this post was submitted on 31 May 2024
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What is it about the text messages and emails sent by older people that make me feel like I'm having a stroke?

Maybe they're used to various shortcuts in their writing that they picked up before autocorrect became common, but these habits are too idiosyncratic for autocorrect to handle properly. However, that doesn't explain the emails I've had to decipher that were typed on desktop keyboards. Has anyone else younger than 45 or so felt similarly frustrated with geriatrics' messages?

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

Younger than 45

Oh OK that actually makes sense.

45 year olds and above are digital immigrants. In short, they had an off-line childhood and an online adulthood. They have different speech and writing patterns to you because they learnt and communicated in a different way to you.

Assuming you're under 45, this won't make sense, because you've never experienced a world which doesn't have this sort of interaction. You're a digital native, digital tech has always been there.

In twenty years time, children born or educated after the advent of chat gpt will have the same problem understanding you. The way you write, post and interact will seem clunky and old fashioned. It's already happening - we're having to adapt the way we interact, in order to be able to 'be understood' by AI.

The wonderful thing about humanity, tho, is that we do adapt and adopt! Consider this - everyone over the age of 50 had to learn something completely new to them in order to be able to communicate with you via email, sms or messaging app. They used to just talk, or write letters. Sharing media was a physical act. Yet here they are using the same texh as you. Awesome.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Take into account that those 45 and older were the ones with disposable income when the internet took off

We fuckin invented the digital world, and memes too!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Not sure who the "we" is in your post but Imo the biggest influence on meme culture was 4chan and similar dumpster fire communities of the early/adolescent Internet.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Yes and were in our 40s now. Those teenagers grew up, at least chronologically.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

We're kinda schizophrenic; working normal jobs during the day, but a part of our mind is still a snarky, sarcastic shitposter with a truly horrific sense of humour lol

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

^ yes, this exactly. It was the equivalent of living on the dark net in the eves. Total Wild West.

Not all > 45 tho. I’d say 40-55 or so who were also β€œnerds” or β€œgeeks” as kids.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 5 months ago

Your timeline is straight up fucked. In short, you don't know what you're talking about.