this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2023
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Is it the, "I will always be older and wiser than my children" attitude or the, "I will never bother to learn anything new because everything I ever needed to know was learned a long time ago" attitude?
They're both annoying but the second one seems to be much harder to overcome. They'll take in new information from random talking heads on television and believe that outright (even if it's laughably untrue) but if they buy a new appliance they will absolutely not--under any circumstances--read the manual or even glance at the quick reference guide. They will also not watch a video about it or ever bother trying to learn about the thing they just bought. Once they figure out where the time/temperature controls are and where the "start/on" button is that is literally the only thing they'll see on that appliance from now until it breaks.
DIY? They did that a long time ago so "now they don't have to" and that attitude apparently means that the TV "should just work (damnit!)" and the microwave, dishwasher, etc dozens of extra buttons and impressive features will never be used. Any given device will have a specific feature that solves the very problem they'll be complaining about but even after showing them how to use it they never will (and you'll catch them complaining about their problem not being solved again and again).
Another thing that really irks me: If they find they need a new they will purchase the they saw advertised on television! This sets off all my alarm bells that they're likely to fall for scams. I don't know if it's generational but if I see a product regularly advertised on TV I just instinctively want to avoid that product. My gut tells me, "if they need to advertise that much then it's clearly not the best".
Aside: What's also infuriating is that it isn't like some religious nonsense that other people can excuse old people's attitudes with. Like, "Oh my dad was raised in a very conservative, religious household so that's why he doesn't trust " or it explains why they think a particular way. With my parents--who rarely ever attended church--it's like, "How did we get here‽" LOL