What is something Xennials should be blamed for?

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bgva@reddit

How about putting our mental health over a paycheck? I know quiet quitting is framed as a new concept but I was doing that back in 2013-14 before I knew it had a name.

Honestly, how we see work in general. When I was job hunting in 2014 my mom called me one morning and I was still in bed at 10 am. She told me I need to be up early taking my résumé to employers, and I had to tell her they're just gonna have me email my résumé and hope it doesn't get flagged for whatever keywords. She would probably hate the idea that so many of us do a few years at a place and bounce, but we realized just how far our loyalty lasts nowadays, and know the era of retiring with a gold watch is no longer a thing.

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Hot_Frosty0807@reddit

Office Space landed just as we were entering the work force as young and impressionable people. I feel like the majority of us took the lessons learned from that movie as gospel.

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nononononooooo@reddit

Drugs as an industry. Dispensaries, mushroom therapy retreats, ibogaine retreats, at at-home ketamine therapy and ayahuasca retreats. I am all for the existence and use of any substance just not an industry behind any of it.

Podcasters

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SensitiveArtist@reddit

We don't want fine China.

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Defiant_Cookie_4963@reddit

My parents are in the “who wants all this china? And the hutch??” Phase right now. My siblings and I are all like

gif

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wosmo@reddit

oh god no kidding. My little sister gets all the china. Not because she wants it, but because she didn't turn up for that conversation so we decided for her.

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RVAforthewin@reddit

This should def be something she discovers one Christmas Day. Like y’all put a photo of all of if in a box that she gets to unwrap.

“Congrats! It’s all yours!”

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bitsy88@reddit

"We all fought over it but we decided you deserved it most of all."

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wosmo@reddit

Technically true - we all fought over it, and the loser keeps it.

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imhereforthevotes@reddit

sukkkahhhh

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t_bone_stake@reddit

Love the automatic volunteering young sibling by older sibling(s) move

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Defiant_Cookie_4963@reddit

Love this for her 🤣

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Themightytiny07@reddit

My sister and I had this conversation last week. When mom dies we will host 1 garage sale to pay for the dumpster everything that doesn't sell is going into lol

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chamrockblarneystone@reddit

This is the way. Except probably two dumpsters. No one wants that junk.

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Traditional-Jicama54@reddit

My friend was doing a fundraising garage sale and something she did that took a ton of the work out of it was they only priced the really big stuff (nice pieces they were hoping to get a certain amount, like $50 for), otherwise they had big signs up encouraging people to make an offer, all reasonable offers accepted. She said she was surprised because in general she got more than she would have priced the items at. Plus then you don't have to go through and price everything.

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rex_gallorum2@reddit

You would be surprised what you can make liquidating junk. It's also easy to find re-sellers and/or hoarders who will take whole lots of stuff for free.

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jtho78@reddit

Habitat for Humanity will take anything that still functions (furniture, kitchen appliances, building supplies and tools)

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Themightytiny07@reddit

We will definitely donate what we can (no habitat for humanity near my parents), but nobody wants the China lol

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Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit

I worked for them for a bit. If there is enough stuff in the area, they'll make a pretty long trip to collect. It's worth reaching out.

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Gloom_Pangolin@reddit

There’s a fair amount of us that are filling hutches with Lego sets, cool rocks, and skulls these days.

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nononononooooo@reddit

Ooh duh, I can put my bongs in there.

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ClimbingAimlessly@reddit

We have books in ours. Keeps the dust off!

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crazycatlady331@reddit

I would totally fill one with plants (and grow lights) if I had the space.

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irishihadab33r@reddit

Display cabinets aren't just for fancy dishes! I want to display my collections of other things. Fossils and shiny rocks and my precioussss

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BeenisHat@reddit

I have the damn hutch in my garage waiting for a buyer.

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body_by_monsanto@reddit

I have the antique upright grand piano and my brother has the grandfather clock. Sometimes my brother asks me if I want the clock and I always say yes, but only if he trades me for the piano. Parents are still alive. As soon as they pass, my brother and I are getting rid of this shit. Oh, I also get the porcelain dolls…

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Appropriate-Food1757@reddit

Get that hutch. I was always anti but find myself craving a nice hutch these days

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MotherofaPickle@reddit

I was just offered a hutch that my grandfather built. I have no need for a hutch. I have no room for a hutch. But Gramps built it…

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OutcomeLegitimate618@reddit

My mom had a secretary desk that was my great grandmother's. I actuallywant to keep that one, but no space. She used to have a table great grandpa built that I would have kept, but it broke and she pitched it instead of repairing it. I'm all for pitching china and hutches and outdated furniture, but sentimental high quality antiques? I suppose value is in the eye of the beholder. And no matter what, how much space you have to hold something.

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Turk_Sanderson@reddit (OP)

The amount of hutches I have seen that have gone from $500 to free on FB marketplace

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cheerful_cynic@reddit

Literally every estate sale has 3 to 7 sets of Chinaware, glassware, stoneware, Christmasware, fiestaware, random tea sets, unusable teapot collections - it is never ending

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CallidoraBlack@reddit

r/fiestaware is full of people who are happy to be finding what they love. I'm happy for them. Maybe I'll get to collect that lilac I wanted someday.

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imhereforthevotes@reddit

We have (and requested at our wedding) a mad mix of awesome fiestaware. I love the stuff.

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Got_no_pants@reddit

Lilac lovers unite! One day I’ll find a reasonably priced disc pitcher 🤞

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imhereforthevotes@reddit

My wife got us a hutch and I I legit hate it. She's Gen X.

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pilates_mama@reddit

I have All the china in boxes from both sides and no hutch and I’m like 🤷🏻‍♀️ what do lol

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Lafemmedelargent@reddit

My mom: who wants my fine Christmas china? Who wants the regular Christmas China?

Me: 😖😖😖😖 when are my invisibility powers going to manifest????

So far I've been given (by my mom only):

100 outfits I hate A piano Several (incomplete) sets of flatware Numerous party serving dishes, etc 2 sets of cookware Fiestaware Artwork 4 chairs A desk 15 window treatments 3 sets of towels 3 sets of linens 4 regular table cloths 1 fancy table cloth Numerous placemats Numerous pairs of shoes (Unopened) Pantyhose (?) Several Old jackets Old luggage The offer of SO MUCH MORE!

At this time I'm no longer accepting donations. 😮‍💨

The worst part? Having to listen to decades of: my mom keeps giving me stuff I don't want, don't like, why do they keep buying more stuff, and so on.

gif

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neodraykl@reddit

I take whatever my parents offer and the n donate or toss it. It's the only way they get rid of anything.

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Lafemmedelargent@reddit

I am a people pleaser (working on recovering), so I just stopped accepting and am currently donating all the old crap I didn't ask for. I'm tired af. Lol

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crazycatlady331@reddit

My aunt is trying to give me all these clothes that don't fit me or are things I never wear (white pants for example). i've got them in a bag for my mom now.

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crazycatlady331@reddit

The first thing I did when I got my place was to convert the "dining room" into a home office.

People keep trying to give me china and I explain to them that I do not have a dining area.

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jgv1545@reddit

Find your nearest curb. Take said box of china to the curb night before trash collection. Live happily ever after.

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Defiant_Cookie_4963@reddit

Sounds like from the comment above that you might be able to find a free one on marketplace! 😆

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pilates_mama@reddit

Haha sounds like you might be right! Moving to a new house in the spring so I’m on the hunt

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jgv1545@reddit

It's really easy. Be direct and honest with your parents. You're both adults. Tell them you don't want it. If they insist, let them know that box of china is going directly to the curb on trash day so they're better off giving it to someone who will use it.

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Defiant_Cookie_4963@reddit

Oh, for sure. No one is taking it if we don’t want it. It’s just funny like it’s supposed to be this prized family heirloom and all of us are like “actually, no”

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PrincessSarahHippo@reddit

I'll keep the china and actually use it. What I kinda feel bad about not wanting is the random handpainted china art pieces that aren't actually useful but were painted by members of my dad's family. They are so lovely. And take up so much space.

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Mr_Kittlesworth@reddit

I think our mistake is that we learned to treat it delicately when it’s probably harder to break than the plates you are using daily.

Just use it! It’s nicer than the plates you have and the dishwasher is fine.

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Adventurous_Cloud_20@reddit

This is the way. We inherited my wife's mother's china and it probably hadn't been used a dozen times in 60+ years. We were kind of at a loss as to what to do with it, at the time we had no place to keep it (it's actually very nice), when my wife was like "why don't we just use it?"

At the time our plates and such were all pretty junky and mismatched, so we chucked them and put the china to use. We now have a really nice set of plates/bowls/etc. that we use every day, and if they get chipped, worn or broken??? Oh well, they're meant to be used.

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McRando42@reddit

You might want to Google and set and check if the glaze has lead.

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surSEXECEN@reddit

I’m using bone china daily!

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imhereforthevotes@reddit

gif

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cellrdoor2@reddit

Honestly, the dishwasher will destroy the finish of the plates over time but it’s still better to use them. I hate to see stuff go unused! Just watch out for red and orange paint. I collect antique/vintage dish ware and those almost always have scads of lead in them.

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HungryFinding7089@reddit

and yellow - cadmium

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SensitiveArtist@reddit

My siblings and I have all told our mother we dont want any of the knick knacks in the house since we have 0 sentimemtal attachment to them.

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BugEquivalents@reddit

Not to be a nerd about it but depending on the age of the china it may contain lead!! PSA

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Mail_Order_Lutefisk@reddit

Isn’t there depleted uranium or something in one series of paints used on China or bowls from back in the day?

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RabbitLuvr@reddit

Idk about in paint, but there is glassware that’s tinted yellow or green with uranium. Easy to spot if you have a backlight, because it will glow beautifully. It’s supposedly safe to have and use. I have two or three decorative pieces. Collectors generally display it in cabinets lighted with black lights.

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BugEquivalents@reddit

I haven’t heard that but it wouldn’t surprise me

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Every_Instruction775@reddit

The only piece of my grandmother’s China my sister and I both wanted was the gravy boat 🤣. Neither one of us wanted the rest. She owns the bigger house so I forced her to take it all anyway. Hahaha

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cosp85classic@reddit

The fine china in our house is Dixie brand bowls and plates with Members Mark as the cutlery. And it's used more when we're having guests for cook outs.

Our daily stuff is a mix of the sets my wife and I had before we joined households.

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ArchSchnitz@reddit

My wife's aunt, who is early Gen X, has had a long-time obsession with the fucking Mackenzie-Childs dinnerware. It's most definitely not China, but it is expensive tableware. In fact, she worked with or for the company to the extent that one of their product lines is named for my wife's family. Hell, there's a customized Mackenzie Childs saucer sitting around here that was commissioned for a relative, that's how into it she is.

Anyway, she has a ton of this stuff. Neither of her kids want it. They're 20-something dudes who want to... do their own thing. So she offered it to my wife who accepted it on the condition we'd be using it.

So now all these expensive plates are getting hard use daily, but they're out of the aunt's house.

(FML I looked it up. Some of these plates are $100 each new. The ones out of production go for like $150+.)

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SensitiveArtist@reddit

If it's the checkerboard pattern you should play ska with every meal.

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ArchSchnitz@reddit

There's tons of them, some checker, some not. I guess I can skank with all of them while I bring the kids their dinner.

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lsp2005@reddit

I use mine. I am good enough for the nice stuff. So are you.

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Odd_Soil_8998@reddit

Lead paint and all huh?

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lsp2005@reddit

Nom nom delicious

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Odd_Soil_8998@reddit

Neither did our parents, they just accepted it when their parents died.

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Fabulous_Night_1164@reddit

I have a China cabinet that I got for free. And it holds all my toys, souvenirs, etc.

A lot of people on Facebook marketplace offer up China cabinets for free to get rid of it if anyone is wondering. You'll need a truck and a buddy to help you, but it's worth it.

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No_Pumpkin_1179@reddit

This is why I’ve said the only way my parent’s place can be cleaned up is by arson.

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bassman314@reddit

Or silver.

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ammodramussavannarum@reddit

Especially when we find out the beautiful hand painting is lead based.

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Cashewkaas@reddit

My farther has a lot of old fancy china and stuff like that. As son as he and my stepmom have kicked the bucket it’s going straight to a charity shop or something.

We have Swedish china from the blue and yellow store, fine enough for us.

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wheres_the_revolt@reddit

I love the set my mom gave me (she never took it out of the box lol). I don’t use it daily, but I do use it enough that I can justify the space it takes up.

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Mueryk@reddit

I have inherited 2 sets. We never use it and it takes up closet space. My children have straight up said they don’t want it. Might pull it out on Thanksgiving but it is such a pain in the ass.

I bought the thinnest, cheapest, sturdiest, plainest plates and such possible for regular use. Why? Because I can stack 30 plates in the cabinet because my toddlers and later my teenagers couldn’t do dishes to save their damned life(until they lived on their own). Had to have as many spares as I could fit. Bones, they outlasted the kids and I couldn’t care less if they got tossed or break.

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_its_a_SWEATER_@reddit

Literally got gifted a massive China set from wife’s older coworker, and we jus have it all in boxes in our garage. Won’t be hanging onto it for very long.

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Basic-Pair8908@reddit

I dont want my mums 400+ trinket boxes either

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fromthedarqwaves@reddit

Facebook.

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chamrockblarneystone@reddit

What was that one you all used before facebook? You were primed for disaster.

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EternalMehFace@reddit

My god, yes, this. 😭🤮

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fromthedarqwaves@reddit

At one point Facebook was great to get everyone together and keep track of birthdays. Now it exists solely to prey upon our parents.

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Ent_Trip_Newer@reddit

The year was 2012. Algorithms changed after The Arab Spring.

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squish042@reddit

And Reddit got way more political then too. I remember enjoying the sillyness of the conspiracy subreddit 2010-2012ish, then the world went upside down.

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aDuckk@reddit

And Occupy

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8-Bit-Memories@reddit

My Mom swore she would never use Facebook. In the end, she was right

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fromthedarqwaves@reddit

I wish my mom wouldn’t use it. She believes everything she reads.

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WheelLeast1873@reddit

The nuts shit my uncle posts daily.....

And he says his kids were the ones who were brainwashed by the left....

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nudave@reddit

I so miss what Facebook used to be. Like, real life updates from people you actually knew. It really looked like we were going to keep up casual college friendships into adulthood through this amazing communication tool.

Look what they’ve done to my boy….

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fromthedarqwaves@reddit

I know. Most of my friends became Facebook friends after moving around so much in my 20s-30s. It was nice keeping track of peoples lives and seeing their kids grow up. But then it became so toxic and I got tired of fighting with people over politics so I dumped it. Now I have no idea who’s still married and whether or not their relationship is complicated.

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2FastHaste@reddit

I hated it from the very beginning.

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sjames49@reddit

How many of us never had it? 🙋🏼‍♂️

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thebrandedsoul@reddit

I'm going on a decade of non-use, non-engagement, but... yeah.

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crazycatlady331@reddit

Fuckerbot was born in 1984. Is he considered one of us?

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imhereforthevotes@reddit

gif

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Verittan@reddit

Facebook changed forever when it no longer required a .edu email

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jesusmansuperpowers@reddit

Maybe. My mom’s generation seems to be the primary demographic since 2013ish though

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BlindMouse2of3@reddit

Cops in the school lunch room?

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Heinrichstr@reddit

The following generations taking themselves and everything too seriously, because Xs and Xennials are such loners and apathetic about everything. Super meta ironic that I’m complaining about it.

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unlovelyladybartleby@reddit

I'm pretty sure we killed ironing, slips, thank you notes, being assigned (or choosing) china/silver/crystal patterns then living with the pattern for 50 years, and precious moments figurines.

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MotherofaPickle@reddit

I still wrote thank you notes. You know why? Because getting mail from an actual human being that was handwritten by an actual human being is fucking awesome.

Buying stamps is annoying as shit, though.

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happy_nekko@reddit

I do too. A high number of people have commented how much it meant to them to receive a handwritten thank you note. The surprise was my friends’ 12 year old kid.

The kid got me a 40th birthday gift with her allowance money, so I sent her a thank you note (and a separate one to her parents for the gift they got me). A few months later, the kid had her birthday party and sent thank you notes to her friends because receiving my note in the mail meant something to her.

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Channelten@reddit

I've started doing snail mail again to friends. I did an impulse buy of a wax seal and wanted to send a letter with it. The friend really loved getting an actual card in the mail. I did it to another friend and they also were way more happy to get a nice card just because than I thought they'd be. Bought a flat of stamps from Costco. It killed me a little inside how expensive they were. But it's been worth it.

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GrizzlyAdam12@reddit

We can blame the boomers all we want. But, so far, Gen X and Millennials aren’t doing any better when it comes to holding elected officials accountable.

Whether you’re a D or an R, I don’t care. Running massive deficits (which both parties do) leads to inflation and pushes more pain to future generations. I still have hope that voters will eventually hold political leaders responsible. It’d be cool if our little generation can be a part of fixing the issue.

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Johnfohf@reddit

We've let fascism take root. Our kids will absolutely vilify us, and rightfully so.

Still too many of us are waiting for someone to come save us, when it's us that needs to step up and fix this shit.

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look_ima_frog@reddit

We never learned to grow up.

This is why we have a crop of grown-ass men who still play with legos, this is why we have too many fucking Star Wars movies, shows, books, pillowcases, etc, this is why bicycles which are the trifiling conveyance of a child, are so goddamn expensive now.

We've made childhood pastimes into overpriced luxury activities instead of just moving on and into the things that adults should be doing. Reading challenging books, joining the PTA, running for a public office, even small boring ones, organizing charities and the activities needed to sustain them, wearing shoes that aren't sneakers.

We need to grow the hell up.

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Johnfohf@reddit

I'm sorry someone convinced you enjoying things is childish.

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AshDogBucket@reddit

Why?

Like who cares if adults play with Legos?

Also... wtf about bicycles?? Riding a bike isn't indication of a failure to grow up... for many of us it's the opposite. It's how we're taking responsibility to get the exercise we need and/or take care of the planet.

This comment is really fucking weird and honestly childish. I think you're telling the wrong people to grow up.

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crazycatlady331@reddit

The running for public office is a big one. There's a few notable Xennials on both sides but there's not a large cohort.

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look_ima_frog@reddit

Someone gotta do it. Can't stay home and play with our childhood toys our whole lives and wonder why our needs aren't being represented.

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crazycatlady331@reddit

I've worked behind the scenes in politics for the last 15 years. I've coached candidates to run for local office before. I ran programs that flipped two seats in congress last year.

In the last 6 months or so, I've seriously thought about primarying my US senator (up in 2028). He's not ancient (solid Xer) but not in great health and has done a 180 since getting elected.

It likely won't be me (as I hate the spotlight) but there's a group looking to actively primary him and they're having potential candidate info sessions. I signed up to attend one of those (no details on when yet).

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BinocularDisparity@reddit

I feel like we ruined all physical forms of media. If your shit is digital, thank a xennial. Netflix? We did that

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Johnfohf@reddit

I didn't do that. I still buy physical media. I've got about 200 blurays, 150 retro games, and I still buy CDs whenever possible.

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omgmajk@reddit

I feel like we brought it back too. Physical media is on the rise again and so is piracy. And I'm all here for it.

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BinocularDisparity@reddit

If purchase isn’t ownership, Piracy isn’t theft.

We’re returning to our roots, when they make it economically ludicrous to engage in lesser and lesser quality media, we are simply being good stewards of our hard earned cash.

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__mgb@reddit

Nobody cares about my vinyl collection, but I care about it, and that’s how it should be.

Now excuse me as I resort them autobiographically.

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sanedragon@reddit

My dad had an original Dark Side of the Moon that got donated when he moved and I will never forgive him.

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LegSpecialist1781@reddit

That sounds…comforting.

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5ubatomix@reddit

I appreciate these High Fidelity quotes

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BigVanVortex@reddit

Still waiting on that Criterion edition...

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LastCallKillIt@reddit

I'm still proud to own all of my 💿 still! I'm missing several cases unfortunately but still have what's important. All are also ripped and backed up on mp3 as well for my Zune. One of these days I'll get off my ass and rip everything again to flac or wma lossless

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ExMorgMD@reddit

If I want to find the song "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac, I have to remember that I bought it for someone in the Fall of 1983 pile - but, didn't give it to them for personal reasons.

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trainwreckhappening@reddit

Oh, oh,... Is she in a coma?

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trainwreckhappening@reddit

I got that reference.

Also: "Get em Donny!"

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funky_boss23@reddit

No fucking way.

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coffee_and_physics@reddit

We didn’t vote when we were young, especially in non-presidential elections. I feel like we ceded a lot of power by not taking it seriously (myself included).

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squish042@reddit

I didn't vote in Bush/Gore, because I was in boot camp, but I've voted in every election since cuz Bush sent me to Iraq for no god damn reason.

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MotherofaPickle@reddit

I’ve voted in every election since my oldest was born (except for the most recent local election because it was a nothing burger vote). I take my kids. I make ballots for my kids so they can participate.

My boomer parents voted in all of the presidential elections, but never taught us the importance of local politics and having your voice heard. Especially important to me now because I live in a state that constantly says, “You, the voters, have spoken. You chose the wrong choice.”

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wheres_the_revolt@reddit

Everyone I knew voted. Our first presidential election was 2000 and it felt like a very important one (it ended up being more important than we could have imagined), and literally everyone I knew voted in that.

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coffee_and_physics@reddit

Of course we all voted for president. But did they vote in the local school board elections and the state legislature, and state/local judges, etc? Those are the ones I’m talking about. The ones that are always low turnout but essential for advancing policy because the president is only one small part of the total government (or at least they’re supposed to).

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wheres_the_revolt@reddit

I did, and I know my bff did too, but everyone else definitely wasn’t talking about off cycle elections so you’re right, probably not.

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Far-Watercress6658@reddit

Speak for yourself.

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AttilaTheFun818@reddit

Personally I’ve voted in every election since I was 18. I don’t think we can be blamed for this one. Voter turnout has been pretty bad for generations.

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coffee_and_physics@reddit

That’s fair. I see the younger generations getting screwed by polices that favor the rich and I feel like I failed them, but you’re probably right that this isn’t unique to our age range.

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Designer-Bid-3155@reddit

You haven't been voting? Ya, you're definitely a problem

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coffee_and_physics@reddit

I have been. But when I was in my early twenties nothing other than presidential seemed important. I know better now. I wish I had done better then.

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rawonionbreath@reddit

You are correct, but I will proudly state I haven’t missed a general election in my entire life.

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NoAnnual3259@reddit

I haven’t either but I’m glad I live in a state that’s had mail-in voting my entire adult life also.

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UntilTheSilence@reddit

I stopped caring about local elections when I wrote to my representatives and congresspeople in 2002 and urged them all not to go war. The only person who wrote me back was a republican congressman who thanked me for my support in fighting the war on terror and sent me an autographed picture LOL.

Once I realized very few people career politicians listen to constituents, I became disenchanted. Most votes, if not all, are bought and paid for, and the one congressman who responded to me eventually became House Majority Leader years later and then left public service to make millions of dollars in private equity. He may have started out with good intentions, but he stayed for the private-sector payoff, not the public sector good.

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SpaceAdventures3D@reddit

I voted. Maybe because Rock the Vote had some influence on me. But I wasn't civically engaged at a local level. Didnt go to council meetings or seek out rallies in my metro area. But I was more introverted then.

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Smurfblossom@reddit

To be fair I don't think this is totally our fault. We were the largest generation that didn't have consistent civic-themed education in school. So by the time we were of an age to be impactful we didn't have a lot of know how about how to be impactful let alone why. And we were understandably preoccupied by 9/11 and The Great Recession.

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esocharis@reddit

I mean, I did.

And this is a problem that is absolutely not unique to our age group.

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RainerGerhard@reddit

Ok, born in 1981 here. And this may not be well received. But I think some of you are to blame for all of the idiot kids today.

They are your kids, homie, and they can’t read and the world will literally collapse because of their dumbness.

Outside of that: nothing. We are out here being perfect.

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rawonionbreath@reddit

People your age or younger barely have kids in high school. The earliest parents from our cohort might, might have a kid ready to graduate, but the vast majority of my peers have kids that are middle school at most.

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Gor-Gor_Returns@reddit

Xennials who had kids in their mid 20s have kids somewhere between high school grad and post college depending on the details.

In broad stroke we do suck as parents tho. Helicopter/lawnmower parents who turn it over to devices instead of letting our kids go out and be challenged by the world around em.

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squish042@reddit

I read The Anxious Generation. I'm doing my part to give them the most similar childhood we had. Limited devices/screen time. Pushing organized sports as much as I can. Moved to a neighborhood with a good amount of classmates that they can play outside with. We're constantly pushing them to do outdoor activities. I did start older, so maybe that helps.

I do confess to being a helicopter too god damn much, but I love my kids like....a lot, and I'm working on it.

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rawonionbreath@reddit

I was going off OP who gave their birth year as ‘81.

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affectionateanarchy8@reddit

Nah we are 40 years old lol we have 20 year old kids and maybe a grandbaby

[-]

rawonionbreath@reddit

Outliers of the norm, so no.

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xt0rt@reddit

Not outliers at all

[-]

rawonionbreath@reddit

In the late 90’s and early 2000’s, yes it was.

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affectionateanarchy8@reddit

Nah these are not outliers

[-]

rawonionbreath@reddit

Being years below the median age of first time mothers for that year is the very definition of “outlier.”

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IceXence@reddit

We are to blame for gen Alpha.

[-]

RainerGerhard@reddit

Yeah, I am specifically blaming “us” only for the kids that “we” had. 10-15 would be the average age, I’m guessing?

Those illiterate dummies.

[-]

rawonionbreath@reddit

Ah, ok. I thought maybe you were directing disapproval of the zoomers now swimming in the mainstream.

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Tasty_Needleworker13@reddit

My friend born in 1984 has a 25 year old so ok friend.

[-]

rawonionbreath@reddit

Your friend was an outlier in the plummeting teen pregnancies of the last 30 years, so ok friend.

[-]

bcim2legit2quit@reddit

Facts only!! This might be the one time I get to feel smug about being over 40 with a toddler. I learned from the mistakes of my peers. My 3 year old recently expressed that she wanted to learn how to read. She became a library kid before she turned 2, we’ve been reading books daily since before she could hold her own head up and she does not own nor have access to a tablet.

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qtjedigrl@reddit

To be fair to one part of this multifaceted issue, it made sense to just put kids on tablets while mom/dad got stuff done at first. Easy and free babysitter! The science of how it would affect their brains and social skills didn't start to become mainstream and common knowledge until recently. For that, I give those early-tablet parents grace. They just didn't know.

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IceXence@reddit

My eldest is 15. We knew it was bad back then. I didn't do it, but most other paredidn't care it was bad, it was easy.

These days, it got worse. 15 years ago, at least, most parents didn't give a tablet to 2 years old because it was expensive. Every single parent puggling their 2 years old on a tablet and every single parents who's done it in the past 15 years knew it was bad unless they have been living under a rock.

In the early 2000 years specialists were warning parents against screen time for toddlers. Unfortunately, parents who grew up with TV and videogames didn't listen because "it can't be that bad". Yes, it can. Today's electronic is bad for kids.

That knowledge has been around for two decades now. Parents just didn't want to hear it.

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qtjedigrl@reddit

Man, I was trying to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. 😆

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IceXence@reddit

Sure, sometimes, we get it, parents need the break, but why the heck do togdlers have a tablet while being walked around inthe shopping centers? Generations of kids didn't need a tablets while at the grocery store. Kids these days have it because their parents raised them to pull a tantrum without them.

Gen Alpha is super problematic and I say this as the parents of gen Alpha.

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qtjedigrl@reddit

It's problematic on so many levels too. Look at their faces when they're on the tablets and compare that to little ones who are experiencing the world in real time. Tablet kids are missing out on so much neurological development and social cause from mom and dad because theie little brains can't exactly process what's happening on a tablet, but our brains were meant to take in the world around us. As a teacher, it really worries me.

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IceXence@reddit

I know... my own kids didn't have a tablet at those ages but these days, they all have one.

Nevertheless, my sons's generations is so problematic... Kids can't sit at their desk at school, they yell all the time, they are super competitive but not in a good way, they are close-minded, they don't do their homeworks, their culture is utter crap, etc.

I have gen Alpha kids and I can't find a single good thing about this generation. Even their fashion sucks...

Xennial parents have totally banalized many things because "they grew up with them". The end result is not great so far.

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cellrdoor2@reddit

There are some good things. I have one gen z kid and one alpha kid. The great thing I’ve noticed about both new gens is how much kinder they are. They are so much more tolerant and understanding of differences than our generation was. And FWIW both of my kids do their homework conscientiously and want to go into a field of science that helps people. They do yell a lot though.

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IceXence@reddit

I thought their generation would be kinder but it's gone backwards now!!! Kids have never been meaner and close-minded than now. My kids gets constantly rejected because he's not into sports and he had a mild TDA/TSA.

My kids do their homeworks conscientiously too as do some of their classmates. However, more than half of the class doesn't do them.... The percentage of kids who don't and are in the "I am above all this, bend to my will" has just dramatically increased.

The yelling, I mean in the classroom... Kids yell and scream a lot. They aren't well-behaved. Not all of them, just more of them. They are still good kids but less of them.

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cellrdoor2@reddit

I’m sorry that’s the experience you have had, it sounds frustrating. It might make you feel better to see that humans have been saying much the same things about the next generation for millennia? It seems to be a constant human pattern. Written in 1906 to sum up the attitudes of ancient Greeks was this: “Children began to be the tyrants, not the slaves, of their households. They no longer rose from their seats when an elder entered the room; they contradicted their parents, chattered before company, gobbled up the dainties at table, and committed various offences against Hellenic tastes, such as crossing their legs. They tyrannised over the paidagogoi and schoolmasters.”

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HBKnight@reddit

We all knew plopping your kids in front of the TV wasn't parenting, and letting Hollywood raise your kids wasn't the way. Same thing applies here. For me it was when you'd see the TVs in the headrests of all the vans and SUVs. So you knew those kids were just being entertained by whatever and not interacting with their parents during rides. Long car trips was when my grandpa or whoever would tell me about life and the world.

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greaterwhiterwookiee@reddit

I disagree with this. It was essentially the same thing as TV. Just more readily available with a wider array of garbage.

We were ALL told TV rots the brain growing up.

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RainerGerhard@reddit

I mean, they knew that they weren’t teaching their kids to read, at least. But if someone works 4 jobs and had to use a tablet as a babysitter: hey, that’s a tough break.

Most people, however, were just shitty parents.

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Max_W_@reddit

Napster being over used and it's crackdown?

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squish042@reddit

It was never going to last. RIP Kazaa and Limewire

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AshDogBucket@reddit

I blame us for Napster and how it ruined the music industry.

I never used Napster bc i gave a shit about copyright. The crackdown was justified but the damage was already done.

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SmartestIce@reddit

That was Metallica, not us.

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trainwreckhappening@reddit

Probably the only thing we really can be squarely blamed for. I mean that and Facebook.

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omnes1lere@reddit

Digital files are the highest fidelity but I get what you mean in killing the home hifi systems as being centerpieces.

I have awesome self powered speakers like which most people have as its more convenient than having an outboard amplifier. Do I need a tuner? Nope. Double casette player? Nope. Etc etc

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Appropriate-Food1757@reddit

Party Rocking

Sorry

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drwebb@reddit

Internet Porn, and Weed?

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Ok_Breakfast5425@reddit

My vinyl collection sounds great on my wired stereo speakers 😈

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ManateeNipples@reddit

I still remember my dad getting his new stereo system and how excited he was to play Money by Pink Floyd for me so I could hear all the sounds going around the living room to different speakers. He was right, that was cool as hell lol

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danbob411@reddit

But did you watch the wizard of Oz while listening to the whole album?

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ryguymcsly@reddit

Also lossless spotify via a wired input from a laptop.

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Dollars-And-Cents@reddit

Also lossless CD player via optical to stereo

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acespacegnome@reddit

I also have a large wired stereo for home listening.

But I do have a Bluetooth speaker for out of the house

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IceSmiley@reddit

Liking shit music

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Chemtrails_in_my_VD@reddit

We might have kicked off the digital age, but I'm not sure we're responsible for killing fidelity.

My mp3 player was packed with 320 kbps files, if not flac. It was a wired connection to the stereo. We're the gen that grew up with Aiwa systems, and are more likely to have a decent pair of monitors today.

I feel like the later millennials and Z are the ones that embraced low quality streams, ear buds, and cylindrical bt speakers.

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west-egg@reddit

Aww man I haven't thought about my old Aiwa system in ages. I had one just like this.

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Chemtrails_in_my_VD@reddit

Damn, that's a cool one. Mine was really similar, but I didn't have those extra speakers. Just the standard 3 pc.

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cidvard@reddit

I really tried to be a 'buy mp3s on a legit market' person but the second time I had to recover my Itunes library after a computer said 'fuck you' I was all-in on streaming.

[-]

Turk_Sanderson@reddit (OP)

Alright this guy is cool

The rest of you can fuck off

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Chemtrails_in_my_VD@reddit

Appreciate it. Fully get your issue for the record. Just taking the half full approach. We started it, but are also holding it together.

Fuck our record collections. But high five if you're a xennial parent and your kid has one.

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Turk_Sanderson@reddit (OP)

I started collected vinyls in 2000 BECAUSE of the fidelity issues on Napster/limewire/etc

Got in on the ground floor, so it will be the “Fine China” I give my kid

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FinallyKat@reddit

I got most of my collection from my grandparents and it came with the fine china. The rest came from years of garage sales and thrifting, with the inheritance of my mother's collection recently.

I introduced my nephew to the music behind the shirts he's wearing with those records. Pry that shit outta my cold dead hands

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wosmo@reddit

Late 90s / early 00's I used to collect vinyl because it was cheap as shit at the sunday market, and faster than dialup.

Now I collect it because I'm a pretentious git.

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Chemtrails_in_my_VD@reddit

Nice. I have no collection, but my 20 year old has been working on one for about 5 years. Basic LP60 and some monitors to get started was the best gift idea.

Christmas shopping has been so easy since. "What have you been listening to? What haven't you picked up yet?" Get her a bunch of stuff she actually wants, and then toss in a couple classics for good measure.

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edcross@reddit

I feel like we were the only generation to really grow up through records, tapes, cds and mp3. The only thing we didn’t really know were 8tracks and reels. And I absolutely remember arguing with people over 128 256 and what was it, 320? MP3s. Cd quality vs record fidelity. We were people who coveted and showed off good after market computer speakers and compared subwoofer size both diameter and watts.

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tjeepdrv2@reddit

My dad just had me setup his theater room. I went with a Denon 7.4.4 receiver, 3 towers behind an acoustically transparent screen, 4 surrounds, 4 Atmos ceiling speakers, and an LED projector. Now we need to stop playing with it so we can paint and wallpaper and build some sound absorption panels. High fidelity isn't dead in our houses!

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moogoothegreat@reddit

Hang out on r/headphones or r/BudgetAudiophile and you'll find lots of us. It's amazing how spoiled we are nowadays for good sound. A Qobuz subscription (hi-res streaming), modest headphone amp/dac (like from Fiio) and some mid-fi cans like Meze 105 AERs or Hifiman Sundaras and you're in the top 5% of audio reproduction, easily, for well under a grand.

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Quinalla@reddit

Agreed, millennials & gen Z fully embraced it. I still appreciate a good audio setup, those after is don’t even understand sound quality.

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Oubastet@reddit

Preach. My dad was big into audio gear and he allowed me to "steal" receiver, late 70s Bose speakers, Sony cans, etc

I still rock the B&W 601s he helped me buy.

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omgmajk@reddit

You can pry my flacs from my cold dead hands. Or drives, I guess.

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Mr_Kittlesworth@reddit

Also, many uploaded versions of music files are now higher fidelity than the old CD/vinyl recording media can allow, so the thing has been turned on its head.

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Typical-Assist2899@reddit

The convenience of text messaging vs phone calls and in-person meetups. It all began there on AIM.

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Fleiger133@reddit

We're killing generational wealth.

Took out diamonds and casual restaurants, why not!

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OskeyBug@reddit

Doggo culture

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LegSpecialist1781@reddit

Yes! The rise of “fur-babies”, “dog parents”, etc. idk, maybe it wasn’t all us, but it happened on our watch.

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AshDogBucket@reddit

I am not a parent. I have dogs. I haaaaate when people call me a dog mom or dog parent.

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JeelyPiece@reddit

Badger badger badger badger

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mack_dd@reddit

Shitty "free" ad ridden and/or pay to win time management cell phone games.

If we'd only been willing to pay the $1 or $2 per game app (which was the original model around 2007-ish) instead of only getting ad supported free ones, things may have been radically different.

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Smurfblossom@reddit

Didn't we solidly kill the blind allegiance to organized religion? I know plenty of Boomers and Gen X who go to church/synagogue/temple/mosque/whatever else I'm missing regularly without question. I find this is unusual amongst Xennials and Millennials.

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twirlerina024@reddit

Gen Z is getting religious, I've heard. Still an overall decline, but there's a little uptick in young adults.

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Smurfblossom@reddit

From what I can tell this increase is becoming more common amongst religions that have thrown their weight and power behind social justice movements. Of course that was always happening but plenty were quieter about until the last several years. There's also been more churches that are blatant about their support of the lgbt community and how such members are prominent and valued in their congregations. I totally get how this would definitely feel like something better than whatever version of religion parents and/or grandparents pushed.

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AshDogBucket@reddit

Ime the ones joining the queer affirming groups are not the ones who blindly follow as this commenter is talking about

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AshDogBucket@reddit

We did not. Our current president getting elected is proof. And the younger generations are continuing to fall for evangelical nonsense in large numbers.

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slackjaw79@reddit

The internet helped us wake up from the con. I was raised Mormon and the internet showed me things the church tried to hide. I'm sure other churches had similar problems, like Catholic priests systematically abusing kids for centuries.

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Smurfblossom@reddit

This is also a fair point. This type of thing had always been known but it really blew up when we were figuring out our own identities.

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Basic-Pair8908@reddit

Bad times create cults, sadly it repeats often

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uns0licited_advice@reddit

Definitely seeing signs of cults these days

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SlapHappyDude@reddit

This probably is geographically dependant for Xennials. We were the transition group.

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AshDogBucket@reddit

Killing independent musicians' ability to make money.

And general public ignorance about copyright law. For the billionth time, yes, it is still infringement if you record someone else's song EVEN IF YOU AREN'T CHARGING MONEY FOR IT 🙄🙄🙄

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analogthought@reddit

We can be blamed (in the best way possible) for the rise of southern hip hop into the mainstream.

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Turk_Sanderson@reddit (OP)

Ludacris : Alright America here is sixteen tracks of booty shaking southern hip hop for you

America : More please

Luda : Aight, here is another sixteen tracks of booty shaking southern hip hop for you

America : Please more Mr. Luda

Rinse/Repeat

Guy had a great business model

PS Fuck Bill O’Reiley and the loofa he rode in on...

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analogthought@reddit

Luda, Lil Jon, Ying Yang Twins, Crime Mob, TI, Outkast and on and on

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worksnake@reddit

You forgot to mention the kings of the Dirty South, Three 6 Mafia.

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SpoonFullOfSugar1111@reddit

I gotta stay high-igh-igh-igh-igh-igh-igh-igh-igh

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analogthought@reddit

Definitely, but I’ll always be from the A if you can’t tell by my list.

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Sufficient_Turn_9209@reddit

Wait, hifi was dead before I came along and I'm dead center xennial (79). My mom had the remnants of a record collection, but we hardly ever used them. Wired speakers, yeah, but it was cassette tapes all the way.

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cosp85classic@reddit

79 also checking in, and firing up the hifi and listening to vinyl or reel-to-reel copies was part of weekend chores. I've kept my parents rig too. My kids are going to get that memory too

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MotherofaPickle@reddit

Learning how to properly set the needle on the turntable was a Rite of Passage in my house.

My dad still has all of his vinyl, though he doesn’t use it all that much anymore.

Cassettes were for the car. CD’s were for the kids. I don’t think my parents ever owned a CD player.

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ryguymcsly@reddit

HiFi was cool when I was a kid at least. I had a wired system with nice speakers and an amp until I was in my 20s and moving it just became too much of a pain in the ass.

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endtheme@reddit

How about thinking "Xennials" or any other grouping of "generations" think and behave like a monolith. Or is that not unique to us idiots?

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KW5625@reddit

Social media

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ryguymcsly@reddit

Yeah, we went all in on myspace and facebook. Ironically we’re now the group least likely to use social media with the possible exception of Gen Z

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Sofagirrl79@reddit

I'm 45 and I didn't get Myspace, I thought it was too complicated and not really worth my time. That said I see how it was fun for others but I just didn't get it

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Fr4gd0ll@reddit

Tbf, we made music for our landing page and had animated letters. We've seen and done it all, so there is no need to keep using it.

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ryguymcsly@reddit

The internet was better when it was deliberate and not curated.

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piscian19@reddit

Not using our lunch break to vote in November 7, 2000. My defense I didn't have a car.

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Gullible-Apricot3379@reddit

I voted. I am one of a pretty small number of people who voted against him 3 times.

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crazycatlady331@reddit

I voted that election. I chose my candidate for the world's dumbest reason (he shares a birthday) but in retrospect I chose the right one.

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MotherofaPickle@reddit

I wasn’t old enough to vote.

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t_bone_stake@reddit

Same. I was 3 months shy of my 18th birthday when Election Day 2000 took place and, eventually, seeing Bush JR winning that one.

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LastCallKillIt@reddit

Gen Z

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justin6point7@reddit

I partially agree on the degradation of audio quality, but that's more a technological benchmark.
Lower quality MP3's sound like a tin can or radio, but were mildly acceptable when dial up was slow.
It's BS that Youtube compresses to 128kbps in 2025, broadband can load lossless FLAC/WAV in a few seconds.
Even if they boost to 320kbps and not true HD, it would be a major improvement with minimal bandwidth use.

I'm still rocking a Magnavox stereo receiver/5 CD/double tape deck I got in the 90s, I added a couple Bose speakers for a little more clarity, but I think it sounds alright for being 30 years old. Way better than a Soundbar.

It's depressing that I make wide stereo music in HD to send to friends that listen in fucking mono.

I don't know if it can be blamed on generations, but Facebook is dumbed down from what MySpace used to be. In the early and mid 2000s, I ran a local record label and played a bunch of huge shows all because I was good at promoting thru Myspace using resources from my own web host to embed media from. However, some users were writing Javascript cookie hijackers to create viruses that infected a ton of profiles, and they had to disable a lot of the cool code functions and stick things into static DIV panels. In seriousness though, MySpace was so "lawless," I could write a CSS that would completely get rid of the entire layout and redirect to an outside page with similar layout, still using MySpace's cgi-bin. Easy to be nefarious, but I didn't do anything like that, just promoted shows with custom event fliers that would dynamically change on other peoples pages. I had that down to such a science, I was even featured in a newpaper, not about my band as much as that social media made my bedroom studio near Detroit get popular on an Australian radio program. Didn't need a middle-man distributor to streams, had direct interactions with people. It was more real and fun.

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ExMorgMD@reddit

If I want to find the song "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac, I have to remember that I bought it for someone in the Fall of 1983 pile - but, didn't give it to them for personal reasons.

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yuccu@reddit

What’s this we shit?

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greaterwhiterwookiee@reddit

Campaign based games? I could be wrong because I don’t game much anymore but my kids only play COD, Battlefield, Fortnite, etc so they’re into round based shooter games. They refuse to even try OOT, BOTW, etc. basically if it’s not sports, it’s just battle arena games.

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jtho78@reddit

So the opposite, we’re keeping them alive.

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flamingknifepenis@reddit

The push to so many games being MMO based is my “old man yells at cloud” moment.

I love multiplayer games — especially co-op games. But only because I can play with friends. I don’t want to be forced to interact with a bunch of 12 year olds named Jayden, Braedon, Slaydon, and Jax̠xtynn just because the game developers want to use them as a substitute for a proper campaign story with programmed AI / NPCs.

Give me a good co-op game (ideally with a couch co-op option) where you can play the full story with someone and I’ll follow the developers through broken glass on bleeding stumps of limbs just to be able to kiss their feet, but I have zero interest in being called a a n* f*** by some kid who wants to talk shit about how he fucked my mom even though his balls haven’t dropped yet.

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jtho78@reddit

I hear you. I maybe tried 1-2 online games 20 years ago and couldn't take the vulgar language.

My couch co-op buddy and I had to get creative during the pandemic. Coop, PvE multiplayer games gave us more options. We still do couch co-op, but since those titles are rare or super indie now, we'll hook up two consoles and displays.

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flamingknifepenis@reddit

It’s not even the vulgar language that gets me so much, because honestly my buddies and I say way worse things to each other when we’re playing … but that’s different. It’s part of the social contract. A brutal ball busting between bros is way different than even casual rudeness from some rando kid.

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Sweet_Deeznuts@reddit

gif

I agree, fuck MMOs, and loot boxes, and continuously paying in-game for shit when you’ve already spent close to $100 on the fucking game itself. Shit that you used to be able to unlock through secret quests and level grinding.

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xt0rt@reddit

I miss EverQuest. And Star Wars Galaxies. Loved those games!

Oh yeah, and PlanetSide!

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LeakyAssFire@reddit

Nah. More like we brought it back to the spotlight and matured it a bit. I think God of War (2018) is a great example of this.

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NostalgiaDad@reddit

I think it all depends. My wife and I made a very concerted effort to raise nerds. Nerdy kids don't get invited to the house parties with Coke & opioids. They get invited to D&D campaign nites & musical theater sleepovers. My 11 year old who read Dune when she was 8 actively makes fun of sports games and CoD. The only shooters my eldest plays are ones that have a story like BioShock, Dishonoured & Borderlands otherwise it's Minecraft & final fantasy. My 6 year old is obsessed with RPGs atm and I just started him on super Mario RPG.

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Basic-Pair8908@reddit

Funnily enough, the other day ive started playing c+c tiberian wars.

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Trick-Alternative328@reddit

That's because theybare addicted to fast dopamine hits. Its a major problem in general, the whole generation of kids have some level of ADHD

[-]

omegaphallic@reddit

Falling Gen Z and Alpha and for letting upper class boomers get away with being so selfish and destroying young folks futures.

[-]

bcim2legit2quit@reddit

Cries in Texan as our state government dismantles public education under the guise of property tax relief for seniors, veterans, widows of veterans, etc. Someone tried to call me heartless because I said I voted against the recent constitutional amendments that eliminate taxes for widows of veterans. My response was basically, nah, what’s heartless is mofos that received public education and now think they’re somehow too special to contribute to the education of the current children of our state. It passed of course and I’m still salty.

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wrathofthewhatever2@reddit

The fall of rock music videos stemming from TRL. You could blame MTV but we were the ones phoning in and voting for the crappy pop music

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Skipper0463@reddit

gif

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chicken_frango@reddit

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trainwreckhappening@reddit

This meme right here is a crime against humanity that we are guilty of.

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jedispaghetti420@reddit

Emotionally aware children.

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Bubsilla@reddit

Grey interiors

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TappyMauvendaise@reddit

Our kids don’t go outside.

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No_Pumpkin_1179@reddit

Does excessive apathy count as a thing?

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animus218@reddit

As something we should be credited for, not blamed

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No_Pumpkin_1179@reddit

If I cared, I’d agree.

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Stock_Currency@reddit

Nothing! We’re perfect!

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MotherofaPickle@reddit

I have all of the trophies (and my mom!) telling me so!

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prosequare@reddit

My lossless streaming and Bose speakers would respectfully disagree.

Speaking only for myself, we could be blamed for under-delivering on the holiday spectacle that characterized boomers and gen x. I don’t know anyone in my age group who takes it anywhere near that level- thousands of Xmas cookies, huge tree exquisitely decorated, thousands of dollars worth of presents overflowing under the tree, the miniature village set laid out on flocking, 5 dips 6 pies 12 appetizers 13 cookies hot cider and a ham for Xmas, lights, candles, potpourri, pine boughs and mistletoe, and the inevitable emotional meltdown day-of or day after.

My house is all ND, we don’t do anything for Xmas. It feels fantastic.

[-]

MotherofaPickle@reddit

Oh my god. The whole chaos that is Christmas. My parents were always Go Go Go the whole freaking break. Driving everywhere to see all the family, cramming in Mass and dinners and a family road trip.

Now, we do a nice, quiet week of Christmas and do a bit of a road trip for New Years (just to cut down on the sit-in-front-of-the-tv-laziness). I don’t even like putting up a tree or the craziness of gifts. Thanksgiving or Halloween are my jams.

[-]

cellrdoor2@reddit

Is not celebrating holidays a big thing in the ND community? I’m raising two kids on the spectrum and I’m not allowed to break from the expected holiday traditions by a single millimeter!

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prosequare@reddit

Everyone’s different. My parents had an extremely performative take on holidays, and with me being a prop in their show, I would burn out rapidly. Too many people, too many complicated social cues, too many times where nothing I did was the right thing to do. Even as an adult, every year my plea would be for smaller, easier, cheaper productions. My kids didn’t (and still don’t) care about the event. My son developmentally doesn’t understand gifts or enjoy opening them. He doesn’t eat sweet things. He has no concept of Santa or thanksgiving. We have closets full of toys that he ignores in favor of his favorite two. Daughter has since moved out. So for me, holidays are free pto to spend relaxing and eating whatever I feel like cooking. I adore it and practice gratitude during each one.

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cellrdoor2@reddit

Ah, that’s very understandable! We don’t do much of anything that could do what we call “peopling them out”. It’s mostly specific movies, making a huge gingerbread house, cookies, new pjs on Xmas eve, that kind of thing.

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prosequare@reddit

That sounds lovely. It doesn’t need to be a spectator sport lol. I usually make a big lasagna and we live off that for a few days.

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username32768@reddit

My house is all ND

What does ND mean?

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prosequare@reddit

Neurodivergent in this context. Autism spectrum.

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username32768@reddit

Thanks!

I'm glad I asked -- I was thinking it meant "non-denominational" given the context of holidays.

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smokiechick@reddit

I am the only child of an only child of an only child... And both of my kids want it. Good thing I have all this room to store dead people shit... Except the silver. I'm keeping the silver.

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sfo2@reddit

I think home hifi was going to die anyway. I’m skeptical that the boomers actually cared about having good audio quality; those stereos were mostly just the status symbols of the time. As soon as sound bars and Bluetooth speakers and iPods came out, the boomers left their hifi equipment behind just like everyone else.

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Stroger@reddit

Being ok with having hats at the dinner table

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Pitiful_Ad2397@reddit

I care about your vinyl collection, friends.

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thenoid42@reddit

GenX adopted to MP3’s before majority of Xennials, Winamp was written by two GenX’ers. And to add more to this MP3’s were distributed through mIRC/FTP servers years before Napster, which were also GenX.

Quadraphonic was out in the 70’s aka 4 channel stereo, and digital audio /cd’s and optical was more GenX than xennial. Saying “killed off” Stereo cracks me up since people have been building their version of a sound wall since the early 70’s.

But I do blame Xennials for the uprising of some of the worst music ever, Like Creed & Limp Bizkit. Gnu-Metal/Rap metal.

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Basic-Pair8908@reddit

Oi, limp bizkit rocks

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thenoid42@reddit

Limp Bizkit has always been trash and fred durst is a putin sympathizer. Anybody that says “a great guy with clear moral principles and a nice person.” Should be erased from pop culture end of discussion.

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OrigamiTongue@reddit

Home theater is expensive. I remember growing up most people just used the TV speakers, and things are no different now with shitty sound bars or tv speakers.

Personally I have a nice home audio system because it matters to me.

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kumf@reddit

Paper towels are the new napkins. I don’t buy paper napkins anymore.

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Stevey1001@reddit

Decent chocolate

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escardigan@reddit

Reality TV. Kelly Clarkson’s win was significant in talent competition shows.

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Notchersfireroad@reddit

After spending 300 bucks on a Bluetooth speaker that sounds like shit I'm ready to go back to high quality stereo sound. What a waste of 300 bones.

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Right_Hour@reddit

Allowing productivity to grow exponentially while getting little to no compensation for it.

Now we work more for less.

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cheeker_sutherland@reddit

Just saw a YouTube about how the 2 channel stereos are making a comeback. Maybe now that we “have money” it’s becoming a thing again.

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Basic-Pair8908@reddit

Scary thing is ive heard the 8 track players are being reintroduced

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C1sko@reddit

Having great taste.

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TijayesPJs443@reddit

Disagree.

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Gwarnage@reddit

Sarcasm as a coping method

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Philhughes_85@reddit

Oh really? Never heard that before.

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garden__gate@reddit

I don’t even know anymore, man.

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Deluxe-Entomologist@reddit

I mean, seriously, could you be anymore wrong?

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Pixelated_Penguin808@reddit

That one is solidly Gen X, which to be fair, also includes the older end of Xennials.

Sarcasm is one of the defining traits of Gen X though, at least once you get into sweeping generalizations. One could argue it was also part of the generational divide between Gen X and Millenials. X was more cynical and sarcastic, Millenials more earnest.

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analogthought@reddit

I have to give a speech to new hires I manage that sarcasm is my normal mode and when I’m serious and not sarcastic, you’re probably about to get fired. Don’t make me be “the man”.

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Twanlx2000@reddit

Whatever, dude.

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Pixelated_Penguin808@reddit

Says the Gen Xer lol

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Nancy-Drew-Who@reddit

Raising a generaiton of iPad kids. I don't have kids myslef, but I can empathize that sometimes you just need 10 minutes of quiet for yourself, for the love of god!! Our own parents stuck us in front of the television, but we couldn't bring that tv with us once we left the house. The number of kids I see who are absolutely glued to a screen at every moment of the day is insane to me. I went to get a sno-cone a couple months ago, and as I was sitting in my car eating it, a family pulled up next to me. The dad and three kids get out of the car and every child had their own tablet in their hands, staring down at them as they silently walked while not watching where they were going. It was wild to me that they couldn't even stand in a short line at the sno-cone stand window, or that the dad couldn't spend that time talking to his kids while they waited for those few minutes. If your child can't even wait in a short line, or acompany you to the grocery store for half an hour without being entertained by a screen, we've got some big problems coming up when they're the generation in charge.

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Josephthebear@reddit

Our privacy - we wanted to be more relevant so we posted all our business now we can't escape it.What I would give to go back to flip phones sure having every answer to.the universe at your finger tips but at what cost

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nonexistentnight@reddit

I'm on the older side of Xennial so maybe this is skewed. I'd argue that we ushered in a kind of post-feminist toxic masculinity. I'm thinking of stuff like nu-metal, early 2000s lad magazines, The Man Show, etc. It had this combination of machismo and objectification but with the defense that politically we believed in equal rights and it was all in good fun. But things we might have taken as ironic were taken seriously by younger folks. Ultimately that led to people like Andrew Tate and the destructive influence they've had on an entire new generation of young men.

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OskeyBug@reddit

Gentrification of Brooklyn by trust fund hipsters

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joozyan@reddit

The excessive need to send thank you notes.

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ilazul@reddit

didn't push back enough on the corporate 'design by committee' takeover of the entertainment industries.

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Potential-Ant-6320@reddit

Don't look at me I have a stereo with a traditional tube amp and vintage Klipsch heritage speakers. I don't collect vinyl and am digital and cassette tapes only. I have friends that mail each other mix tapes.

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GarminTamzarian@reddit

traditional tube amp and vintage Klipsch heritage speakers

cassette tapes

gif

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wosmo@reddit

yeah cassettes are a whole new wrong.

Vinyl sound wrong is a really lovely way. Cassettes sound wrong.

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Potential-Ant-6320@reddit

gif

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barters81@reddit

We let the world take Blockbuster from us.

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Treadingresin@reddit

Cable television and the good commercials. I was not only a pirate streamer, but an early adopter of Hulu and Netflix streaming. Started out great, has turned into a monster of low quality low effort new shows, more division among the entire population and a loss of jobs for unknown actors.

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Impossible_Memory_85@reddit

We didn’t kill cable the two hundred dollar a month cable bill did.

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Treadingresin@reddit

Technically "we" didn't kill anything. Its a metaphorical question examining the societal changes that occur during our cohorts life span which the majority participated in causing a societal shift.

But we did make decisions that had ramifications such as dividing off into bubbles of news and entertainment where our views weren't challenged and others could be othered.

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TakingYourHand@reddit

First we did it with CDs. Than, we did it with mp3s.

We ruined MTV and allowed music to become increasingly more corporate. Related, we allowed Blockbuster to take over every independent video store.

We helped bring about the popularity of independent cinema.

We were the only generation that enjoyed 3DTVs, but we didn't buy enough of them.

We were the first generation to widely and openly accept the LGB community (T&Q will come, later).

We also killed off the Hackey Sack.

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luxtabula@reddit

Facebook

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worksnake@reddit

So, you don't like what capitalism and the corporate music industry did to music, and you're blaming a cohort of people that happened to be around when it happened?

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Turk_Sanderson@reddit (OP)

What the fuck? This is about people giving up on stereo systems

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worksnake@reddit

So, you don't like what capitalism and the corporate music industry did to music, and you're blaming a cohort of people that happened to be around when it happened?