What do the newer generation kids do for fun on the weekends?

Posted by TollyVonTheDruth@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 45 comments

The other day, some friends and I were reminiscing about all the good times we had as teenagers cruisin' up and down the strip and picking up chicks on Friday and Saturday nights. We'd challenge strangers to a race for fun and vice versa. There were groups of people just hanging out on each side of the street and we'd all just cruise from one group to another. Often a fight would break out and everyone would scatter when the cops caught wind of it. We met so many cool people and got invited to a lot of parties. Those were some really great times.

Today, I see nothing even remotely close to that. The strip (or what used to be the strip) is now like a ghost town on the weekends. You'd be lucky to see any teenagers even out driving around after 8pm. It's really weird to see. So, just what do the newer generations do for fun on the weekends?

[-]

Johnny_2Times@reddit

It may be where you are. Where I'm at were have a problem of chronic occurrences of teenager takeovers and there's about a hundred teenagers that get together in various locations and do donuts over and over which is fine but they are masked and carry guns. The cops are getting injured in these situations. It's usually in the suburbs so they wake everyone up and the next morning there's donut circle markes all over the street in circles.

[-]

depthchargethel@reddit

It’s craziness. The kids on e-bikes too. Pure mayhem.

[-]

WaterwingsDavid@reddit

Out here we have issues with the teens on e-bikes as well. Chickanery and lawlessness! The city kids are often out of control.

[-]

TollyVonTheDruth@reddit (OP)

We don't have that problem where I am, but I guessing in your area they are endangering themselves and others.

[-]

Johnny_2Times@reddit

Absolutely. A friend of a friend of mine decided to drink beer all day and hop on an ebike without a helmet and start riding with her arms in the air. She went down hard right on her head and nearly killed herself. 🤦🏻‍♀️

[-]

depthchargethel@reddit

Omg that’s awful! I’m so sorry 😞

[-]

Johnny_2Times@reddit

Thank you. She recovered like a champ but dang she was acting like she was invincible.

[-]

Johnny_2Times@reddit

Yep, them too.

[-]

TollyVonTheDruth@reddit (OP)

Oh, damn. That's awful. I live in a much more tame area than that. We have gangs in my city but they tend to stay on the East side — cliché, I know — of town where all the really bad stuff goes down.

[-]

Johnny_2Times@reddit

Haha yeah same here ...the east side is a little sketchy.

[-]

beaujolais98@reddit

Ugh sideshows.

[-]

peptide2@reddit

There up to no good, just like us.

[-]

Expensive-Shelter288@reddit

Every last one of them. Tomfoolery.

[-]

TollyVonTheDruth@reddit (OP)

I believe this for sure. We had a group of teens running around the neighborhoods doing some expensive shenanigans. The were going door-to-door and kicking the front door then running away. They kicked down wooden fences, broke front lawn decorations... just being really stupid, and they were doing all of this in broad daylight. Most of us have cameras, but they didn't seem to care. One kid kicked my door and broke the door jamb. The cops caught all of them and the damages were in then thousands. Mine alone was $300. The parents were pissed and many of them were like, "I can't believe this happened. I never thought my child would do something like this"

These kids were lucky they weren't doing this at night. Many of us have guns and doing stuff like that nowadays is a good way to get shot.

The worst vandalism I ever caused was throwing eggs at cars and houses and tp-ing houses of people we didn't like with our friends. We never went around breaking stuff; Even we knew back then that was a really stupid idea.

[-]

Johnny_2Times@reddit

I've been reading and hearing about that kick the door in trend. That sucks it happened to you. Exactly.....we weren't destructive with our pranks when we were kids. Ding dong ditch was pretty harmless.

[-]

TollyVonTheDruth@reddit (OP)

>Ding dong ditch was pretty harmless.

And even that's a dangerous game to play today.

[-]

Johnny_2Times@reddit

That's true and for the same reason you mentioned earlier. Most homeowners are geared up these days.

[-]

Trolkarlen@reddit

My nephews watch YouTube on their iPads.

[-]

TollyVonTheDruth@reddit (OP)

That seems to be common in today's world. I would imagine if I had access to devices like that back then, my friends and I would've been doing the same thing.

[-]

Trolkarlen@reddit

As soon as we got Atari, we played it all day.

[-]

TollyVonTheDruth@reddit (OP)

So did I and my friends, but at the time we were only 7 or 8 and our parents actually cared where we were. I still had a few years before I joined the latchkey kids.

[-]

Uranus_Hz@reddit

Kids today mostly socialize online via “social” media.

A lot of them don’t care about getting their drivers licenses

They don’t have “raging keggers” or house parties

When they do gather they’re most likely to smoke weed and not drink.

Public spaces for teenagers to get together and hang out don’t really exist like they used to.

[-]

TollyVonTheDruth@reddit (OP)

>Public spaces for teenagers to get together and hang out don’t really exist like they used to.

That statement right there is more than accurate. With the closing of malls and arcades, no teenage-friendly clubs, and not even a strip to cruise anymore, it's not surprising that a lot of social interaction takes place virtually.

[-]

Retracnic@reddit

We did what we did back then. And if you were around back then... you know what we did.

[-]

TollyVonTheDruth@reddit (OP)

I was just curious since I didn't see them doing what I did back then. Yeah, I'm sure many still drink illegally and smoke herb, but they're just not out and about like they were back then.

And I certainly agree with the **"Let them figure it out like we did"** statement, but secretly I hope they figure things out in a safe and smart way. I just feel like kids today wouldn't be able to handle the stupid things I did and come out alive.

[-]

mizuaqua@reddit

DnD, Magic the Gathering, video games

[-]

TollyVonTheDruth@reddit (OP)

Definitely played a ton of MtG and video games back then, too, but then we'd get bored and head out to the strip for awhile.

[-]

Nira_50@reddit

Where I live, packs of teens get together at shopping centers and cause trouble. My teenager works a part-time job, but in his free time he plays video games, goes to the gym, plays basketball, friends come over to watch TV.

[-]

TollyVonTheDruth@reddit (OP)

Despite the fun I had back in the day, I actually hope when my kids are teens they are more like your teenager. I want them to have fun, but I guess as a parent, I don't want them to have the same kind of fun I had. It sounds kind of unfair, but this is much different time now.

[-]

-Granby-@reddit

My daughter does the same thing she does every other day after school and all day during the summer. Lays in her bed and listens to Spotify while talking to her friends on Discord or drawing. That's about it.

[-]

TollyVonTheDruth@reddit (OP)

Well, at least you don't have any worries about where your kid is and what she's doing. That's a good thing.

[-]

Coconut-bird@reddit

I live in a university town. Our downtown area is still packed with partying college kids on Friday and Saturday nights so at least local to me that is still happening.

My Gen Z kids aren't quite drinking age yet. They go to movies, hang out together at home, see local live music and play a lot of online video games with friends til the early hours. Now it's summer, there will probably be some beach trips and kayaking on the local rivers. They get together like we did, they just added online activities to the mix.

[-]

MrWhisper2021@reddit

They sit together in a group and text people who aren’t there 😂

[-]

GenX-ModTeam@reddit

Pertinence to GenX - Posts may be removed if they are not pertinent to Generation X in a specific way.

This includes non-specific ramblings, any sort of conspiracy theories that have nothing to do with GenX, or posts about people who happen to be GenX….and that’s it.

AI videos or articles MUST have the proper flair identifying the content as AI.

Just because an article or video mentions Generation X does not automatically make it pertinent. Moderators will make this determination at their discretion.

[-]

Mysterious_Elk_8972@reddit

When we were young and did crazy/dumb stuff we only ever endangered our own safety, when young ppl gather now, they often endanger everyone's safety.

It's sad, but it's better, that kids just stay home nowadays and play on their electronics bc when they do gather, they often make the news.

[-]

bigben1677@reddit

There was so much drinking and driving when I was young. Everyone was high and drunk driving around.

[-]

OkTouch5699@reddit

My kids would walk around town (small town suburb) meet up with friends and chill at the coffee house or go to the skate park. They also always had friends over. They went to movies and an occasional party. Once they were driving, they would go hiking with friends. Or to the beach (about 3 hours) for a day trip.

[-]

88jaybird@reddit

we would cruise the square when i was a teen, same square my parents cruised. we also did the parking lots, IGA and the car wash parking lots were the most popular. i met wolfman jack in the car wash parking lot at Stuttgart Arkansas when i was around 7 at the end of the 1970s. he was just sitting on a tailgate hanging out with everyone, i got to sit by him, i was the only little kid out there, i thought he was so awesome, but scary at first, i remember everyone saying "the wolfman" is here, being a little kid, and not knowing who he was, i thought it was a real wolfman, and he was really making those howling sounds. the person he was with was in a dodge little red express truck if anyone remembers those with the factory stacks.

[-]

Cool_Addendum_1348@reddit

In n Out Burger Friday night, house parties

[-]

Psycosteve10mm@reddit

Crusing the strip is a great way to get a DUI. The field parties are either part of the state park system or were paved over for townhouses, and even hosting a get-together where alcohol might be involved is going to be an expensive legal issue. The Karens killed it

[-]

TollyVonTheDruth@reddit (OP)

I'm in my 50s, I'll always be teenager at heart, and I'll take that as a compliment.

[-]

RocktacularFuck@reddit

When people see a pack of teens nowadays, someone is usually calling the cops.