10 life-enriching lessons shared by veterans guiding the younger generation to embrace life

With age comes wisdom 

Older generations possess a wealth of wisdom that they gain through many years of good and bad life experiences. Young people can benefit a great amount if they listened to what older individuals had to say. Even though there might be a generational gap, young people can adapt to the wisdom they receive and apply them to the challenges they face today. Reddit user u/Kvassalskaren55 posed the question, "What things are seen as weird by the younger generation that we need to normalize again?" Here are 10 of the best pieces of advice that people had to offer.

1. Not documenting everything

Not having everything you do in the public record. Two random people arguing? Gotta record it. Bad car wreck? Don't help. Record. Natural disaster? Don't run, stay and document it until someone has to rescue you, then get the rescue for maximum likes. u/Deitaphobia. I can’t fathom why anyone records entire fireworks shows on July 4th or New Year's. Who is that for?! There’s no way you’re going to queue that up and watch a 10-minute fireworks display again later. u/derek86

2. Being available all the time 

Not being accessible all the time. Just because I have a cellphone doesn't mean I want to answer it at the supermarket, or while cooking dinner. Or while driving. Thats cool that my boss checks emails in his Tesla driving 20 mins to work but I would rather not. I need a break. u/Dontgetmurdered_78. This is me 100% Everyone close to me knows that if they text/call me, I will respond within a few hours. It creates zero drama. It helps that I am very reliable in responding eventually, so it's not like I leave people hanging. But going way back to the beginning of cell phones, I just never bought into the idea that I should be available 24/7. u/sofingclever

3. Politely declining plans 

Having the decency and manners to verbally cancel plans or say you’ll be late in a timely fashion that’s respectful of the other person’s time and effort, instead of framing ghosting people as some kind of cute personality quirk. u/glurbleblurble. It's incredibly rude to not cancel within a reasonable timeframe. I get that sometimes things happen, but let me know. There have been more than a few times when I've laid out some high-quality snacks for guests, got enough steaks or burgers ready to go, and multiple people who said they'd be there never showed up. The same goes with dinner invites where people flake at the last minute, despite reservations being made. The host is going through an effort to invite the guest. As a guest, you need to respect that hospitality. u/Hyndis

4. Being mindful of personal data

Internet privacy. u/friendlylifecherry. Or just privacy in general. I’m only 32, but I’ve still got all the rage inside of me from watching The Patriot Act pass. Kids these days seem to have an extraordinarily high level of trust handing off their data to the government or tech bros who would be considered oligarchs in another country. The idea that kids want to share their whole selves with these enterprises is just baffling to me. u/beanbootzz

5.  Using headphones in public spaces

Can we re-normalize using headphones while listening to music or watching videos in public? Please? I should be able to study on campus without having to listen to someone else's shit. I can't even go to the campus library without someone blasting their s***. u/NerdyNina221B. I have a sensory disorder and major anxiety. Sometimes people’s music puts me in literal fight or flight mode, which can lead to having to go home or crashing the next day. I know not everyone has a broken nervous system but man when it rains, it pours for me. And it’s so easy for others to just not play their music out loud. u/ofancientearth

6. Being silent at the movies

Being quiet at the movies. u/moonbeamcrazyeyes. 100% this. Normally it’s the “youngster” on their phone (I’m 60 BTW), or just blabbing. However, one of my last movie experiences was 1917. For a change, it was an older group. The whole damn movie, it was “What did he say?” and “What’s happening?” Interspersed with this, was the old guy who kept farting. He was not subtle about it, and would lean over, and let out giant ripping ones. truly epic. They were loud enough to be heard over the movie. Each time, he would loudly say “SORRY!” If you see a stain on the seat at the Queensway VIP theatre in Etobicoke, that was probably him. u/Observer951

7. Supervising kids all the time

Be 100m away from the nearest adult. u/Bonhomme7h. It's sad to me that we've reached a point in society where you're going to be seen as an irresponsible parent if you let your kid and their friends ride off on their bikes and promise to be home before 5, or whatever. Going to the mall and just having bicycle-tethered freedom was such an awesome experience, when I was 14, or 15. Like all kids, the stuff we did that should have gotten us in trouble happened right under parents' noses, so I can't see an argument for blaming our mobility for anything "problematic" that we did. u/AVBforPrez 

8. Stop using speaker phones 

Holding your phone to your ear when talking. u/glrd1. My father-in-law always uses a speaker phone even though his phone is messed up and echoes really badly when he uses a speaker phone. His TV is also always really loud, so you can never make out what he is saying and can only hear yourself on a delay. No matter how many times we tell him not to use a speaker phone, he always starts the call with it on. u/nervelli

9. Living without social media 

Not having social media. Apparently now not being on whatever sites is a red flag. u/prawie_seler. This isn't even a social thing anymore. I met with a recruiting specialist for my bursary; she told me I needed to "step up" my personal Instagram if I wanted to get a job in a creative field. I told her that I had an art account for that reason, and she told me no one would take it seriously without a good personal one to back it up. I'm not sure how correct she was, but her assumption alone makes me afraid for the future. u/Brilliant_Chemica

10. Responding late to messages

Texting back too quickly is apparently a thing to younger folk. Whereas I see it as the ultimate sign of respect and interest when you're having an engaging conversation. There's so much second-guessing about presentation and interest levels that many forget that it's cool, fine, and normal to just be honest with feelings and pursue them as long as they're reciprocal. u/KremlinHoosegaffer. Yeah, I never really understood this whole thing about how you're apparently supposed to make people wait or something. Growing up if somebody messaged me I just responded to it as quickly as I could and this is a habit I've kept all my life. u/Vanilla_Neko