Do you feel like you're speaking a foreign langauge when you talk to younger ppl?

[Frump]

I mean I'm not that old myself, only 30 BUT if I have a conversation with anyone like 20 or younger sometimes I feel like I'm talking a different language.

I don't mean to sound condescending, BUT I feel like I have to use VERY simple words or they won't understand me.

I worked at a theater for like 8 years and worked around several teenagers and it seems like they can't understand the simplest things.

It's things like:

Once I was having a conversartion with someone who was like 17, and for some reason in the conversation I said something like, "I TRY to always see the glass as half full." And she asks, "What does that mean?" And I explained, "It means I try to be optimist." And she replies, "What does optimist mean?" ANd I said, "It's the opposite of pessimist" and she says, "What does pessimist mean? And this point I'm getting frustrated!!!


And once there was no one behind the counter and a regular comstumer came in and said, "Anyone minding the store?" And one younger worker said, "What the hell does that mean?"

I remember once I said, "When in Rome..." And someone was like, "huh?"

And once someone I worked with, an older person, had fixed snacks for everyone and she said, "Soup's on!" And all the younger ppl were like, "Huh?"

And my 16 year old cousin who is like a sis to me, once I was talking to her about someone being arrogant, and "She asks me what arrogant means?" and I told her, "It means he's full of himself!" And she says, "What does that mean?"


Does anyone else have this problem, I've seen other ppl , having this commnication problem with younger ppl

I don't wanna sound rude but the yonger generation is just not learning enough or something. I feel like I have to use VERY simple words when talking to them and I feel like I can't use any expressions, figures of speech, or idioms at ALL.

[*ROGER*]

I'm 42, so when I talk to younger people, I sometimes feel like we're from different planets. Lol.....they think I'm ancient. Once I was telling my 17 year old neighbor to "roll the dice" as in she should take a chance on getting a tutor. Well, she had NO IDEA that "roll the dice" means take a chance. She thought I meant to actually roll dice.

[Frump]

Originally Posted by *ROGER*

I'm 42, so when I talk to younger people, I sometimes feel like we're from different planets. Lol.....they think I'm ancient. Once I was telling my 17 year old neighbor to "roll the dice" as in she should take a chance on getting a tutor. Well, she had NO IDEA that "roll the dice" means take a chance. She thought I meant to actually roll dice.

Yes, it's things like that. It's sorta infuriating to me.

[retrofan05]

Originally Posted by Frump

I mean I'm not that old myself, only 30 BUT if I have a conversation with anyone like 20 or younger sometimes I feel like I'm talking a different language.

I don't mean to sound condescending, BUT I feel like I have to use VERY simple words or they won't understand me.

I worked at a theater for like 8 years and worked around several teenagers and it seems like they can't understand the simplest things.

It's things like:

Once I was having a conversartion with someone who was like 17, and for some reason in the conversation I said something like, "I TRY to always see the glass as half full." And she asks, "What does that mean?" And I explained, "It means I try to be optimist." And she replies, "What does optimist mean?" ANd I said, "It's the opposite of pessimist" and she says, "What does pessimist mean? And this point I'm getting frustrated!!!


And once there was no one behind the counter and a regular comstumer came in and said, "Anyone minding the store?" And one younger worker said, "What the hell does that mean?"

I remember once I said, "When in Rome..." And someone was like, "huh?"

And once someone I worked with, an older person, had fixed snacks for everyone and she said, "Soup's on!" And all the younger ppl were like, "Huh?"

And my 16 year old cousin who is like a sis to me, once I was talking to her about someone being arrogant, and "She asks me what arrogant means?" and I told her, "It means he's full of himself!" And she says, "What does that mean?"


Does anyone else have this problem, I've seen other ppl , having this commnication problem with younger ppl

I don't wanna sound rude but the yonger generation is just not learning enough or something. I feel like I have to use VERY simple words when talking to them and I feel like I can't use any expressions, figures of speech, or idioms at ALL.

Some of the examples you gave involve a poor vocabulary on their part (not knowing what an optimist or pessimist was). However, the majority of the examples involved older expressions that they have never heard ("minding the store," "soup's on," "when in Rome." The problem is the generation gap. I'm only 26, and one of my friends made some old reference that the students in her classroom didn't understand. She told them, "I must be dating myself." One students response was, "why are you dating yourself?" LOL

[Waterston_Fan]

Yeah I think there is a generation gap. And sometimes I think those older than me uses phrases that are not in use anymore.

I am one of those who don't get the glass half full quote. You have to think of the quotes too, Who says these quotes nowadays.

[Frump]

Looking at the "glass as being half full" Means you try to see things in the positive light instead of the negative.

I didn't think it was that obscure.


I'm kinda at that special "in the middle" age where I understand things from the older generation AND the younger generation.

I was watching the show Forever Young, where they quizzed the older ppl about things from the younger generation and they quizzed the younger ppl about things from the older generation, and they pretty well missed EVERY question, BUT I knew the answer to every question from both generations.

I know what "sexting" means and I know who Dean Martin is lol


It's funny they showed a pic of Lucille Ball and asked one of the teen girls to identify her, and she said JUDY GALRAND!! I mean REALLY someone who doesn't know how LUCY is!!!?


And I think it's sad ppl don't say these quotes as much now days, I honestly think technology is wiping out too much. Even if one has never heard the expressing "Seeing the glass as half full" commun sense should tell you what it means.


I think younger ppl are almost TOO "smart" for their own good, their brains work more like a computer, everything has to be layed out in computer format or they can't understand it. Computers lack commun sense and I think that's the problem.

[retrofan05]

P.S., I didn't mean to include an eye roll. Not sure what happened there. LOL

[MacLeaper]

It is a funny phenomenon. The best you can do is try to be patient with people and remember that not everyone is on the same level of education and not everyone chooses to use the same slang language and such. I am sure there are a number of phrases that elementary age kids and high school kids use that generations before them would have no clue what they mean, as it seems every generation develops its own slang- oftentimes derived from the popular media of their day- whether it's a TV show, movie, song, or Youtube video, etc.
Just walk into a Hot Topic store at the mall and try to identify the significance of all the T-shirts for sale- the pop culture phenomena they're referencing and why they are funny.
Dean Martin and Lucille Ball have been dead for a while now and younger people simply may not have ever heard of them or had any reason to know them. By the same token, we can't assume they haven't because some young people I have known have had a great interest in older TV shows and movies and such- so it just depends.
It does get infuriating at some times, but it's no crime to simply be unaware of certain phrases or pop culture references, etc. When it comes to vocabulary though, I do wish people were better read- but again, everyone is at a different level and we must love and respect them all (for me personally, because God does and has made us all in His image) and communicate in a way they can understand.

[yankeesrj12]

I'm 20 and to me, it sounds as if the person you were talking to was a complete idiot (sorry).

In my generation, my biggest pet peeve is when I'm having a conversation and the other person continually uses words such as "like" and "um". For example: "I umm like can't wait to umm go to the party."