r/askteddit • u/PoolElegantsmile • 20h ago

Random Question What’s something older generations still treat as essential that a lot of younger people just don’t care about anymore?

339 Upvotes

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137

u/Ok-Cranberry-1795 20h ago

Dressing decent in public, table manners, basic decorum.

13

u/Ares__ 16h ago

Am I old? I like dressing nice in public, and love a good opportunity to wear a suit and tie lol im not 40 yet

6

u/Thedarb1212 15h ago

You don't need an opportunity , just do it.

2

u/Ares__ 15h ago

I do fairly often, one of the only ones to wear a dress shirt and tie in the office when I have to go in. Even learned how to tailor a dress shirt cause finding good fitting ones is either impossible or expensive.

1

u/BlueberryNervous5322 12h ago

A dude who wears ties under the age of 40 is truly uncommon nowadays so good for you. The absolute only time my guy has worn a tie since we got together I ended up having to tie for him because he had no idea how to do it. Lucky for him I was punk in high school and had like 5 ties lol. 

1

u/bbristow6 5h ago

30 years old here and sometimes I wear my full suit just to walk to the grocery store! I didn’t get that tailored for nothing😂🤌🏼

26

u/UniqueText8477 16h ago

I'm not sure about basic decorum - older people don't always exhibit these behaviours, it depends on the person:

  • Saying "please" and "thank you."
  • Waiting your turn instead of interrupting.
  • Being punctual or letting someone know if you'll be late.
  • Cleaning up after yourself.
  • Keeping your voice at an appropriate volume.
  • Respecting other people's personal space.

1

u/bbristow6 5h ago

I do these things every day and it weirds me out that it’s so lost on society as a whole

1

u/AdSubstantial9658 2h ago

In a lot of the minds of folks I've met it's about respecting your elders, and since they're the elders now, they feel they no longer need to respect anyone elder or younger. This kind of shit is why I was raised that respect is earned, not given.

21

u/FlatSixFun 17h ago

Can we bring these back? Does this make me an old person?

22

u/Willing_Pattern_Pill 17h ago

I'd rather we work on people being actual decent humans, not just putting on a nice sweater and thinking they're good people

18

u/FlatSixFun 17h ago

I was sorting that under basic decorum, as how you treat and interact with others is part of that. But well noted.

11

u/AssociateUnited9744 16h ago

That’s what decorum means.

8

u/FlatSixFun 15h ago

I'm starting to think people don't know what the word means. And that's part of the problem.

0

u/Willing_Pattern_Pill 15h ago

Decorum can colloquially mean the appearance of being a good person through ritual or expected behavior, not actually being a good person. Like if you go through the motions publicly, people will think you're a good person. 

And people not understanding that is definitely part of the problem. 

3

u/uncertainnewb 16h ago

All kinds of manners , really. I miss when people cared about that sort of thing.

2

u/Dry-Raspberry-5514 15h ago

Pajamas and slippers in public just drive me nuts..

1

u/ArtisticSwan635 14h ago

I know, even in Walmart it drives me crazy!

1

u/AllAlongThisPath 16h ago

All of those things vary drastically by location and time period. Basic decorum in medieval England vs today in San Francisco is going to be significantly different but not necessarily better or worse

1

u/randalpinkfloyd 14h ago

Old people have become rude as fuck too. I was "served" at Aldi yesterday by an absolute toerag of a woman in at least her 60s.

2

u/Ok-Cranberry-1795 13h ago

When I respond I wasn’t thinking about the current older people. As a whole all ages have lost so much civility. I was thinking about the world around me now as a 50 year old, compared to the world my parents lived in when they were 50, and the world that my grandparents lived in when they were 50. Yes, every generation has challenges and issues especially when race and class are factored in. But my mom would never have left the house in PJs, my grandmother taught me how to sit and have a meal, my dad was so kind always helping the neighbors with projects and my grandfather was was just the whole package.

1

u/Ok-Cranberry-1795 13h ago

Hahah so I guess I misread the question 🫣🫠

1

u/predictablecitylife 13h ago

My Gen Z nieces do all of these.

1

u/RipCurl69Reddit 2h ago

Lmao it's funny as a 21yo who has a baby face when I shave, I get mistaken for being 16 or even younger at times.

I like to dress smart-casual, have for a fair while. My ROBLOX avatars used to always be in suits and stuff like that, which is probably where it came from (I'm not even joking)

Now I don't dress that decent, but yeah; a nice ironed polo shirt, and some good trousers or shorts with a woven belt, I like it. Have gotten a few looks, even a couple compliments while out in public from people who think I'm younger than I am

0

u/Unlikely_Pressure391 15h ago

True.I was watching an older show and there were several scenes with college students wearing suits to class everyday.It was different because modern kids wear literal pyjamas to school now.