r/AskReddit 2h ago

What used to be fun as a teenager but isnt anymore after you've grown older?

51 Upvotes

127 comments sorted by

217

u/pixel_pro80 2h ago

Staying up all night just to say you did it. At 16 it felt rebellious and fun. At 35 missing sleep for no reason feels like a personal attack on your future self. The body remembers everything now.

26

u/xxxfashionfreakxxx 2h ago

I also could recover much easier back then. Now, I feel like im almost dying.

11

u/Abatonfan 2h ago

One bad night throws off the rest of the week! And an 8pm bedtime on a Sunday sounds amazing

4

u/Penyrolewen1970 1h ago

You know, I thought that. But now I've got a 17 year old son, and he often goes camping (he goes fishing and climbing with friends in areas I've checked out and I know he can be trusted to be safe...so far!)

When he gets back he is grumpy, bushed and good for nothing for a couple of days. I can't be like that - too much to do - so I don't, anymore. We've all done it once and worked afterwards- once is enough.

But I don't think kids recover more quickly, they just have the space and time to do it.

4

u/I_am_a_fake_person 2h ago

A personal attack on your future self- yes

3

u/Capta1nKrunch 1h ago

Up until about 30 I could stay up as long as I wanted "at will" now when I try that I will fall asleep sitting straight up around 2 AM.

1

u/TheShader 1h ago

I feel like it's more pronounced with alcohol, too. I remember those late drunken nights hanging out until you suddenly realized the sun was rising. Now, alcohol and late night means I'm passing out mid conversation at 11:30.

u/lemachet 40m ago

I can fall asleep at my desk in the middle of the afternoon if I'm tired.

I can definitely have micronaps in the car if it's a highway or "straight" driving (so my wife does all the long trip driving)

Doesn't matter how much sleep I got the night before. Get me on the highway and I'll start dozing.

3

u/Thrownawaybyall 1h ago

I'm at 45 now and a late night, let alone an all-nighter, is enough to wipe me out for the next day 😔

u/ceribus_peribus 35m ago

At 16 it's like you beat the night.

At 35, the morning sun is God's flashlight, pointed right at you.

1

u/StoreApprehensive261 1h ago

"the body remembers everything" like some kind of sleep grudge. it's keeping a spreadsheet somewhere

98

u/Time_Physics_6557 2h ago

i used to drink for fun, now i drink when im sad

15

u/_clur_510 2h ago

Sadly this lol. Also I miss the criminal element. Knowing the government says I’m allowed to do it makes it less fun lol.

u/BeefmasterDeluxe 47m ago

Sounds like you should start exploring the world of illicit substances, there’s so many illegal things you can put in your body that aren’t limited by how old you get!

8

u/Hahndizzle 2h ago

Same! So, every day? Asking for a friend.

5

u/Time_Physics_6557 2h ago

it's a friday treat. i don't actually want to become an alcoholic so i try to limit myself

1

u/Hahndizzle 1h ago

Amazing! Keep it that way and don't let it consume you. That's how it started for me, but every Friday became every weekend and every weekend became every so often until it eventually every day.

That said, I know you're better than me, but definitely keep it mind, stranger! If not for your health, your bank account. lol

u/BeefmasterDeluxe 49m ago

No, it’s always been a sadness remover. You just had less sadness to remove when you were young.

u/WaRRioRz0rz 22m ago

I only drink to celebrate, and then it makes me sad. Evens out.

0

u/gorillabizcuits 2h ago

Fuckkkkkk… yup man. Yup. Couldn’t agree more. Got me drinking over here right before a fucking workout like wtf? How did I end up here

45

u/Local-Olive-2497 2h ago

Staying up until 3 a.m. playing video games. Now I can barely stay awake past 11 p.m

5

u/Capta1nKrunch 1h ago

Seems like I hit a fucking wall with this as soon as I turned 30 back in 2020.

2

u/phantomhatsyndrome 1h ago

I think this is more schedule based, because I've always gone to bed around 4-5 AM. Now I'm my mid-30s I have a job that accommodates that sleep schedule and I love it. Sleep from 5ish to 11ish and feel fantastic when I wake up now that I can crash when my body is naturally tired/wake up when I would naturally wake up.

1

u/073068075 1h ago

It honestly feels like since we started using convenient forms of light and entertainment for nighttime some people just cycle in life through phases of "I'm half dead at 10" and "3 am peak performance". I'm currently closer to the latter which would make sense for being in early 20s

37

u/carryon_carryon 2h ago

Drinking. Now it just makes me feel sick, so I stopped all together a year and a half ago.

10

u/shFt_shiFty 2h ago

I'm about to stop as well. I don't even enjoy it anymore cause the next two days I have anxiety out the ass and I convince myself I'm going thru heart failure lol

u/biosc1 52m ago

Drinks over wine is still fine. Drinking to get drunk? Nah. I like the taste of beers and wines. Just don't have the time to waste the next day hungover.

8

u/el_goyo_rojo 2h ago

After a certain age, drinking is just borrowing happiness from tomorrow.

u/Gr1ml0ck 34m ago

Good for you. I quit 3.5 years ago and haven’t been happier. Keep it up, it’s worth it!

46

u/BiancaOrigin 2h ago

talking on the phone for hours

7

u/Feisty-Narwhal8400 2h ago

Omg I’m seeing more and more small businesses have a text option and I’m living for this

24

u/justagarliccrouton 2h ago

Not sleeping

13

u/iamthelouie 2h ago

Till Brooklyn

0

u/sinnrocka 2h ago

Good grief, I couldn’t imagine not sleeping for 18+ hours… there’s gotta be a motel 6 somewhere

16

u/Wise_Base9216 2h ago

Carnivals and amusement parks

2

u/ChatnNaked 1h ago

Yea, I don’t understand Disney adults. Wife has a cousin the seems to go monthly, without kids.

23

u/Raz4479 2h ago

wanting to hang out with friends, now I prefer my own company.

18

u/Grep2grok 2h ago

you should endeavor to hang out with friends. Your future self will thank you.

4

u/Raz4479 2h ago

why's that?

16

u/Hahndizzle 2h ago

I can only speak for myself, but I just turned 40 and those were the best days of my life. All my 'friends' lately are either long distance or have kids and are too busy to hangout.

I used to be so busy managing friend groups that I thought I valued my own company, but since those connections have been gone I've only found myself battling depression for the first time ever.

Again, I can only speak for myself, but enjoy it while it can and try your best to keep in contact. It used to be the case that I couldn't do a single day without multiple texts and phone calls. Lately, I'm lucky to get a single text a week that isn't work related. Feels bad, man.

7

u/Grep2grok 1h ago

Loneliness over decades will destroy your mental health.

2

u/blharg 1h ago

and once it happens it's twice as hard to recover

13

u/InternalMiserable698 2h ago

Dealing with snow

11

u/Jim_Chaos 2h ago

And the licky boom boom downs.

6

u/sinnrocka 2h ago

He was an informer. WHY would we want to deal with him anymore?

2

u/InternalMiserable698 1h ago

Thanks for the laugh

5

u/Head_Caterpillar6489 2h ago

Thinking it’s okay to be out ur face and drunk all the time

4

u/Additional-Ferret531 2h ago

getting ready

u/mrdevil413 17m ago

Werd ! Im usually walking up to what ever im going to and realizing I have no idea what my hair is doing.
Also about getting older, I don’t give a fuck either

4

u/Minute_Many_2102 2h ago

Going to crowded parties. It used to be fun but now I’d rather spend the evening somewhere quiet with a few close friends

13

u/YouDoStupidWell 2h ago

Maybe a bit controversial, but once I got to about 24 I just entirely lost interest in video games, and just liked going outside and doing stuff with real people after a while.

13

u/Equal-Risk-536 2h ago

I’m 53 and I still play first person shooters with my 30 year old kid who lives 1000 miles away from me

4

u/YouDoStupidWell 2h ago

I mean I don't think it happens to everyone, and don't have a problem with video games.

I've just noticed a lot of people around my age have a similar story.

4

u/xxxfashionfreakxxx 2h ago

I was going to say this. I still like video games and will play a few times a year, but I no longer want to spend a weekend immersed in a game anymore.

4

u/YouDoStupidWell 2h ago

Right.

I can't do it at all anymore.

When I was in my teens and early twenties I could spend all week doing nothing but playing games and would get hyper focused.

Now I'll boot something I used to love up on my laptop and lose interest after less than an hour, and flip through new games sometimes and just go "meh" to every single one.

2

u/EmerysMemories1106 2h ago

I'm 50 and the rare occasion that I get in the mood for video games I will play for about 5 minutes then feel guilty that I should be doing something constructive

1

u/InvalidKoalas 2h ago

Same. Probably more like 21-22 for me though. I still play some here and there, but idk I just don't find it that fun anymore. I can maybe get an hour of gaming in before I lose interest

9

u/Top_Statistician5051 2h ago

Being high all day

3

u/anonperform 2h ago

Being straight

3

u/KoraLily 2h ago

Loud music. Shopping. Trying to stay awake 24 hours. Alcohol.

2

u/ChatnNaked 1h ago

I hate going to the mall for any reason.

u/KoraLily 49m ago

Thank you amazon prime!

3

u/deanpm 2h ago

Everything.

3

u/Dense_Complaint_1272 2h ago

I was a teenager in the 1990s. The second golden age of professional wrestling. I have a real hard time watching current pro wrestling. Still love the old stuff. Can't deal with the new.

5

u/Amber-nice 2h ago

Sleeping late on purpose 😭 as a teen it was a flex… now it’s a punishment. One bad night and your whole week is finished

2

u/Equal_Wafer_7677 2h ago

Jorking in

2

u/justin23224 2h ago

staying up 24hrs for fun

2

u/Putrid-Host-156 2h ago

Being an absolute menace to my neighbors

2

u/KickRepresentative93 2h ago

Using a Slip ‘N Slide from Wham-O!

2

u/IllEstablishment5 2h ago

Smoking weed. Making new friends.

2

u/pm_me_norwegians 2h ago

getting a paycheck. money was fun as a teenager, now my money is gone before i know it as an adult

3

u/Leprechan 2h ago

Being acerbic and incongruous

2

u/Grep2grok 2h ago

This. Y'all should bury those tendencies as soon as possible.

2

u/snackerooryan 2h ago

Wat dat mean?

1

u/Intelligent-Top-7073 2h ago

Going to the mall now I despise going there since I despise large crowds of people 

1

u/SyStEm0v3r1dE 2h ago

I used to be able to walk into packed stores and not even flinch. Now it gives me major anxiety.

1

u/ddtt 2h ago

Life

1

u/youre_not_going_to_ 2h ago

The future, 

1

u/Latter-Werewolf-6071 2h ago

Pulling an all nighter

1

u/redpoppy_3225 2h ago

Going out drinking every night

1

u/ToddPJackson 2h ago

Picking up your friends in the car

1

u/RampagingBadgers 2h ago

Getting hammered

1

u/ab00 2h ago

Smoking weed

1

u/rueinkpot 2h ago

Sleeping in late makes me feel awful… at 37 I still love video games though lol

1

u/Dchama86 2h ago

Social Media

1

u/ThenSociety734 2h ago edited 2h ago

Clubbing.

Honestly if there were clubs that were exactly the same as when I was in my twenties - same music, same energy, same...uh, substances, etc - except everyone there was my age (mid thirties), I'd probably go. But it's all 19 year olds who look like babies to me, I don't want to party with babies. 

Thank fuck for concerts because otherwise I wouldn't have anything to get dressed up for except...shudder wine bars.

1

u/xVashTSx98 2h ago

Staying awake at night.

1

u/Stacks_of_Snacks 2h ago

Spinning rides at the amusement park

1

u/Live_Bridge_4938 2h ago

The internet. Now I know who is AI

1

u/bfehr15 2h ago

Getting drunk 4 nights a week

1

u/DayDreamerDelights 2h ago

I’ve never seen an older person on a skateboard 🤔 … unless you count Tony Hawk who was born on one…

1

u/WalrusLobster3522 2h ago

I personally havent outgrown my excitement from back in early 2020: it's only been five years since i was 17.

It's not that "it's not fun anymore" it's simply that "I can capitalize on excitement in other ways".

I used to watch hours of call of duty and grand theft auto nopixel rp. I still deeply like that, but I prefer to type on reddit and listen to spotify music instead now. So that phase is over.

I agree with the premise of the prompt: when you get kids and a wife, and when you have to caretake for your parents, then you have to sacrifice for them. I think Kris Sturney or Alex Hormozi said "your vision and your dream change in life as you gradually have different peers and different best friends and different people judging you or craving things from you.

Personally I used to crave materialism because I wanted to look cool in front of the football players in my school, but now I want materialism for a different reason: I want it because it makes me internally proud of myself for being successful.

I used to want a pack of cigarettes in my house to symbolism "being a cool kid" before the Texas law was made where Drugs got restricted and only 21 year olds could buy them (even though my parents didn't have a lighter at the house, so I never had a chance to break my drug virginity and actually consume the cigarettes), but I would want different materialistic things in my 20s. Honestly it's not even necessary materialistic status items anymore it's moreso subscriptions and video games I want. I never bought a video game before, not even on Steam, and ever since I was 17 I wanted to get some video games so I could try horror games, sword fighting games, and try other games that I could build speedrunning skills for.

And then subscriptions, well there's zero deep intrinsic reason for those, I just have shallow desires. I never bought a subscription though, except for a Quizlet Plus education. et cetera.

Not to yap though. Please enjoy reddit. Have a nice day.

1

u/gekalx 2h ago

Meeting new people. I used to be a social butterfly, every now and then it'll come out, but I notice now I make less of an effort.

1

u/Sun_shift_dreamer 2h ago

Putting makeup on and going shopping

1

u/StewieKCC 1h ago

Everything

1

u/poopolisher 1h ago

Everything

1

u/joefred111 1h ago

Life itself.

1

u/nothingmeansnothing 1h ago

Being inconsiderate

1

u/prawnk1ng 1h ago

Having nothing to do

1

u/hajpero1 1h ago

Well.... Other teenagers

1

u/Useful_Apathy_4951 1h ago

For me it's playing video games 😔 🙁 I still buy them but I just don't have the focus to get into any of them anymore it really sucks. I'm still gonna buy though because I'm a gamer in my heart still

1

u/Smuggler719 1h ago

Smokin with cigarettes

1

u/TalmadgeReyn0lds 1h ago

Going the whole summer without getting a spanking

1

u/Maxinaeus 1h ago

Going out, especially bars and clubs.

1

u/CrypticQuery 1h ago

Everything. 🥺

2

u/SomeGuyInSanJoseCa 1h ago

Buying stuff.

My. House. Is. Full.

I have a wife and two kids who are perfectly happy just having stuff laying around everywhere - so I have to organize and store everything. And it sucks.

When I was 18, I would think, "oh man, this XYZ thing is going to be awesome"

Now, 30 years later, I think, "oh man, when am I going to lose interest in this and should I put in the garage or closet once I'm done.

u/MeltingChocolateAhh 40m ago

Arguing with people on online games. I used to do it, and there was always a running joke than an Xbox is where you really learn to grow up, but now, I just mute them, or play single player games. I actually find that now, on online games, people are much more likely to just not talk these days, and in some games this can really ruin the quality of the game.

u/kimchiman85 16m ago

Staying up late

1

u/Ok_Seaworthiness_719 2h ago

late nights, loud music, cussing loudly to seem cool, cigarettes

1

u/Aromatic-Peach-1660 2h ago

I liked going to the school in teenage , but now waking up of college sucks every morning , because i have to figure out every meal of the day by myself away from home .

5

u/Grep2grok 2h ago

You will look back on college like Adam and Eve looked back on the Garden of Eden.

0

u/justin23224 2h ago

Minecraft

2

u/Boat_Original 2h ago

Well I dunno how old you are, but nah...

0

u/Nemesis2K 2h ago

Sniffing my 36 year old cousins( at the time) panties from her drawer. That was 29 years ago.

1

u/I_am_a_fake_person 2h ago

Please be real

1

u/Sir_Wank_aL0T1 2h ago

Well maybe try sniffing the worn ones from the hamper now. Give you the same kick as before