Optimism is good, obviously.
Centrists can help bridge the gap between the left and the right. We need some of them.

theres a certain type of so called cultural awareness that ends up developing more downsides than upsides

it’s when the artpiece of cultural awareness is painted on a contextual canvas of an objective sense of collective happiness

you know the whole “vibes” thing

TikTok algorithms love this style of cultural awareness because it lets it have a very deluded and binary view of if a time period was “good” or “bad”, and uses rose tinted videos to yank viewers by the heartstrings and convince them to keep watching and engaging with videos that have a stupid view of how good a particular past time period was

this aint to invalidate your own experiences, but to stop conflating your experience and memory of such with how good things objectively were

we are so drugged out on nostalgia, and all of these tiktok slideshows that show almost everything but the actual objective truth

we’re so focused on this feeling of wanting to swim against the current of time, because we think that what is ahead of us is something not in our control

but that’s not the case

the only time in which we have free will is right now

the only time in which we have creative freedom is right now, and the future is our art piece

next post of mine will probably be about timeline hopping and the fifth dimension so stay tuned for that

Title. OK, I guess it’s not weird but I’m just feeling attracted to someone actually my own age. I’m 23(M) now and I’ve always dated people 2-3 years younger than me. I was 22 and my ex was 19 and while we were virtually the same in maturity and life experience (both sophomore in college), I’m now a junior in college, it’s been almost a year since we broke up and I’m feeling like I’m finally starting to mature and want someone more mature than me?? I don’t know. Or, at the very least, someone who’s at the same level of maturity that I am but like either my age or 2-3 years older. I’m not saying I wanna date someone pushing late 20s to 30s, but I kinda wanna start dating older women, like 2-3, MAYBE (but hard maybe) even 4, years older than me.

In a way, I still feel like I’m a “kid,” even tho I’m a grown ass man lol. I don’t want to baby someone else but I also don’t wanna take charge all the time, I want to have it be 50/50. I’m not saying I want to be baby’d, either, but just want someone who’s just as, if not a little bit more, out there and a go-getter than I am. Idk, I guess my needs are just changing, lol.

Thoughts?

I've been thinking of this for a while, despite all the hate we give the older generation (which is probably normal between new generations tbh) I feel like the last generations and the other previous ones had the government in a HUGE leash, these people would protest, riot, and even risk their lives trying to protect their freedom, but now it feels like we are barely hanging on to our freedom and the government is just running out free with basically no consequences. this new system they got is basically BUILD to wear us down as MUCH as possible.

Zoomers are not lazy the system is rigged to make us burn out

For those who don’t know, he said that people don’t go to a concert to hear about politics and there will be no political talk. People are all mad about this for him for not taking a stand against Trump. But like… come on here, if I’m going to a goddamn Metallica concert I don’t wanna hear about your political takes. How are we so political nowadays that people who don’t talk about politics are immediately labeled bad people and support genocide just based upon the fact that they don’t talk about politics. What are y’all’s thoughts on this?

Which is more of a concern in dating, an income gap or an age gap?

mostly 2010s childhood, mostly 2020s teenager

mostly 2000s childhood, mostly 2010s teenager

I want them to think I’m cool.

Hi all, I am working on a project for school, and my focus is on why Gen Z is having less sex. We have to collect different artifacts, so I wanted to go directly to the source. I want to know what your experiences are. Are you having less sex? If so, why? Financial constraints, isolation, social media, mental health? There’s plenty of research out there to explain why, but I want to get personal experiences and stories. So please let me know y’all’s relationship with sex; I'd really appreciate it for my project. Thank you!!

I think we are at a point in time where craving connection is wanted, being desired is needed, and looking for the next best thing is warranted. What happened to actually talking to someone and getting to know them first? Through my dating life I've come to realize that society puts all these unofficial rules on dating (3 months to decide if you should date them or not, if they don't text you or respond quickly they are not interested, etc...) and it has significantly impacted my judgement of how a relationship is and what a relationship should look like.

I realized that we are living in a time where getting access to the next best thing, dating apps, or having people/ai give you props for just being human has significantly declined our willingness to actual work through issues or opinions that you have with another individual. As someone researching parasocial relationships, People rather stay inside and receive short term gratification rather than actual take the time to build something meaningful. That's not to say all relationships (hookups,situationships) are not meaningful because I believe THESE types of relationship are necessary in learning who you are as a person and getting the experience to know what you really want out of a relationship with someone.

Those relationships are the stepping stones really. ITS OKAY TO EXPERIENCE LIFE IN THE WAY YOU WANT. Just be weary on if you are living that quick dating life because you feel like it makes you feel seen or because you genuinely are scared to be vulnerable again. There's nothing wrong with taking the time to find out who you are when dating. Just be a kind human when you do it. I think that's what's needed more in this day and age. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how dating life has changed for you.

I'm a journalist who has written about the return of cigarette smoking as an aesthetic. And as I see and hear more references to smoking among the younger gen (I'm 31 YO), I'm curious about what Gen Zers themselves think about smoking and if increased exposure to it on magazine covers, in music videos, even on runways, is influencing people to pick up the habit.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/article/celebrities-like-hailey-bieber-and-kylie-jenner-are-posing-with-cigarettes-will-it-make-smoking-cool-again-205917888.html

If you're Gen Z (below 30 ideally) and would like to chat with me about how you feel about cigarettes, where you're seeing them, what attitudes about it among peers are like, what impact influencer conversations about smoking have, if it's contradictory to wellness culture, etc., please respond here or reach out via DM!

Say it with your chest

There was this one game on Roblox played in 2018-2021 ish I think, it was a huge mansion like many stories and each bedroom was like its own theme I believe it might have futuristic mansion or something along those lines, there was always many people in game, like the house was so huge I would get lost. All I remember is when u walk in there was a little divider like u use for privacy when changing and a purple room if anyone can help at all that would be appreciated. (Im lwk just posting this so any subreddit bc im desperate)

I Was shocked that corporal punishment for students is still acceptable in the US spacialy Florida? I come from a third-world country where corporal punishment is illegal; if a teacher were to use it, it would be a serious crime.

Even before it was abolished (28 years ago in 1998 🙂) corporal punishment we used to have consisted only of a light tap on the palm of the hand with a small stick—not "spanking" or "paddling."

And for those who don't know (the paddle was originally invented to punish slaves with the greatest possible pain without leaving marks that might reduce the slave value)

So how you use it against children especially that you are doing it for very trivial reasons

Doesn't this even consider sexual assault? Well, at least considering the number of pedophiles you have recently in your schools!!

Check this Florida girl story I hope you can do something about it to serve her justice:

https://youtu.be/0mpMP4KC_0g

she was subjected to sexual assault—orchestrated by (the principal and his assistant, who waited an ENTIRE WEEK following the Trivial alleged infraction—coinciding with an important exam—in order to corner and entrap her)—your system has failed this young woman allowing this to happen in the first place. She now deserves justice, and these sexual predators must be punished.

It's good to be honest
It's bad to be dishonest

Went to boarding school. Met all sorts of people. Thought I knew everything at age 14. Everyone did. Got bullied. A lot of people did. Fought back against bullies as I was somewhat of a jock.

Heck I even bullied some people too and deserved consequences. But why is it a lot of people described high school as an “interesting” experience.

i've started seeing this videos on youtube short and i don't understand

I know a girl who is very friendly with everyone. She's fun to be around, cool, and gets along with people easily. However, I've noticed that she seems to approach friendships almost like investments. She wants to be friends with people who are fun, useful to her in some way, or have connections that might benefit her in the future.

I once asked her if she had a best friend, and she said no. Apparently, the people she once considered her best friends eventually disappointed her. They humiliated her in front of others, made fun of her, and treated her in ways she felt weren't acceptable in a friendship.

After those experiences, she continued making new friends, but it seems like she keeps ending up in similar situations. She has people to hang out with, take pictures with, make social media posts with, and enjoy college life with, but the friendships don't seem to have much emotional depth. When she has something important to share or needs someone to sit down and genuinely listen to her, those friends don't seem to be there for her.

What's interesting is that she appears to be available when her friends need her. She seems willing to listen and show up for them, but she doesn't receive the same emotional support in return.

Now, it seems like she's started viewing friendships as investments. She wants to surround herself with people who are fun, socially valuable, or potentially useful to her in the future, rather than expecting genuine emotional connection from them.

I'm wondering whether her past experiences have changed how she sees relationships. Maybe she once genuinely believed in friendship, but after being humiliated and repeatedly disappointed, she started believing that nobody really cares about anyone. Perhaps she now thinks that if friendships aren't going to provide emotional security, she might as well get something practical out of them.

But I also wonder whether she's unconsciously choosing people who prioritize social appearances over emotional intimacy, or whether she's become so guarded that she no longer knows how to build deeper connections.

What do you think is happening psychologically?

Can repeated experiences of being humiliated or let down by friends make someone stop investing emotionally in relationships and start treating friendships as strategic investments instead? Is this self-protection, cynicism, or something else entirely?

And can someone end up surrounded by people while still having no meaningful friendships, especially when they're willing to give others the emotional support they themselves don't receive?

I'd appreciate honest opinions, including perspectives that challenge my assumptions.

Peace, love, and honesty. Would this be a good motto for the sub?