Older Women Share Why Younger Women Confuse Them These Days, And It’s Quite Entertaining (58 Answers)

In a post on r/AskReddit, platform user u/IslamicAnime addressed older women: "What is something young women are doing that puzzles you?" and the answers quickly started pouring in, attracting a diverse range of perspectives.

The dialogue that emerged highlighted the generation gap and shed light on contrasting experiences between the two camps, with some older women expressing confusion over the obsession with social media and the constant need for validation while others said they can't understand why 20-something-year-olds get so many beauty procedures.

However, many older women also expressed curiosity and a willingness to learn from their younger counterparts, acknowledging the need for intergenerational connections that benefit both parties.

#1

They are SO good at makeup. I don’t know if it’s because they have better products, the availability of tutorial videos or both but they all look amazing and we were walking around with orange faces and smudged eyeliner. Not gonna lie I’m a little jealous

Edit: so many bitter people in these replies!
Makeup is a hobby. It might not be one that you enjoy but that doesn’t invalidate it.

We should respect and uplift all women and however they choose to express themselves, wether it’s by wearing makeup and miniskirts or carhartts and axel grease.

Image credits: SnooPeripherals5969

#2

The overdone lip injections. I can’t wait for this trend to die.

Image credits: chubbybarbie81

#3

Wearing comfy shoes (like sneakers) to the club.... I'm not mad at it, I'm mad my dumbass never did that... lol

Image credits: RemoteTowel7152

#4

Taking pictures of yourself all the time. Even as a younger person I can't imagine doing this.

Image credits: Ok_Wolverine9344

#5

Not limited to women, but: gender reveal parties. I already have to go to your baby shower, and now you want me to go to another party? Do I have to bring a gift?

Image credits: missdawn1970

#6

Blasting pictures of their young children all over social media with 1000 followers.

Image credits: assylemdivas

#7

Having children with men who are basically children themselves. If you're living with a guy and he doesn't do a genuine 50% of the housework, it will be exponentially worse when you have a baby.

Image credits: JaniePage

#8

I am bewildered by women who do not prioritize the ability to support themselves.

Image credits: Joey690

#9

I kinda hate the claw like nails that are popular right now.

Image credits: Golfnpickle

#10

Crying on the internet. I’m talking full on snot bubble crying. Maybe it’s my childhood trauma talking but I can’t fathom having an awful thing happen to me and then whipping out my phone to tell my “followers” about it. Maybe bc I have No followers? I just bury it deep and slap on a smile like my mom taught me ?

Image credits: FreshJuice60

#11

Posting non stop content and then caring so much about what strangers say about them online. As if life isn't difficult enough for women without finding new and unnecessary standards to hold yourself up too. It all seems like an exhausting, pointless and mentally draining exercise.

Image credits: MuddaFrmAnnudaBrudda

#12

Big, fluffy false eyelashes. I tried it once and it felt like caterpillars on my eyelids, they had to come off right away. I don't know how they stand it, but I admire their skill.

(Edit: Just wanna make it clear here, I'm not about s******g on the aesthetics of young people. You do you, my sweet children! It's just not for me.)

Image credits: katie-kaboom

#13

Voting against their own interests. I know so many young women who are 100% for birth control, abortion, equal pay, maternity leave, etc yet consistently vote Republican because "the economy is the most important issue." Now theyre shocked Roe was overturned. Nothing is more important than your rights/freedom!

#14

I'm 33 so I don't consider myself old yet, but I've seen young girls living through Snapchat & other apps, vehemently photographing themselves and everything around them. To me, it seems as if they care more about how they portray themselves online towards others (they don't even know), instead of enjoying the actual experiences.

Image credits: Flikketeer

#15

Van life.

The whole "Van life is so glamorous, look at me sipping my coffee sitting in the back of my van in front of the sunrise" thing is WAY overrated and very, very fake. Van life or camper life can be fun and an adventure at times, yes - but it comes with a LOT of work, expense and risk that people don't tell you about.

Image credits: Just_another_Sue

#16

Putting up with b******t you know isn't ok. We all do this but as 40 something it's painful to watch young women continue to just stay in abusive or even just frustrating imbalanced relationships. Realize your worth ladies..sooner than later.

Image credits: Anticrepuscular_Ray

#17

I know a few 17-18y/old girls who have decided not to learn to drive or get licensed because their boyfriends always have cars; not to finish school because they don't enjoy it; and don't ever want to vote because that stuff's boring.

They have these precious rights to be free, to be educated, to be heard, and they don't care!

(Regarding the car thing - we're in a semi-rural area with limited transport options.)

Image credits: RooBeeDooBeeDoo

#18

Focusing on their social media appearance. The lighting, the posing…it’s all for likes.

Posting where they are. Where they go.

The complete transparency over their location floors me after being told not to tell people that stuff online.

I worry that a lot of young people are too aware of their social media standing and appearance and aesthetic and are forgetting to find and love themselves for who they are.

Image credits: punnymama

#19

Botox in their early 20s. There's nothing there. What wrinkles are you trying to fix?

Image credits: deliriousgoomba

#20

Creating new body shaming trends like tight gap, nose gap, size of waist etc. Things men don’t even know exist, so it’s purely and solely women creating absolute nightmare of beauty standards for other woman. Growing up in the 00s it was traumatic and I wished newer generations would have stopped

#21

Sending nudes and trusting the recipient

Image credits: Jezza_bella123

#22

Glorifying submissive misogynistic gender roles, trying to codify it into law, and shaming others who exercise and defend their rights to choose something else for their life.

Image credits: ohno_spaghetti_o

#23

Sending nudes to men they're not dating. "Talking" to guys...just go on a few dates and decide if you want a relationship for gods sake. All this "we've been talking for a few months now" is weird

Image credits: Ieatclowns

#24

I am annoyed by the 90s high-water jeans paired with the ugliest sneakers ever. I have never understood fashion because I come from a poor family and I wore what my parents could afford to buy me. This included jeans that eventually were too short for me. I was bullied for my short pants.

But now everyone wants mom jeans. They are hideous and unflattering.

#25

TikTok dances and challenges. Social media is garbage.

#26

Wearing the awful, unflattering mom jeans that MY deeply unstylish 1980s mother looked frumpy in.

#27

Low-rise jeans.

Don’t do it, kids! Learn from our mistakes!

Image credits: ToBeReadOutLoud

#28

There seems to be a hype culture about being a stripper or selling pics of one's feet on the Internet. 14 year olds are discussing how to best get a sugar daddy. Weird. And scary.

Image credits: CarrotcakewithCream

#29

Why the need for 5 parties, 2 wedding dresses, B and C lists, and numerous other demands… just to get married.

Like, just get married. It’s not that complicated. Save the money (and more importantly, your guests’ and bridal party’s money) for something that will actually mean something - charity, home down payment, personal enrichment in classes or travel… whatever, the sky is the limit. Spare yourself the time and stress of going overboard to follow the new cultural norms.

*Traditional, generational customs need not apply… though maybe they should be questioned and re-examined.

#30

Influencers and those who are influenced by them. It drives me crazy! So many of these influencers are just narcissistic idiots who really don’t know anything but if they are pretty and talk a good game, people follow them and believe in their “brand”. So much focus on body image - it’s no wonder depression is spiking.

#31

Onlyfans. That’s going to haunt you forever

#32

Wearing crop tops and loungewear to restaurants, stores and other public places that aren't gyms. I don't understand the just rolled out of bed look.

#33

Not wearing sunscreen and still going tanning.

My sister died at age 36 from skin cancer and it is still a struggle to convince younger girls of all ethnicities to wear sunscreen and stop tanning. Use a fake tanner or/and love the skin you're in.

#34

Letting everyone on the internet knowing exactly whare you are at all times and what your schedule is seems a bit nuts.

Image credits: Konebred

#35

All the dancing and celebrity-impersonation on Instagram and TikTok.

It’s as if they’ll disappear into oblivion if they don’t follow the ongoing trends.

#36

Buccal fat removal surgery.

Image credits: walkingoffthebuz

#37

Incredibly long nails and over the top false eyelashes.

Image credits: mlenotyou

#38

Being so awesomely confident in their bodies that they wear whatever they want.

I was taught to hide my flaws so I am puzzled, and proud, of them for loving themselves amidst the societal pressure to conform.

#39

Passive aggressive roommate fights.

The layers can get really impressive, but in a terrible way. "A wrote B a note about dishes but C thought it was about them so C wrote A a note then B came home and thought it was for her so she texted the group chat and..."

DUDE. TALK TO PEOPLE. TALK. TO. PEOPLE. This is the perfect time in your life to be practicing assertiveness and healthy conflict resolution. All this s****y note-writing and vague group text chatting and b******t is making whatever the problem is a thousand times worse.

Image credits: Much_Difference

#40

Not using barrier birth control is another.

#41

This is real small, and makes me feel real ancient, but pulling their bathing suits up their butt cracks. It just looks SO uncomfortable to me, but y’all do you. I’ll sit over in my full coverage, granny bathing suit that’s probably ugly, but I’ll be comfy ?

#42

I am 50. I am actually amazed by young women's self confidence. So many of the amazing young adults I meet through my kids just scream self confidence. I still feel insecure at 50. Maybe it is because since they could be online everyone had an opinion on them and they had to learn just not to care. But so many of them, even if it is not there fake that self confidence.

I have said I wanted to be my middle child when I grew up her whole life. She is just fierce. She makes no excuses for who she is. She is amazing. And her life is not always easy. She just handles the world like it is hers to be handled. And I watch the same thing from her brother, her sister and about every one they know. They kind of give me hope the world is getting better.

I was laughing at my 12 yo great niece. I have taken care of her since she was 9 months old. She does competition cheer. But the faces she makes. Wow. Straight fierce. That's what I wanna be when I grow up.

Image credits: No-Fishing5325

#43

I'm definitely not considered older woman yet, so J apologise as my view may not count but one thing I've noticed since starting a new job and working with some 17-20 year olds has given me a few yikes

One is the weird obsession with knowing where their partners is at all times, one girl threw a mini fit because her partners Snapchat location wasn't on and she was scarily angry about it

And the weird glorification I've seen about being 'psycho' is such a weird red flag. Amount of them boasting about borderline mentally abusive things or acts they do to their partners is f*****g WILD and frankly scares me a little

Image credits: bamyris

#44

Background: I’m 40, so an older millennial, and one thing I’ve noticed in the workplace is how damn impressed boomers are with excellent Excel skills. It’s something I’ve always laughed about because it’s such a basic skill and older folks always fawn all over my excel sheets.

Then we got a Gen Z employee who simply said she could quickly code a program in an afternoon to meet several of the needs that our excel sheets were meeting.

Even as someone who has some basic understanding and experience of Stata and R Studio (just a couple of grad level courses for non practitioners) I have no idea what the f**k she did or how she did it. She just laughed at my awe.

I am now becoming that person who is impressed with skills that the next generation finds very basic.

edit: wow, reading through this thread is like a primer on internalized misogyny. I’m really saddened by all the older women who are expressing displeasure about young women’s bodies and looks. Just let them be, for f**k’s sake, and try to teach them what you’ve learned and learn what you don’t understand from them.

#45

Well done makeup including contouring. I am an old hag and NEVER mastered the art and now it seems like everyone is able to do it and no matter what I still look like a rodeo clown if I try. Young women who are into it seem to watch a couple of videos and become total artists. Beginner tutorial: find the right shade… Aaaaand I’m done.

#46

The whole eyebrow thing.

#47

I don't know how common it is, but I see a lot of posts on Reddit from women who live with deadbeat partners who play video games all day and smoke weed. They may work a bit or not, but the women are largely responsible for their financial situation. Why would women who make enough money to support themselves alone subject themselves to that?

#48

Dating apps, wanting a relationship but feeling obligated to have sex quickly ("because how else will you get to know each other and be in a relationship"), and lip fillers just hardly ever look good. Oh, and the flaired pants being back in, especially when it's just like a black legging material and the bottoms are fraying from dragging on the floor, reminds me of when I was a dorky 13 year old

#49

The performative nature of everything. Ask someone to a dance? Have signs and cameras filming and gifts….they film everything. It’s insane. There’s no concept of privacy or events being just for them and their loved one(s). It’s like it’s all a movie or play put on for the world to see 100% of the time. They don’t seem to live their lives for themselves but for followers. It’s really sad.

#50

I don't understand why girls want to inflate their lips. Also girls with pointy long fingernails who have babies. I remember having an aunty with long fingernails and I used to hate holding her hand when I was tiny.

#51

Putting up with s**t partners. When I was in my 20s, I dated around. Guy got too aggressive? Dump. Tried to change me? Dump. Lied? Dump. Married 20 years now, because I waited to find a good one.

Stop asking how to change him or yourself. Dump and move on.

Image credits: SnowWhiteCampCat

#52

Not appreciating how feminism has improved all of society’s choices (not just women's) and not standing in support of the continuing work.

Young conservative women - just, why?

E: Correction. Thanks for the gold!

#53

Sending nudes to a guy online or sending him texts/DM's revealing intimate information they don't even know simply because the guy asked. Don't do it! There are so many male influencers and social media "stars" being exposed as creeps for getting young women to send nudes or mention personal info and then doxxing them or doing revenge porn.

#54

How young they are getting botox, fillers, lip fillers

#55

Giving too much information out.

I notice a lot of younger women are more lenient about being disrespected by their partners. Accepting it as a person just telling their TRUTH, however not understanding a person can be truthful without being an A-hole

#56

Speaking with vocal fry, whether entirely or using it to finish every sentence. To be fair, not just women do this, but it does seem to be related to age and/or social media consumption.

#57

Hold on to men that use them and want nothing to do with them. They stay in dead end relationships with men that have nothing and will never give them anything

#58

Following people on social media that just make them feel bad about themselves. Comparing yourself to a highly curated & filtered persona is so damaging to self-esteem.

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