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  • My old person trait is that none of the things mentioned in the linked image happened on accident.

    They happened because capitalism doesn't give a fuck about anything except bleeding as much money as conceivably possible out of each and every human.

    1. Apps allow companies to suck more data out of your device than a website, allowing them to sell more of your data and... make more money.
    2. Video games needing access to the internet is simply Digital Rights Management and a way to prevent piracy and... make more money. Remember, most companies view something pirated as a "lost sale," not that you would have never purchased it to begin with. As Gabe Newell once said:

    “We think there is a fundamental misconception about piracy. Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem,” he said. “If a pirate offers a product anywhere in the world, 24 x 7, purchasable from the convenience of your personal computer, and the legal provider says the product is region-locked, will come to your country 3 months after the US release, and can only be purchased at a brick and mortar store, then the pirate’s service is more valuable."

    1. This one speaks for itself. Being able to be in control of the products you buy is freedom. Having products controlled remotely by a corporation is giving them carte blanche to make more money off of you.
    2. Removing accessible customer service means more people will just give up on trying to get their problem solved, effectively allowing the company to steal from people and... shocker... make more money.

    I agree, in theory, in respect to ghosting, but we live in a society that teaches us to be isolated, and doesn't teach interpersonal skills unless the interpersonal skill is "Fuck you, got mine." (which is, not surprisingly, a thing about making more money.)

    In other words, these aren't old people opinions. These are "I'm not gonna let capitalism absolutely fuck me endlessly" opinions.

  • I think cars should not be dependent on a touch screen for ANY of it's functions (or really have one at all). They are more difficult to use than tactile buttons, distracting, and do not receive long term support from the OEM.

    What do you do with a 10 year old car that runs but the touch screen nuked due to age, firmware bugs or mechanical damage? Ford isn't going to be selling replacement units 10 years later and I have yet to see an 'infotainment' system that has aftermarket replacement considerations.

  • My old person trait is that I think I should be able to have anything I purchased repaired/serviced by whomever I wish, with whatever parts they deem acceptable.

  • As someone who works in a call center, screw that last person on here. So sorry you hate the automated system. Sorry you had to wait on hold. They can't keep enough of us employed because y'all are fucking mean and no one wants to be abused for $15/hr.

    Er, I mean, Thank you for calling, sorry about your wait!

  • My old person trait is I hate short-form videos e.g. Instagram reels and TikTok videos. The back and forth boomer vs millenial vs gen z videos remind me of someone who is talking to themself with different personalities.

  • My old person traits are most of all posted here because I am an old person.

    But I'll add that my old person traits is that I think a living wage should support... er... living, including a place to live, food to eat, paying for services, buying clothes, getting decent public health and education, and even have spare money for your free time (hobbies, eat out, theatre, concerts, etc.).

    • Capitalism enters the chat

      Capitalism: Nah bro. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps and work. Are you lazy and don't want to work anymore? Be loyal to your company and work for them for 60 years. Your hard work will reap you many rewards so that your CEO can buy a new yacht.

      Reaganism enters the chat

      Reaganism: Oh hell yeah we're about to trickle down some wealth, everyone! My newfound wealth and yacht will trickle down to you all, somehow potentially. So that's your benefit. Trust us! Check out the next comment to this post and get ready for that economic stimulus that you paid for! It's coming!

      Inexorable machinery of capitalism whirs into the chat

      Machinery of Capitalism: Hey, working class! Give us more blood so our gears can continue to whir.

      Working Class feebly crawls into the chat

      Working Class: We're too tired from work. We're too tired fighting with each other because the Wealthy Class pits us against each other. We're too tired and distracted to unite because we think the others in the working class are against us rather than focusing on the real problem. We are too manipulated by you and believe we're in a culture war, when the real problem is the inexorable class war where you transfer all the wealth from us to you. We just want to have freedom, pay our bills without worry, not destroy our planet, and retire while being happy. We just want to be able to afford to eat. If you keep this up and break us to the point of no return, we just may have to eat the rich.

      Capitalism: Gulp! Let's think of something new we can distract you with or some other corporation/wealthy controversial person we can exploit to manipulate you all into being divided again. We summon Ron DeSantis! I choose you, Vladimir Putin! Use "War on Ukraine" - it's super effective! Ron DeSantis, use "scummy villain civil rights" Special Move! It's Super Effective! Now stand still while we take away your rights, your money, your choice, and your autonomy.

      Working Class: ... Okay, you win again. You're right - as a farmer, I definitely see that the hunters are trying to take away my pitchforks. The butchers are trying to steal my chickens. Farmers - unite! Let's kill those hunters and butchers.

      Machinery of Capitalism, smiling and satisfied, continues to do parasite things while the Rich riches their riches harder

      • Repeat this cycle for all of time and humanity's history *

      • Wealthy Class: Oh heck yeah I'm about to trickle down some wealth to you all! Everybody hold out their hands.

        Proceeds to trickle a small handout only to the Butchers

        Butchers: Thank you!! This is so generous!

        Farmers + Hunters: WTF?! How come you Butchers got the money? Let's go complain to the Wealthy Class and figure out what happened!

        Wealthy Class: WTF? How can this be? Butchers - explain yourself!

        Butchers: We worked hard for this and we need this money.

        Farmers + Hunters: Hey, screw you! How can you be so greedy when we need the money, too? Let's fight!

        Butchers: Them's fighting words. You guys suck, why can't you work harder?

        Farmers, Hunters, and Butchers proceed to rassle

        Wealthy Class:

    • Wow okay gramps. Check out old boy here not juggling three jobs to pay off crippling debt and eating ramen 3 meals a day.

  • I think I should be allowed to order food from a restaurant without needing to scan a QR code which requires me to have a smart phone and an active, paid plan in order to access their menu.

  • My actual old people trait is that there should be two spaces after a period. I will die on this stupid fucking hill. Even though computers automatically change it to one space. Like here.

  • I DO NOT owe you a text back. If I'm not physically w you, I owe you very little in terms of interaction. I come home, throw my phone under the bed, and ignore till morning, and I prob won't answer you then either. It's not personal...usually.

  • Likely an outdated one, or one that's already been given a number of times, but – Physical Books.

    I'm not entirely 'anti' e-reader, the benefits are obvious. I'm just VERY pro physical book.

    • I don't use an e-reader, but I found a long time ago I prefer audio books to physical books.

      Its purely a comfort thing. I can read a lot faster than any audio book, but I just have a hard time finding a comfortable position to read a real book.

      Also the added benifit of listening in the car, while working, or falling alseep.

      The only times I find myself with a physical book is reading technical things like textbooks, or when I'm on a plane.

    • I love physical books, but I love eReaders more. I've loved digital books since before digital books existed.

      My love for digital books started when I was in college, and was lugging around a backpack full of fucking heavy dead trees. I spent countless hours fantasizing about a future where I could carry my entire library around in a single, small device.

      You often see the lament: "it's the future! Where's my flying car‽" But, my friend, we are living in the future, one where my most cherished desire - the ability to literally fit every book I own into a single portable device - has come true.

      I even have a second device, the dimensions of a standard US sheet of paper, on which I can write and easily read PDFs formatted for print; I can even run OCR on the notes and get pretty good results - this eliminated the endless, unsearchable notebooks that were my second plague. One day, this device will be foldable, and I'll be able to combine the two uses into one device.

      I do still own, and occasionally buy, paper books. When I do, they're books I've already greatly enjoyed, and want to have hard-bound copies of. I curtail this behavior, as I've moved home a dozen times in my life already, and each time culled large portions of my library. For years, nobody accepts paper books, and they mostly go to recycling, which I always fine painful. It's one of the worst parts of moving, choosing either to haul around more heavy boxes or send less cherished books to be destroyed. The books I do buy are destined for the bookshelf; I buy these only for nostalgia, and it is unlikely that their spines will ever be broken.

      My true love is e-ink; my library exists both on my computer (backed up) and on my eReader, always and fully accessible whether at home or travelling, and never taking up more space than a notepad. I had moved on long before the means to move on were available, and have never looked back.

    • I read somewhere that most people who read actually prefer physical books over e-books. The thing is a lot less people want to read now.

    • Physical books are amazing and I'll always buy physical copies of the ones I love. Looking at it from cover to cover and taking in the cover art, the smell of the pages, the sound of it as you rustle through pages, the thunk when you close the book shut after finishing it. Not to mention just staring at all your books in a bookshelf and reminiscing about them. It's a lovely thing. You can't get that experience with eReaders and smart devices.

      But I do purchase eBooks because I love the convenience. I prefer to buy DRM-free versions but they are difficult to obtain due to modern publishers. When I'm forced to buy one with DRM, I always break the DRM so that I can archive them and use them on any device I wish. Knowledge should be free, always.

  • Mine is that a cellphone should be a phone first, instead of being a shitty computer first and a celllphone as a distant afterthought.

  • The third one is my old person trait. Also, grumpiness, and wanting the right to repair my own devices.

    • I don't think expecting a product to be functional and actually owning it is an old person trait. Saas absolutely fucking sucks.

  • Yeah that line was used by my abusers way to often. They just "can't understand" why I'd go no contact. As if the last 300 explanations were somehow non existent. Nope. I don't owe you anything.

    And my old person trait is my walking stick I suppose.

718 comments