😢 where I’m pretty much at at this stage too. It’s horribly lonely

Yes I tend to have a standard answer for set situations now too. Now it’s more so jarring when I’m unsure of the relationship “level” like I have made acquaintances and friends with coworkers. Some are “work friends” (only see them at work) and one or two are outside of work friends. I feel like I’m glitching when one of my work friends but also friends outside of work asks me how it’s going because my brain is like generic or real answer, glitch glitch.

And also how do you reach out for support or tell someone you’re struggling? I really haven’t figured that out yet.

Yeah this is what I’ve observed too. It’s very, very strange to see the messaging around these things change. For extra context I’m autistic and have mental health issues myself. People confuse me in general lol.

I feel like I’ve watched things go from “no, no, we don’t talk about those things, sweep it under the rug, everything is fine” to “reach out! Speak to someone! Believe victims! It’s ok not to be ok! #mentalhealth #noshame” and then in recent years we’ve developed the term “trauma dumping” which appears even to apply to friends.

It feels a little like we went “speak up, reach out…ah fuck, no no stop now”. I actually find it quite concerning.

And then people wonder why others are turning to AI companions. I don’t personally but it does make sense to me when the social game is as confusing as it is especially around mental health or even quite minor stuff things can get the “trauma dump” label. I even remember seeing a couple of people say you shouldn’t trauma dump on your THERAPIST 😅😅😅

How are you is the most confusing question a person can ask 🙃 like, really or generic answer? It can be a very lonely question, that one.

I’ve noticed this even in gen z. Everything is just an app and having a laptop is less common so all they seem to know is phone/tablets which just have apps that work lol. Their troubleshooting skills go as far as “turn it off and back on”. If that doesn’t work…do it again. Otherwise… it’s broken and they need a repair shop or a new phone 😅

Obviously a generalisation but something I’ve noticed as a millennial. Older gen x/boomers and Gen Z’s seem to struggle more with basic computer skills (or what millennials just grew up with so it seems fairly basic!) I’m not particularly techy but I’m always asked by those people (zs and boomers, some older xs) how to do shit on the office computers.

I think more people would know “windows” rather than “the Microsoft one” ? As a layperson we always called it windows 😅 I think people know Microsoft office but I don’t know that they would refer to their OS as “microsoft”.

I don’t think so lol. I’m not a super techy person and the only reason I know Linux is because of my high school boyfriend lol, 20 years ago, who used it. I think he set it up on one of my computers at one point too. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone else (offline) talk about Linux 😅 definitely not a common knowledge thing.

It’s actually been pretty interesting watching some of the stuff he used back 20 years ago that has started being spoken about more commonly that were just “nerd shit” back then lol. Vpns are common knowledge now, they were definitely “nerd shit” back in the day. Plex is widely used. I’m also glad I still have access to the private tracker he got me onto because that’s grown big too, easy as.

But Linux? Nope. I don’t think that’s entered the common knowledge base. People know windows, android and maybe iOS. I don’t even think a lot of people would know what “open source” means.

Absolutely agree. People who are asking questions (in good faith) are looking for a human interaction, not just a Google search. It’s much more engaging for a lot of people to have a discussion about something new than to just read about it. Then if they’re interested they might choose to go deeper in their own research.

I’m not techy but this goes for anything. “Google it” just shuts down human interaction and someone who is trying to learn. Better to just not answer than to be condescending if you don’t want to engage in a discussion.

I still hold my fingers in the L shape like I was taught as a kid to figure it out a lot of the time!

Haha as a lesbian, same. I prefer none or very little for both myself and in an attraction sense. But that’s just a preference and it’s no different than idk, preferring blondes over brunettes or something. And just like I wouldn’t point out someone blonde for being blonde instead of brunette, I wouldn’t with body hair 😅 there’s no shame in it just because some people have preferences!

The other thing is it just seems so ridiculous to me because of all the things, you really don’t see someones armpits very much 😂 like it’s really not a big deal either way but it’s not even something that is in your face. I can’t say I notice peoples armpits on a regular basis, y’know?

I don’t think it’s the removal of body hair that is seen as “new”. It’s the way it’s ridiculed like in this post when there’s a tiny bit of stubble lol and it’s worth mentioning.

Though I wouldn’t say that’s new either, it’s just more and more widespread the wider the communication methods have become. But this isn’t “new” even in the modern world for Hollywood, it’s online now with the wider reach but this stuff has existed for as long as we’ve been photographing celebrities lol.

The thing is body hair has a purpose but aesthetics has taken over that. I don’t think it’s weird either way to keep it or shave/wax it. Everyone has it because it’s the way the human body is designed and like everything else on our bodies, we get to choose what to do with it 🤷‍♀️

They kinda all play into each other.

I’ve been dealing with depression and other health conditions since I was a preteen. It took me a longggg time to recognize my mental health is always the priority but also ongoing, there’s no “destination”. If I’m the right weight, no debt, zero alcohol etc but I still want to die then there’s no point.

Of course they all intertwine but front of mind for me is keeping some semblance of a purpose and desire to want to be here. For example, I can’t work full time because I don’t cope. Took me a long time to give myself permission to just not have that as a goal. I survive by working part time, the finances aren’t ideal, but I am able to enjoy moments of life more often than when I was working full time (in and out of hospital).

Purpose is the biggest thing to find, something that gives your life meaning, everything else comes after that.

Not possible entirely. These goals are unrealistic really!

How to manage stress is a better goal because life is always going to involve stress. I think it’s managing everything on this list rather than eliminating. Zero debt isn’t possible for a lot of people. Zero alcohol is a choice, why?

Just figure out what’s important to you personally and how to manage things the best way that you can. All these things go in and out of whack through life.

Really? That’s sad that this seems unrealistic! I think this is still the time that the kids I knew and the ones I know now did/do have the right nutrition. Right nutrition for their development. I would say it starts to go off track around early teens/preteens when kids are having a lot less supervised times, access to pocket money, body image issues etc.

But idk I’m not in the US, maybe it’s a US thing. Not saying kids don’t have sugar and shit here but the “right nutrition” doesn’t have to be extreme though it is a vague term.

Personally I grew up malnourished and still am but that’s due to medical issues. I’m jealous of how well everyone around me was raised to eat a balanced diet 😅

Ignorance is bliss!

Ah okay yeah, I barely use steam these days. Can’t remember the last time I bought anything there, I just occasionally play very old games I already have on there haha.

Yeah i love a few Nintendo classic titles but $$$ 😭 kinda a good thing that I don’t like the direction they’re taking pokemon because it removes the temptation to upgrade to the switch 2. Not sure I’ll bother unless I somehow get free money to throw around haha.

Yeah indies usually have pretty decent demos! I actually haven’t even looked at the switch store lately but I don’t remember the bigger titles having demos?

And idk where everyone else is but the big games here (Australia) are still what I consider expensive (USD$45 minimum without a sale). Typical price is around USD$60. Even on sale they don’t get much below that for the big stuff - zelda, pokemon, Mario, animal crossing, etc. Curious how comparable that is to elsewhere.

True. Just depends on device and how committed people are to doing that lol. As a casual gamer (PC barely ever anymore and Nintendo switch, then I have emulators with a bunch of Nintendo classics) I wouldn’t bother. I don’t even know how to do that for a Nintendo switch.

So yeah it’s an option but in terms of the discussion about Gen z people not shelling out for video games, I think part of the decline has been from casual users who aren’t either shelling out $ and aren’t interested in enough to pirate 😅 I’m a millennial.

I assume to pirate and transfer to a Nintendo switch (I don’t have 2, just the original) there’s an initial set up cost?

I tend to stick to the emulator my brother got me with all our 90s(ish) childhood games lol. I don’t know if those exist yet for more modern games - or at least not at the cost of the classics!

So then protect the cards without excessive restrictions that aren’t put on other cards. Freedom of movement is a human right so to restrict someone’s essential payment method state to state seems like a breach of that.

So if these machines are skimming all cards numbers/pins then surely the answer is to restrict everyone’s cards, credit, debit, everything to their own state?

Why is it your logic that only the poor people need to be restricted because other people are stealing from them? Where’s the logic in going after the victims of fraud?