bug me. For me, it's these stupid "Like if you've ever cried for someone," or "Like if you relate to this cute relatable post" bullshit. These achieve nothing but try to whore out likes for the person, and make the person who likes it try to look deep and emotional, much like the statuses and pictures mentioned before. Facebook has pretty much become a place for people to bitch. That's why I prefer Twitter at this point. A lot less bitching.
But yeah, teenagers suck. Teenagers and kids nowadays seriously make me never want to have kids. _________________
Did somebody say [Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker]? |
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bclare
Joined: 21 Jun 2008 Posts: 6048 Location: Boston
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 6:33 pm Post subject: |
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PiemanLK wrote: | Kids are stupid |
And it's not enough to say this was going on 5-8 years ago; this was going on 500-800 years ago, albeit in different forms. World keeps turning, teenagers keep not quite having fully developed brains yet and thus acting like total doucheasses sometimes. _________________
I'm back I suppose |
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Vampyromaniac
Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 1216
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 1:55 am Post subject: |
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Daniel O'Brien wrote: | You're constantly bombarded with information. As a student, your entire day is spent moving from one room to another and getting pelted with facts about everything, that is your entire existence. You sit there while someone tells you about American history, and when that's done someone tells you about Marine Biology, and then you move on and someone teaches you Spanish, and then the bell rings and someone else teaches you calculus. You cover what, to a twentysomething, seems like an impossible spectrum of information, every single weekday. So surely you must know something.
The Reality
Here's what's going to happen. At one point, you will honestly believe that you have every single thing figured out. You reach an epiphany where you understand yourself, you know what you want to do with your life, you know what kind of woman or man you're looking for, and you've figured everyone else out, you're a good judge of character. Exactly two years later, you'll say "Man, I was an idiot two years ago when I thought I had life figured out, but now I've REALLY got it figured out." You'll calm down a little bit and look back on your youthful ignorance and laugh. "How could I think life was all about [X] when it's CLEARLY all about [Y]? So young."
Two years later, you'll do the exact same thing- scrapping all of your old, childish assumptions in favor of your current, brilliant assumptions. In fact, you'll repeat that process every two years. Life, from what I've gathered so far, is largely about looking back on your past self and realizing how stupid you were. And you'll keep convincing yourself that, even though you were clueless two years ago, now you've got it figured out, until you finally reach a tipping point, and then you'll say "Man, I was an idiot two years ago, and two years before that, and two before that, so- you know what? Even if I think I have things figured out, I'm probably an idiot right now."
The boundlessness of my own stupidity is the most important lesson I have ever learned in my entire life.
So many people will read a book or see a movie and think "Yes, this is what the world is about." And then they'll go to college and take their first Philosophy class and think "No no no, THIS is what the world's about." They'll read a lot, and talk a lot, and come up with theories about fucking everything. The person who hasn't yet realized what an idiot he is loves coming up with cute little theories, they love making rules and putting together little categories of human behavior. Walk into any college bar, strike up a conversation with a twenty-one-year-old chick, and I guarantee you that, at one point in the conversation, she will say either "I believe there are six kinds of people in the world, and you fall under the category of [X]" or "Oh, you like [random inconsequential thing]? I have a theory that anyone who likes [random inconsequential thing] is also the kind of person who [broad, sweeping generalization that attempts to sum up your entire, complicated life into a single sentence]. You can tell absolutely everything about someone by their [taste in music/favorite Beatle/fucking shoes or whatever]." |
There is no tl;dr. Read it.
Source _________________
[/u] |
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youhas
Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Posts: 3015 Location: Santa Clara, CA
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 1:15 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, Daniel O'Brien's statements have some weight behind them. I mean, I am so glad - so glad! - that I can recognize the immaturely dumb things I've done in the past, and learn from those missteps, and take a hardier course going forward. But I am cognizant that I am probably fucking up some additional things as we speak, and it's only youhas-in-2015 who is really going to bear the brunt of the damage from my present actions. Sorry, future me.
Anyhow: I think many of those who've posted upthread have a general gist of things. I mean, when you're a teenager, you're soaked with hormones, having life experiences for the first time which you may cavalierly assume that no one has ever felt before, and generally experiencing things which are terrifying. This has always been the case; it's only in recent memory that people can toss their emo musings online instead of, say, having them buried in their personal journal (or whatever) forever. There are some things I wrote when I was eighteen - back in 1997, bitches! - where I appear to be clueless, and cosmically self-indulgent, and otherwise probably should have been shot on sight. And there are some thoughts - "if I died tomorrow, and they had a funeral for me, who would actually attend?" - which are mopey enough if someone is thinking them, but take on entirely new sadness-based qualities if there's the ability to express them online, where those thoughts can be referenced now and forever.
None of these impetuses are new, of course. But the scale and scope of people who get to hear about them - well, that's broader than it's ever been, and it can be a little jarring. _________________
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Josseppe95
Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 1045 Location: Philadelphia
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 3:09 pm Post subject: |
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I just don't think you get it GregoryZero maybe you never thought deep thoughts as a teenager but as one currently I am fully aware that no one understands me and no one ever will but hey that's just life. _________________
thecolonel wrote: | Why dont the leaders just get together, get stoned and watch 2001: A Space Odyssey.
then there would be no war. |
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JOE2210
Joined: 19 Apr 2009 Posts: 2480 Location: In the Gagasphere
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 7:09 pm Post subject: |
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I genuinely think people should have to take a standardised test before they cam buy a computer, an iPhone or download Instagram.
I've genuinely felt actual contempt for people who do that. Whoever thought that they are making a positive contribution to the world by taking a photo of a tomato and putting it in front of a picture of some stars and writing "and in that moment, we were infinite" on it, should frankly be shot. _________________
Eastwinn wrote: |
I honestly don't get it. What is the point of riding someone's ass. What benefit does it bring you? |
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