25 older women reveal what younger generations do that leave them scratching their heads

There exists a notable disparity between women of various generations when it comes to lifestyle, the evolution of fashion, and the origin of social media trends. Each generation's unique experiences and the cultural shifts they have witnessed have shaped their attitudes, expectations, values, and what they perceive as normal. From indulging in marathon sessions of classic sitcoms while sporting spaghetti straps and bucket hats, to immersing oneself in the world of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" while endlessly scrolling through the personalized content on TikTok or Instagram, women have undergone remarkable transformations in their personal and professional lives.

Amidst the distinctiveness of these transformations, they also serve as captivating topics of discussion, particularly among older generations. A Reddit user u/IslamicAnime posed the question, "Older women of Reddit, what is something young women are doing that puzzles you?" The ensuing responses within the thread left numerous individuals astounded and taken aback by the portrayal of young women on social media today. While several expressed sincere admiration for the confidence and style exhibited by the younger generation, contrasting it with previous generations, we have compiled a selection of 25 noteworthy responses that caught our attention.

1. 

Blasting pictures of their young children all over social media with 1000 followers. - u/assylemdivas

2. 

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. - u/FreshJuice60

3. 

Taking pictures of yourself all the time. Even as a younger person I can't imagine doing this. - u/Ok_Wolverine9344

4.

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

5.

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. - u/MuddaFrmAnnudaBrudda

6. 

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 . 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 sh***y note-writing and vague group text chatting and bulls**t is making whatever the problem is a thousand times worse. - u/Much_Difference

7. 

I am bewildered by women who do not prioritize the ability to support themselves. - u/Joey690

8. 

This a thousand times. Decades ago, one of my first jobs was working in assisted living/home health. The number of elderly women that expressed regret for being “just a mom” was eye-opening. So many had other dreams of being a nurse, teacher, etc, but those dreams died upon marriage and motherhood. They used to tell me “do not squander the opportunities our generation never had.” Make sure you complete college, have a career, and a life for yourself. Always be able to support yourself and not be trapped, etc. I’m well past childbearing years now and I’d like to think I made those ladies proud. I cringe when I hear young women say they don’t want to go to college or work. Their entire life plan is to marry rich and live off a man. - u/lafcrna

9. 

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. -u/Just_another_Su

10. 

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. 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. - u/SnooPeripherals5969

11.

·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. - u/Flikketeer

12. 

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! -u/RooBeeDooBeeDoo

13. 

Putting up with bulls**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. - u/Anticrepuscular_Ray

14. 

The way young women seem to worry so much about their genitals' appearance. To the point of surgery on their labia and bleaching their anus. I blame p**n, I suppose, but I hate that these young women feel so judged that they need to resort to this. - u/galacticprincess

15.

The concept of "my truth" is super weird to me. There is "the truth" things we have proven with evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. Then there is "my beliefs" which are a collection of things I consider to be true, whether they are or not". But saying "my truth" is basically badgering other people with my beliefs and forcing them to agree with me for the sake of my feelings? - u/captainlvsac

16. 

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 p**n. - u/thisgirlnamedbree

17. 

Buccal fat removal surgery. - u/walkingoffthebuz

18. 

Remember when they said Barbie dolls were creating unrealistic beauty standards? Despite that I don’t think we really saw this level of body modification until the Kardashians and other celebrities started popularizing it. Barbie’s got nothing on their unrealistic standards. - u/Robobvious

19. 

Putting up with shit 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. - u/SnowWhiteCampCat

20. 

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. -u/JaniePage

21.

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. - u/Daomadan

22. 

It trips me out to observe dating practices watching seinfeld - the early 90s. The etiquette, the non assumption of sex, no such things as fwb, calling someone a bf/gf means someone you are dating, whereas now its a huge commitment.
A generation of women grew up learning that it was "liberating" to have no strings attached sex. Etiquette and rules around dating seen as old fashioned. Then later finding the old old adage still rings true in this liberated age, that men wont buy the cow if they can get the milk for free. At some point it became the norm to start exploiting ourselves. - u/nvyetka

23. 

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. - u/ohno_spaghetti_o

24. 

They are so clued up on how fucked up societal expectations of women are. They just don’t give a shit what “society” says they should be doing, acting like, looking like. They are doing what they want. AND I AM HERE FOR IT.
They are also so much more aware of things like consent, what’s s**ual harassment and what’s ok and not ok. There’s so much that happened to me as a teen/young woman that I just shrugged off as normal which was definitely not.
Young women today aren’t afraid to stick up for themselves. And it’s beautiful to see. But it puzzles me where the confidence has come from. Where the knowledge has come from. Why 16 year olds can confidently tell the whole world to f**k off because the worlds wrong. Not them. Maybe it’s the internet? - u/sunshineandhail

25. 

I wanna know how these girls have rhythm. They can all dance. How can they apply false eyelashes within seconds? How do they not know how to pick up a vacuum cleaner but can perfectly manicure their faces? How do they not eat fried food? Where did acne go? How did they cure this shit? Why don't they have pimples? Why do they go from being 10 to 21 in only one birthday? HOW COME THEY ALL LOOK the same! -u/PhilosopherFit6035