Heroes
You Won't Believe The Drugs Kids Are On These Days
They were left out of a national discussion on soda taxes and junk food. Now they're weighing in.
07.18.13
Pop Culture
Folks are admitting that Boomers weren’t totally wrong. Here are 19 things they got right.
OK, Boomer, you're right about this one.
11.27.23
The gaze of the approving Boomer.
Over the past few years, Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964) have been getting a lot of grief from the generations that came after them, Gen X (1965 to 1980), Millenials (1981 to 1996), and now, Gen Z (1997 to 2012). Their grievances include environmental destruction, wealth hoarding, political polarization, and being judgemental when they don’t understand how hard it is for younger people to make it in America these days.
Every Baby Boomer is different, so it's wrong to paint them all with a broad brush. But it’s undeniable that each generation shares common values, and some are bound to come into conflict.
However, life in 2023 isn’t without its annoyances. Many that came about after the technological revolution put a phone in everyone’s hands and brought a whole new host of problems. Add the younger generations' hands-on approach to child rearing and penchant for outrage, and a lot of moden life has become insufferanble.
These problems weren’t created by Boomers but by their hyper-online children and grandchildren who can’t seem to get their faces out of their phones.
A Reddit user named AnitaVodkasoda took to the AskReddit forum and asked posters to admit there were some things that Boomers got right. “What is something you can say 'I'm with the boomers on this one' about?” they asked, and many responses came from people fed up with the modern-day frustrations caused by technology and social media.
Here are 19 things that people think that Boomers got right.
1. App exhaustion
"Any business which requires you to use an app. I don’t want to download an app, make an account, and remember said password for the account. Especially because the app doesn’t even work a lot of the time or is extremely convoluted with the frontend design." — Sammy_Henderschplitz
2. Let kids play
"Kids do great with totally unstructured outdoor play. They don’t need an organized game or activity. If you take a bunch of kids to a park and keep an eye on them they’ll figure out stuff to do together and often come up with creative and interesting things that adults wouldn’t have thought of. Just keep them physically safe and let them run around and do kid stuff. You don’t need to curate everything." — HeavyHebrewHammer
3. Pricey concerts
"Concert ticket pricing is too high. Once you get in a beer is $17!" — Whatabout-Dre
4. Tip creep
"Every business asking for tips at checkout. Digital menus. Not being able to own things anymore like software or having to pay monthly fees for car features." — mutualbuttsqueezin
5. Phones at concerts
"Phones at concerts. I take one pic when the artist comes on and then I just enjoy the show. You’re never gonna look back at your sh**** videos with you singing off-key in the background lol just enjoy the music." — Used_Eraser
6. Kids online
"Social media is unhealthy and children shouldn't have unrestricted access to the internet." — horrorflowers
7. Lazy tablet parents
"Parents who let their kids use tablets in public spaces with the volume all the way up, no headphones, and not doing it to stop an imminent tantrum (if they truly cannot get the kid out of that shared space for some reason) are trashy af. Fight me." — kishbish
8. Bring back knobs
"Touchscreens in cars suck." — sketchy_painting
9. Bad customer service
"Calling any business and getting an automated system that takes you 12 minutes to get through, doesn’t answer your question, and you can’t get a real person." — SexyJesus7
10. Raising entitled kids
"The 'my kid is never wrong' attitude every parent seems to have now. And we wonder why there’s a teacher shortage." — Cinderjacket
11. Emojis in work emails
"Learn to write a professional email. The number of Gen Z kids I’ve had who send me emails without salutations, with emojis and shorthand like lol omg etc, without proper spelling and punctuation, is crazy. That is fine for texting or exchanges with people you’re friends with, but it’s not for the workplace." — pistachiobees
12. Paper straws
"Paper straws suck." — JohnYCanuckEsq
13. Face tattoos
"Don't get tattoos on your face." — Disastrous-Aspect569
14. Gender reveals
"Just tell us if you are having a boy or girl. Or wait until the baby is born. We don’t need to assemble for some ridiculous reveal. I don’t want pink or blue dust all over the place." — Kevin Dean
15. People are too sensitive
"I think people tend to be too sensitive, personal outrage shouldn't be so important. It's disheartening to see so many people whine and cry and fight over inconsequential nonsense while pressing issues remain unaddressed." — Empathetic_Orch
16. TV sounds terrible
"Movies, and some TV shows for that matter, are mixed idiotically these days. I don't appreciate having to crank the volume way up to hear the whispered dialog, only to have a music swell or explosion or something blow my head clean off. No amount of tweaking my sound system has fixed this." — broberds
17. Affordable housing
"Being able to afford a house." — The-Black-Douglas
18. Blinded by the lights
"Headlights are too damned bright now." — 15all
19. The people on your lawn
"Get off my lawn." — Disastrous_Motor_189
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Health
'Burnout coach' shares how embracing boredom can help you recover from work stress
Repetition and consistency can create a mini miracle.
11.28.23
via Gabriela Flax/TikTok and Mizuno K/Pexels
Boredom, the cure for burnout.
If your job makes you feel burned out, you’re not alone. A recent poll of 10,243 workers in 6 countries found that 40% of respondents were burned out. The World Health Organization defines burnout as an “increased mental distance from one’s job,” feelings of depression and negativity.
The people most likely to be experiencing burnout are those ages 18 to 29, and women reported higher levels of burnout (46%) than men (37%).
Gabriela Flax, a self-described burnout coach, says the best prescription for people who feel like they’ve sacrificed their mental health for their job is a hefty dose of boredom. Flax was once a product manager who had to find a better work balance after suffering migraines, panic attacks and constant exhaustion from work.
Flax believes that people suffering from burnout often enter patterns of self-neglect, all in the name of career success. She adds that by creating new patterns that some would call boring or repetitive, people can regain their sense of self.
Burnt out? Be boring 🤗
@gabriela_flax Burnt out? Be boring 🤗 When we are burnt out, the decision making part of our brain is offline. This makes simple decisions like what to eat or wear near impossible & makes us feel even worse. The first thing I do with those I help overcome burnout & regain vitality for life is assess how to make their life BORING! This helps to lessen the immediate overwhelm and create space for deeper healing. #burnout #burnoutrecovery #burnoutrecoverycoach #burnoutcoach #chronicstressrecovery
“When we are experiencing burnout, the part of our brains that make decisions is offline," Flax says. "Even something as simple as deciding what to wear today, what to have for lunch, what movie to book at the weekend. All of that becomes really, really difficult for our brains to process."
To help her clients counter the feeling of being disconnected from their needs, Flax tells them to keep things simple. "What we do is we're like, ‘we're gonna get three of the same T-shirt, we're gonna get three of the same pairs of jeans,’" she says. “‘Therefore, you don't even have to really worry about laundry right now; we're doing laundry maybe once a week.’"
This “boring” approach to life also extends to people’s diets. She recommends that those who are burned out eat the same things for breakfast, lunch and dinner. “That way, you're still getting your meals in. You're fueling yourself, but you don't have to think about what you're going to cook.”
Then, what begins as a series of simple, predictable changes evolves into a new cycle of positivity.
“The repetition and consistency of doing things and proving to yourself that you can get dressed and proving to yourself that you can still feed yourself, it actually starts to build up a little bit of confidence that starts to pull you out of that burnout,” Flax says.
In a recent article published by SWNS, Flax expanded her “boring list” of small changes to make to kickstart a new cycle of confidence. They are designed to cut down on the number of decisions you have to make and tasks to accomplish for a much-needed mental break.
1. Purchase a 10-pack of identical pairs of socks.
2. Organize clothing into two baskets: one for clean items and another for dirty laundry
3. Take photos of things you commonly buy at the grocery store for future reference.
4. Use disposable plates and utensils to make mealtime simple
5. Put your phone on focus mode
6. Put your favorite dishes on delivery apps to make dinner easier
7. Create a group chat group with “need to know” people
8. Acquire an automatic feeder for your dog
9. Buy coordinated outfits to make it easier to get dressed
10. Remove the middle sheet on your bed for easier bed-making
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Pop Culture
Weird viral photo of Adele's face exemplifies the phenomenon called the Thatcher effect
The 42-year-old optical illusion is still astounding people.
11.27.23
Prepare to get Thatcherized.
It seems that Adele is going viral once again.
Perhaps you’ve seen the image in question previously (it seems to make the rounds every couple of years). But in case you missed it—it’s Adele’s face. Normal, just upside down.
Only it’s not normal. In fact, when you turn Adele’s face right side up, what you notice is that her eyes and mouth were actually right-side up THE ENTIRE TIME, even though the entire head was upside down. So when you turn the head right side up, the eyes and mouth are now UPSIDE-DOWN—and you can’t unsee it. Do you feel like you're Alice in Wonderland yet?
Just wait. Things get even more fascinating. Especially because this optical illusion is over 40 years in the making.
Below you’ll find the Adele photo in question. Go ahead. Take a look at it. Then turn the image upside down.
Can't. Unsee.
Crazy right? And just a little terrifying?
As the Facebook post explains, this mind-boggling image highlights a phenomenon known as the Thatcher effect. Our brains, so much more used to recognizing faces that are right-side up, have difficulty detecting specific changes once a face is upside down.
Seeing that everything is more or less where it should be, our brains don’t notice anything out of the ordinary in Adele’s face until we turn her face back to a normal position.
The Thatcher effect got its name from British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, on whose photograph it was first demonstrated back in 1980 by Peter Thompson, Professor of Psychology at York University.
This demonstration was one of the first to explore just how facial recognition works, and certainly the first to suggest that humans (and monkeys, it turns out) process faces on a more holistic level, rather than by individual components like lips and eyes. Since its publication, there has been a wealth of research exploring how our brain takes in both subtle and striking facial configurations.
Funny enough, it was once believed that this illusion only worked on the Prime Minister’s face. But as Adele has proven, anyone can be Thatcherized.
This article originally appeared on 8.31.23
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Humor
Guy lists his most ‘boomer complaints’ as a millennial and he’s not wrong
"Concerts need to be at a reasonable hour like 5pm."
11.28.23
People list their most 'boomer complaints' and its pure gold
Listen, everyone complains. Sure, we like to pretend it's just boomers that reach a certain age and start daydreaming about telling kids to get off their lawns. But the truth of the matter is, maybe some of the seemingly nonsensical complaints are valid because it appears that convenience has become inconvenient in the most obnoxious way possible.
Kevin Fredricks, a comedian and TikTok creator uploaded a video answering a tweet that asked, "what is the most boomer complaint you have." Fredricks must've been waiting for someone to ask this question because he had an entire list of complaints but honestly, if you're over 30 you'll probably be nodding along.
He comes in strong with a particular disdain for QR code menus. Save the trees and all that jazz but there's something about holding a menu in your hand that helps you choose the same thing you always order so much better. Flipping the menu over is key in making food choices while dining out. Seriously, not everything has to be digital.
"Also, the TV's too loud. Matter of fact, everything's too loud. The TV, the music, turn everything down a few notches," Fredricks declares.
But the comedian wasn't done, in fact, he was just getting started and so were the people in his comments. You'd think with it being a large platform that there would be some ridiculous complaints, but they're surprisingly very valid and applicable across generations.
"Concerts need to be at a reasonable hour like 5. 9PM is too late," one person writes.
"PUT DVD PLAYERS BACK IN LAPTOPS," another shouts because why do they still sell DVDs but there's no where to play them? Do they still make DVD players or is everyone using the ones from 2005?
"Yes, I'm tired of dark shows! Between How to Get Away with Murder (HTGAWM) and Game of Thrones (GoT). Baby, 33 and I can't see. Turn on the light," one woman says.
"I hate walking in to the grocery store cause the music is so da*mn loud. Like am I picking up some food or going to a d*mn rave," a commenter complains.
@kevonstagetiktok Whats your biggest boomer complaint?
It's true, it's all too much. Between not being able to see shows because they're so dark, to having to subscribe to 75 different streaming services and headlights so bright you can see a party on Jupiter, we're all shaking our fists at the sky. Maybe if enough people complain, we'll at least get the streaming services to pay the light bill so we can see what's happening on the TV.
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Joy
Man has the kindest reaction to an elderly neighbor complaining about his Christmas lights
It became a beautiful display of compassion.
11.28.23
@misterdenali69/TikTok
Kindness is magic.
Christmas is often a time when we try to dig a little deeper to be kind, generous, compassionate, grateful…all the things that make humanity worthwhile.
But having that holiday spirit isn’t always easy when in the middle of conflict. Let’s face it—when someone isn’t kind to us, the hardest thing to do is come back with the best version of ourselves. A special time of the year isn’t going to change that.
And yet, it’s much easier to retain this wisdom when we see it in action elsewhere. Which is why a certain video is making the rounds on TikTok and inspiring others to, as the saying goes, be the change they want to see in the world.
In a now-viral clip shared by several accounts online, we see a man speaking with his neighbor, an elderly woman, on the his porch.
The conversation, all caught on the man’s football camera, appeared to be a confrontation as the elderly woman had come to raise her concerns over the man’s rope Christmas lights, which she claimed were keeping her up at night.
“We went through this before, sweetheart,” the man said in the clip, reminding her that the police came by previously and determined that the lights couldn’t be shining through her bedroom window and causing any disturbance.
Indeed, they had gone head-to-head regarding the Christmas lights before. A previous video showed the woman knocking on his door at 1:30 am to complain about them, resulting in the man saying he would call the cops. The interaction didn’t go much farther than that, but it certainly wasn’t a smooth one.
Many noted that the woman could have been dealing with dementia, which would explain her forgetting any previous encounters.
It’s easy to see how this second altercation could have quickly escalated into something ugly, but instead, the man promised to have lights off by 10 pm at the woman’s request. No sarcasm or passive aggressive tone—just 100% kindness.
And then, the man surmised that this woman didn’t come over to discuss Christmas lights at all. What she was really after was companionship.
@mrdenali69 A true gentleman she’s probably dealing with demntia or something. Im glad he wasn’t mean to her.
♬ original sound - mrdenali
“I think you just need to come over when you’re lonely,” he said, offering for her to come over anytime she feels lonely to have some food, wine and a chat.
Completely taken by surprise, the woman’s hand rushed to her cheeks, and she began apologizing again. But her neighbor simply laughed it off, reassuring her that all was well.
Perhaps the man was right. The holidays can be a lonely time for anyone, but it can hit especially hard for seniors. A survey carried out by AARP in 2017 found that 28 percent of U.S. adults ages 50 and older reported feeling lonely during a holiday season. And that was before a worldwide pandemic.So maybe this woman saw those Christmas lights, a bittersweet reminder of what she might be missing out on, and was hit with an inexorable yearning for connection without even being aware of her own pain. Who knows.
One thing is for sure—his compassion completely changed the situation, and maybe even their relationship. It’s a beautiful reminder of just how powerful kindness can be.
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Pop Culture
Little boy steals the show at his sister's end-of-year dance school concert
This kid was born to dance.
11.28.23
Klein Kwagga understood the assignment at his sister's concert.
Some kids are too shy to ever want to get on a stage, some will spend most of a performance staring awkwardly at their shoes, and some kids love the opportunity to show off what they've practiced in front of an audience.
And then there are the kids were simply born for the spotlight. You know them when you see them.
When Dirkco Jansen van Nieuwenhuizen hopped on stage with all of the other brothers and sisters of the dance students at René’s Art of Dance in South Africa, no one expected a viral sensation. According to Capetown Etc, it was the school's year-end concert, and siblings were invited to come up and dance to Bernice West’s Lyfie—a popular song in Afrikaans. And Dirkco, who goes by Klein Kwagga, took the assignment and ran with it.
Or rather, he danced with it. From the moment the music started, the 7-year-old was all in, expertly demonstrating his moves with intent seriousness. Nothing seemed to faze him—not the other kids around him, not the whoops from the crowd—he was just on.
Watch:
@kleinkwagga1 Doen dit lyfie doen dit! @Bernice West #Dans #fun #show Die Here het my mooi gemaak🎊🥳
Translated into English, the song begins with the lyrics "The Lord made me beautiful" and goes on to celebrate our bodies and dancing before God. But you don't have to understand a word of Afrikaans to enjoy Klein Kwagga's enthusiasm for the song and for dancing his little heart out.
"I can’t get enough of this, I want this vibe everyday," wrote one commenter.
"Jumped straight out of his Toyota land cruiser and owned the show 😁," wrote another.
After someone at the concert shared the video, Klein Kwagga's family set up a TikTok channel for him and shared some other videos. As one video shows, hamming it up is clearly in the kid's nature. Check out this clip of him as a ringbearer at a wedding:
@kleinkwagga1 #wedding #Ringbearer #Twist #Dance #funny@Die_Swart_Kat_ @boerboelwear @Robbie wessels @Bernice West
Gotta love a kid who instantly shines in the spotlight. Keep on dancing, Klein Kwagga. We love to see it.
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