I get it---I'm old. One poster recently referred to DU as an "old folks home", or words to that

[Atticus]

effect. The "old folks" contingent on DU is, of course, dwindling---dying off. We used to be the future but we are no longer.

Does that mean we're irrelevant?

Are all our opinions "quaint" and worthless in today's fast-paced society?

Does replacing hubris with humility mean we are suddenly weak-minded droolers?

Yeah, I know: "If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen", right?

Whatever, I guess. I'll just toddle away now to drink my prune juice, adjust my support stockings and change my Depends.

[awesomerwb1]

1. We need the young, the middle, and the old.

[Deuxcents]

2. When I was a kid growing up in Miami..

I used to complain about all the old folks coming here to retire.. I used to say Florida was one giant convalescent center. So.. now the shoe is on the other foot n it got that way too fast!

[wryter2000]

3. I think this format is liked by older people

It's not the content that draws older people but the format. We know from the last election that young folks are liberal.

The only thing that bugs me is calling Trumpanzees "boomers." Boomers did not raid the Capitol. Trump's rallies are not filled with boomers. MTG, McCarthy, Jordan, Hawley are not boomers. I am.

[Hekate]

6. This. All of it.

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

135. Yup. nt

[electric_blue68]

13. It's the content for me. I've been a poster on another very long running...

website. And been at others intermittently.

A bunch before I found DU. 👍

[wryter2000]

14. I wasn't clear

It’s the content for me, too. But younger folks would look for this content in a different format. At least, that’s my theory.

[GenXer47]

20. I like this format too, and the civility in here

This is a breath of fresh air from the intense "jackassery" of the greater internet.
It's nice to not feel rushed with your post. We take time, edit a little, sometimes abort the post entirely.

[electric_blue68]

23. Got it 👍

[DBoon]

19. My conjecture is that there has been a concerted effort to erase the activist history of boomers

This involves forgetting the very real large scale social movements made up of boomers - environmental, feminist and LGBT. While leaders may have been of an older generation, the foot soldiers who made these happen were boomers.

Since Reagan, politicians, pundits and the mass media have tried to erase this history, reducing it to cultural cliches and projecting Reagan era politics to an earlier age.

One's year of birth now determines how their values are viewed. No notion of class, race, or gender is considered.

Denying the very real activism of the boomer generation or calling it a "failure" is a way to denigrate activism of any generation.

[appalachiablue]

46. +As in OK Boomer; Die Boomer, Die & worse. Cons have hated the Counter Culture & Mvmts for decades

One the most bizarre and ridiculous comments I ever saw was, "Reagan was a Boomer."

[DBoon]

53. This is personal to me

I put many hours of my youth into environmental and community organizing.

ll be damned if someone tells me I'm someone who helped Reagan's "greed is good" campaign, or that the work is worthless because we did not stop global warming back then.

[housecat]

85. Of course it is personal You planted the seeds, and anyone with a heart is grateful.

[appalachiablue]

114. Good for you and well said. Many people I was around then were also aware

politically and socially. The 60s and 70s shaped my views to this day along with the experiences of family during the 1918 Flu pandemic and polio, the Depression, WWII and earlier times.

I'm also grateful to older students and activists who I learned much from, especially re Vietnam, Civil Rights, consumer advocacy, ecology, womens rights, gay rights and more.

It was the education and experience of a lifetime and the greatest impact on my life by far. The values I formed then have held, even through the upheavals brought by Reagan, Thatcher and others.

(Note: Hippie punchers better back off this Boomer, lol! Mistaking me for a Dixiecrat is also a blunder).

[housecat]

94. Reagan was a groomer

[appalachiablue]

97. Ha! Good one..for the Gipper

[housecat]

82. IMO their political affiliation determines this regardless of age. Without activism we can succumb

to fascism at any age. I remember the protests, the candlelight marches, being chased by police on horseback --the usual stuff. I remember it like it was yesterday, and I honor those "boomers" who protested and their friends who died in Nam.

[we can do it]

66. You're kidding. Content is the only reason to be here.

[plimsoll]

78. I believe they mean delivery method, not content.

More videos, TikTok kind of presentation.

Personally, that is the elevation of the soundbite to "news" status, but I'm neither a real boomer or GenXer.

[we can do it]

79. That's exactly what I thought they meant. Content, not how it gets to us.

[wryter2000]

105. Thank you

I made that clear in a subsequent post.

[deurbano]

96. McConnell isn't a boomer, either.

I was the hippie boomer in my racist, rightwing family, and it was my only sibling, who is 10 and a half years younger than I am (and in fact, a friend of McCarthy's from high school at Bakersfield HS), who became a Ditto-head, then MAGAt. She and my BIL recently moved from NC to their "forever" home in what she calls the "free" state of Florida, while pretending to have moved to Virginia (on FB, they call their much smaller and cheaper mountain home in VA their "domicile," in quotes, to show how clever they are), so they can cheat the state of VA by getting in-state tuition for my niece at VMI. (One thing so many MAGAts seem to have in common is being lying, shameless grifters.) My sister dropped all pretense of being a decent human being after Trump's election emboldened her, so we no longer speak.

[housecat]

118. McConnell is a doomer

[deurbano]

120. That does describe him pretty accurately.

[shanti]

107. The format here is perfect

It's worked for over 20 years, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Thanks to EarlG and the gang for keeping it this way!

I did try Mastodon, but it was over my head and I'm pretty internet savvy.

[EYESORE 9001]

4. Karma or the Golden Rule must apply here

The way we treat our seniors may well influence how we are treated when we get to that age.

[Walleye]

10. Exactly. The young people don't know what it's like to be 70. We know what it is like to be 30

[appalachiablue]

47. ++

[housecat]

88. So true

[Takket]

5. Everyone's vote counts the same.

[Captain Zero]

61. Yeah. And a higher percentage of us vote than them.

Until they change that about their generation...

[Act_of_Reparation]

101. Just don't look too closely at who "us" is voting for.

People in glass houses and whatnot.

[KPN]

158. And we were the at one time -- with similar

“grievances” and voting participation.

[A HERETIC I AM]

7. When I joined this board I was 44 years old.

I'll be 64 in May.

There have been numerous polls of this board over the years asking how old posters are, and it has consistently skewed toward my and your generations, i.e. older folks. It's just a fact. Damned few twentysomethings are regulars here, and fewer still are the number of people under 20.

The vast majority of regular posters on this board were alive when Kennedy was shot.

It is what it is. This board attracts and seems to retain a significant number of the baby boom generation.

[maxsolomon]

58. I was 37 (I'm pretty sure) - joining a month before 9/11.

Now I'm damn near 60.

And I'm a Boomer, albeit a late one who is culturally more GenX.

[plimsoll]

81. We're roughly the same age. But much more culturally GenX

I figure the cutoff comes with the re-introduction of selective service. Starting about 1980 they re-introduced selective service and started jacking up the cost of an education and cutting services (all services). The people born between 1961 and 1965 get called boomers, but in fact are the first group to have had to live with the cuts their entire adult lives.

[kskiska]

62. I was 57 during Bush vs Gore (when I joined DU)

I was 19 when Kennedy was shot.

This year I'll turn 79.

[JanMichael]

108. I was 33, now 54.

Pretty solidly Gen X. That said I generally relate more to people born in the 60s. Kind of wish they'd do age cohorts that way.

Not sure what the age groups were when DU first started. Probably skewed younger than now. Younger people probably don't go on to websites like this is much but in the early 2000s this is about all there was. Message boards I mean.

Now it's probably snappy chat and other things.

Okay Xer.....

[Hekate]

155. Your point about the age groups when DU started is something I think of as "robust middle age"...

When I got here in 2002 I found a cohort of people who were already activists from their youth. Most of us had a lot of experience already, when it came to resistance and working for real change. We were outraged by BushCheney and were only too glad to share with others (ie younger posters) how to create a movement for change. We’d already participated in all the major change movements of the second half of the 20th century

I also found people who could write intelligibly, and carry a thought from beginning to end. I found people who insisted on reliable sources. I found people whose opinions I could respect because those opinions were well grounded, and people I could battle with, too. I found a community that insisted there be no bigotry — including no misogyny, which is a toxic element in too much of the web.

“Robust middle age.” I miss it. Of course DU skewed younger 22 years ago. We were those people.

And we do need to attract a younger cohort as we go along — for who are we without metaphorical descendants, and for whom else have we done this lifetime of work? But we need to hold fast to the principles on which DU was founded (the TOS as set down by the three founders —our Constitution, if you will — and the way they/we have evolved the TOS for the betterment of the community — a living Constitution, if you will).

If attracting younger people means changing the format somewhat, go for it, EarlG. Your judgment has proven to be trustworthy.

[Tribetime]

133. Me too I started 2002 under different name at 42

Now 62....I guess the hands on the other foot now...As a line in Airplane would say

[GGoss]

8. When Some of My Younger Friends Tease Me About My Age...

I remind them, "Getting old is the point. Because the alternative really sucks."

[Jedi Guy]

36. That's exactly what I say when my wife bemoans the fact that we're getting old.

We're in our early 40s, which really isn't all that old to begin with, but she (mostly jokingly) kvetches about getting old. I reply, "Yeah, but it beats hell out of the alternative."

[housecat]

91. yes, death isn't all that it's cracked up to be

[Skittles]

123. I tell them oh hell, I'VE MADE IT THIS FAR

*YOU* HAVE NO GUARANTEE

[PatSeg]

9. Most of us weren't "old" when we first came here

I'm really not all that different than I was twenty-plus years ago, though I am far more informed and knowledgeable than I was back then.

The most unsettling part is watching many of us die off. I can think of a few who weren't even elderly when they died.

[ProfessorGAC]

109. I Was 45

Now, I'm 66.
Thirty-somethings weren't calling me old back then. And, my politics & world view are still close to what they were then.
So, I completely agree with your point.

[PatSeg]

111. The scary part is

it only feels like a few years, not a couple decades. Add to that there are millions of young adults who don't remember 9/11. A baby born in 2001 is old enough to drink!

Yes, my politics is pretty much the same, but as I said, I have learned so much more over the years.

[ProfessorGAC]

112. I Haven't Learned Much In 20 Years

How could I, I already knew almost everything!
My silly way of agreeing with you.

[PatSeg]

122. Ha, ha, ha!

[Walleye]

11. We've taken a lot of disappointments, individually and as a generation

We’ve lost a lot of loved ones, we do the best we can

[treestar]

12. I wish when I was younger I had internet-like

access to thoughts of older persons and how they might differ from those in my family.

There is that part of youth that won't consider older people to have anything of value to say, especially with computer culture. Yet there is an age you get to while still young where you realize there is a wisdom there.

[markbark]

15. Just remember

Mamet had it right: "Old age and treachery will always beat youthful exuberance"

[plimsoll]

76. Didn't he sort of turn into a dick, once he made his pile?

If Money == Power, then it does corrupt.

[Kid Berwyn]

16. Bet such don't really know all that much.

“Young men think old men are fools; but old men know young men are fools.”

— George Chapman

[LAS14]

17. Do we know the age distribution of DU members? nt

[niyad]

33. Do we care?

[LAS14]

67. No. Just curious. Some people in this thread seem to know. nt

[Ms. Toad]

77. Not formally - but there have been several informal polls.

Here's one from a couple of years ago: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213017831

[IbogaProject]

18. You all bring wisdom

Our seniors here bring wisdom and great stories. You all grew up writhing formal letters and typing papers when you were in school. So I feel your cohort often write long thoughtful posts and comments. I'm just behind you and did those things when I was young but I watched the shift through the 80s & 90s.

[Caliman73]

21. Older people add experience to the conversation. Nuance that younger people do not have.

I am middle aged, heading toward "older". I think that every perspective is valid.

There is always generational tension. The Baby Boomer cohort, which are getting to their 60's and 70's is one of the largest groups of people in an age range, and, they were the last generation to actually enjoy the benefits of what Democrats put into effect in the 1930's through 70's, before the Conservative upsurge that has largely gutted the New Deal and is working on dismantling the Great Society.

I think people get their feathers ruffled when that generation talks about how "young people" don't know how good they have it. Younger people have technological advances to make life somewhat easier, that were not around in the Boomer generation, but we have also lost the security of the "American Dream".

People at different stages of life have different priorities. I think it is disrespectful for people to refer to anyone in a derogatory manner respective of their age. I also think that it would be good for all of us to understand the unique challenges that are faced by the different generations understanding that each of us are facing challenges based on the decisions of the generations before us.

[ananda]

22. As an old boomer lady, I still feel young in so many ways.

I still know how to have fun, thank goodness.

[calimary]

30. So do I, dammit!

Old enough not to care what other people might think about my age. I figure all those years have given me a long-range wisdom and perspective and strategic thinking that the younger ones will need years of their own to match.

Fuck ‘em! Grandma’s here. Troublemakers damn well better get outta her way!

[ananda]

83. You go, Grandma!

!!!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

110. I just want to know 1 thing...

[Sogo]

24. We're all raising our canes and clacking our false teeth

in support of our fellow old-folk President!

Yes we can!!

[Cha]

26. lol

[True Blue American]

28. The one that accomplished more in 2 years than most

Do in 8. I am proud of this President.

[calimary]

31. So am I, dammit!

[Sogo]

44. Oh, so am I.

I was just taking aim at the ageist sentiments that the OP cites.

[Meowmee]

148. Lol

😹

[nitpicked]

150. You forgot the walkers

And the drive-up voting facilities.

((I did try to vote absentee, but my ballot never showed up...))

[Cha]

25. lol.. I wasn't "old" when I started on

DU!

And yeah, lots of retirees on DU Fighting to Save our Democracy.. SO WHAT?

I Thank them All!

[Prairie_Seagull]

27. We are all just 35 with varying degrees of practice.

AKA wisdom.

[barbtries]

29. yep. we're getting old.

okay i'm old. I'm not decrepit and I'm not dead yet. therefore I matter and so do you.

[brooklynite]

32. Is someone challenging your opinions based on age?

Maybe they're just bad opinions?

[Emile]

34. Screw that poster, I refuse to grow up!

[Poiuyt]

37. We have to grow old, but we don't have to grow up!

[BumRushDaShow]

55. ...

[Kaleva]

89. I've lost 3 inches in height since I joined

[Poiuyt]

35. Does anyone else remember the phrase "Never trust anyone over 30"?

I guess we can adjust that.

[housecat]

92. lol

[Renew Deal]

38. Aren't the old old folks being replaced with new old folks?

[edhopper]

39. You know the commercial where people become their parents?

Half the time I say, yeah that makes sense.

[patphil]

40. Old age happens. Stick around long enough and you'll get old to.

Actually, I consider myself a very experienced, very knowledgeable old folk.
I've see seen a lot of changes in this country; not all of them good. I've watched the civil rights movement grow and flourish; only to come under renewed attacks from the radical right that want to bring back the bad old days.
We're the ones that know what we can lose if we don't stand our ground. Pay attention, we can and do lead.

[Warpy]

41. We old fossils kept the faith and fought the good fight during some miserable decades

when the country lurched between GOP wingnuts and southern Democratic conservatives and a lot of damage was done to all of us. We took the worst economic changes on the chin, because they were mostly aimed at us, although the ones who came after us were also crushed under debt with purchasing power that went down every year because conservatives hate raising wages.

Yeah, we're fossils and we're still around, cluttering up the place. However, we remember how things were done before conservatives fucked everything up, how the country used to work when a day's work resulted in a day's wage that paid all the bills.

ETA: We old fossils are part of the reason Social Security and Medicaid still exist. People in their 20s hate them, people in their 30s tolerate them, and people in their 40s start to get the poing when they aint rich yet and know they probably won't be.

[SYFROYH]

42. Ok, Boomer.

[maxsolomon]

60. Zing!

You gotta own it.

[TygrBright]

43. To be fair, us geezers still appreciate the written word as a communications medium. So... DU. n/t

[progressoid]

45. Well, it kind of is.

Most of the posters here are "of a certain age".

So what. Embrace it.

[LAS14]

68. How do you know? Just curious. nt

[progressoid]

73. Here are a couple of polls done on DU from 2020 and 2021

I'm sure there are more but I don't have time to search for them.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213017831

https://upload.democraticunderground.com/100215319633

[LAS14]

106. Interesting. Explains why the community seems so intelligent!! :-) nt

[CaptainTruth]

48. I like my prune juice with a shot of whiskey.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

119. ugh,, do they still sell prune juice? nastiest stuff ever. Mom kept in the fridge

to offer up as medicine. ugh..

[colorado_ufo]

49. It took a long time to gain the knowledge and "smarts" that we now have, and, thanks to the Internet

we are a great deal more knowledgeable at this point in our (senior) lives than the average person in times past. People are living longer, and we need to revisit/revise our attitudes toward those over 60. Young people, if they are as smart as they think they are, should be elbowing each other out the way to pick our brains to gain an early advantage.

[True Blue American]

80. Funny thing

When I was small I loved to listen to my Grandparents and their friends and neighbors. I learned a great deal there and much more in the following years.

That is why I am a life long Democrat.

[Sympthsical]

50. This site overwhelmingly favors older demographics

Overwhelmingly.

So I’m not sure what this demographic fragility stems from. I see antagonism against Millenials or Zoomers on the daily and a hostile refusal to understand our perspectives.

Your cohort is still the big fish in the pond. Everyone’s ok. Be the duck. Flapping is unnecessary in response to the untoward raindrop.

[BlackSkimmer]

51. Lol, well said.

And appreciated by this boomer.

[progressoid]

75. +1

[Kaleva]

93. The site wasn't started by seniors

so it didn't favor older demographics. But as the average age of DUers increases, the site does naturally lean that way . I was in my late 40s when I joined. I'm 64 now.

[Celerity]

132. +1

[Butterflylady]

52. Haven't you heard this before......

I wish I knew then ( by that I mean when I was younger) what i know now that I'm older. Age brings wisdom.

Would I make the same mistakes? Probably, because back then I thought I knew it all. Boy was I wrong!!!

[sky_masterson]

54. I was 39 when I found this place. I'll be 57 in june

So we are sort of an aging community.

[Boomerproud]

56. I wish I knew who the poster is. Yes, I'm considered a senior.

It is a reality.

[iscooterliberally]

57. I like to think that one one alive is old.

It's just that some kids have been around a little longer than others. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[malthaussen]

59. Shall you wear your trouser-bottoms rolled?

Shall you dare to eat a peach?

-- Mal

[BlackSkimmer]

74. Well played!

[Grumpy Old Guy]

63. My DU name is "Grumpy Old Guy."

I think that speaks for itself.

[planetc]

64. I refuse to feel guilty just because I got up every morning.

Every old person got that way by getting up every morning. As a measure of anything useful, like talent, or accomplishment, or general educational level, or life experience, age is irrelevant. When people asked me how old I was I used to say: "Mentally I'm about seventy, chronologically, I'm (whatever I was), and emotionally I'm almost six." Now that I've passed my eightieth birthday, my emotional age remains the same. I have a clear memory of Robert Kennedy driving onto my college campus in NYS, in a convertible, to campaign for Senator of NY. I remember Kennedy was standing behind the front seat, and an aide sat next to him holding on to the back of Bobbie's belt, so he wouldn't flip or flop over the front seat. My first ever vote was for Bobbie for NYS Senator. A few years later, we all absorbed the news of his assassination, and Dr. King's, in the same disaster of a year. Joe Biden was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee when Clarence Thomas was nominated, and Joe could not protect Anita Hill. Joe has now nominated, successfully, Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. He lived, and he learned. I sometimes think it's because Mr. Biden knows this his last hurrah, or his next-to-last, that he can do the things he's done, like remove this country from the Afghanistan "war." He's a hell of a fine President, and it's because he not only lived through several administrations, he paid attention.

In fact, let's hear it for octogenarians who behave as though they're 32. Go, Joe!

[GGoss]

98. What You Said !!!

[old as dirt]

145. I refuse to feel guilty just because I don't get up on some days. (nt)

[Peacetrain]

65. Atticus its as simple as this..

It will catch up with them, just as it caught up with us. And in some forum, uh classroom, meeting.. "they" will face the same questions..

[housecat]

69. Atticus, I started law school at 61 to see if I could do it. Being retired didn't mean that I was

dead (I remember writing that on the admissions application). After the bar exam I soon learned that law wasn't for me. Nor was it for the kids who would endure three more years of education so they could buy a purple BMW, which only confirmed the saying that "youth is wasted on the young." My point is that listening to bullshit can be harmful. Believing or even considering that having lived and learned for many years can be laughed at is sad. Really? I just hope that the kids driving their purple BMWs snap out of it long before they are up in age, because they are the ones who will truly be old.

P.S. When I joined the DU group I soon found out that many up-in-years people were posting. And many of them had retired from careers in higher ed, military, tech, science, the arts, law, etc. I've never seen their faces or know anything about them other than they are intelligent, experienced, empathetic, generous, funny, and probably like cats.

[malthaussen]

90. Maybe understanding that fashion is transient...

... and pretty irrelevant, is one of those wisdoms sometimes acquired with age.

I was about to say "immaterial," but it is anything but that, as it is highly concerned with material things, yet material things that lack any substance.

-- Mal

[JudyM]

128. Started law school at 61, a rare feat!

There is much richness in years, a perspective younger folks will have to wait their time to see. That’s part of the value of DU, sharing among ourselves the bitter, the sweet, with humor and snippets of wisdom… “intelligent, experienced, empathetic, generous, funny, and probably like cats.”

[housecat]

153. thanks

[JuJuChen]

70. I'd be interested in a poll of age ranges within the community

[GarColga]

71. Sometimes I wonder

if DU's antiquated forum software might be a turn-off for younger members.

[malthaussen]

87. What's not to like?

It has no bells nor whistles, but it gets the job done.

The format may not be the preferred fashion of the rising generation, but it is of course silly to be didactic about fashion, or maybe that is something one learns with accumulated wisdom.

-- Mal

[DBoon]

124. If LP records could become hip again

So could sites like this

[lastlib]

72. I'm not old, I've just lived a long time.

Have accumulated a commensurately long-lifetime of knowledge and experience. Those younger can make of it what they will.

[Kaleva]

84. I was 48 when I came here. I'm now 64.

[Torchlight]

86. When I was young, no one was able to talk me out of being young.

I'm older now, and no one can talk me out of that, either. So it's pretty much just nothing but noise to me.

Granddad told me, "Kid, if it ain't gonna change the taste of mustard, keep on walking, it'll melt without your help." And that covers 99% of the conversations I hear (and read) daily, just banalities that will melt on their own, with or without me.

"It'll melt on its own" pretty much covers the entirety of the Too Old or Too Young dueling-monologues for me. I'd bet 20,000 years ago some dad said to his fellow gatherer, "These kids and their new fangled Isturitz flutes. Why can't they use mastodon bone flutes!? They were good enough for me!"

[BlackSkimmer]

95. Personally, I don't consider "old folks" to be an insult.

Interesting that you find it so, or think the words you use: “irrelevant, quaint, worthless, weak-minded droolers” define older people in any way shape or form.

My mother lived to 90, never lost a mental step. And I’ve never known any one older than me to drool.

Kinda sad that you associate those words with older people. Very sad, really.

[Atticus]

99. You're a piece of work, but most know that by now. "Please proceed". nt

[BlackSkimmer]

102. Bless your heart.

Why did you use those words, Atticus?

[Just_Vote_Dem]

113. Don't take the bait n/t

[BlackSkimmer]

136. Hmm, I didn't insult you in any way, but you return immediately with one toward me.

Interesting.

[AngryOldDem]

138. What is the usual connotation of that phrase?

Are you actually suggesting that older people are still genuinely respected — let alone valued — in this society?

Okay….

[Just_Vote_Dem]

139. Some years ago, I had a conversation with a coworker

I believe he was from El Salvador, or it may have been another Central American country-he was shocked at the way older people were treated here; he said that where he was from, it was considered an honor to treat older people with respect and care for them if necessary.

[ismnotwasm]

100. There are tons of young Democrats

Probably just don’t know about DU

[Iggo]

103. They think they built the kitchen.

Sooner or later, just like we did, they’ll figure it out.

[sky_masterson]

104. I look at as I'm Finally old enough to date Catherine Zeta Jones.

Last edited Mon Jan 23, 2023, 06:32 PM - Edit history (1)

[CousinIT]

115. Been here since 2001 (different user name prior)

I GOT OLD on here. Didn't start that way. But you know it WAS 22 damn years ago that I started on DU - right after Junior was appointed by the Usurping Crap Court - which was a precursor to 2021.

[Tom Rinaldo]

116. It's not so much that old folk are drawn to DU, it's that so many younger folk never leave

Fifteen or twenty years later, they're not so young anymore, but still active on DU That adds a lot of age "ballast" to the average user age Most sites, people come and go regularly, here a whole bunch just stay once they find it. The degree of long time user loyalty to DU is astonishing.

I do agree that other factors are at play also, like the format and style of interacting prevalent here, that may not naturally attract some people of younger generations. But, again, a big part of it is that, whether it takes 10, 20 years or longer, a lot of us refuse to leave DU before we exit from the big picture itself.

[GenThePerservering]

117. I know I'm new here

but this forum format could use an overhaul - it looks really outdated and the login is really not very functional.

Also, what on earth is 'computer generation'? Bill Gates is my age. That's pretty boomer.

[Silent3]

125. The DU format gets the job done. It's not very flashy, but is is very functional

I can think of a few features that would be great, like built-in image hosting, better handling of video, WYSIWYG text editing, etc.

As a matter of purely visual style, yes, DU could be spruced up a bit.

I personally do like, however, that DU is still a largely text-oriented site, and longer-than-tweet text at that. I'd hate to think that drawing in a younger crowd would require dumbiing down a lot of the content to TikTok-style video clips and tiny snippets of text.

I'd be curious what the demographics are for Quora. That's very text-oriented too, and it's not too much more stylish than DU. Or Reddit, which looks a bit more Facebook-ish in style. Facebook, I know, isn't that popular with younger people, but I'd guess that it skews a bit younger than DU.

And please, dear God, I'd hate to think that DU would be more appealing to a younger crowd if it was designed to create a crowd of "influencers".

[Celerity]

121. Don't see a lot of replacing hubris w/ humilty, especially when the subject is us younger folk

[Sympthsical]

140. Right?

It's like talking about how chaste one is from inside the bath house. I mean, possible, but the environment does not so far render it likely.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

141. On the contrary, I've seen plenty of posts here

where older people express their disappointment over how they are leaving this world for younger people and how they have should have done a better job with the environment and other issues, as I hope I have in some of my posts. I do think there has been some criticism over young people voting, and I hope they continue to vote, and in much higher numbers.

[Celerity]

144. Yes, but those (for which I am extremely grateful) are outnumbered by the negative

youth bash OPs and especially replies. I have tried for years to get people from my age cohort (18 to 32, I am now 26yo, was 21yo when I joined DU) and have almost universally had a 'thanks but no thanks 'response outcome, from all sorts of demographics: US born and raised, US expats, UK and EU born and raised, and UK and EU expats living in the US now.

I gave up a year or so ago. There are but so many times people will accept being called directly (or inferred to be) spoilt, selfish, lazy, entitled, and self-indulgent (along the petty insults like whingeing on about avocado toast, selfies, modern music, and Insta, etc etc) and continue to interact. The student loan threads have been amongst the worst for this, since I joined, plus the continued pushing of the trope that we do not turn out to vote, when we have done so for 3 straight elections in record numbers or at least in numbers significantly greater than similar cohorts did when they were our ages.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

157. Well I agree there is no reason for insulting you or anyone else

because of those differences. I actually agree with student loan forgiveness and am usually on the side of those like Bernie and AOC (love the Squad too!), but I have a conciliatory nature and love to compromise, as I figure maybe everybody gets something out of the deal. We can't compromise on things like global warming, but unfortunately we may be too late on that (but I hope not)

I enjoy your posts

[Celerity]

159. Thanks!

I enjoy your posts

I enjoy yours as well.

I am also in no way a Bernie Bro-ette, I was utterly appalled at the scurrilous, duplicitous ways (speaking of mostly non DU I want to emphasise) his rabid supporters (along with the the exteme unhinged parts of the K-Hive, who also of course virulently attacked Sanders, Biden, and Warren) attacked my candidate, Buttigieg, in 2020. They also attacked Warren Biden, and Harris, of course, but their utter obsession (and the K-Hivers' too) with Pete was extraordinary problematic, and was buttressed with utter falsehoods and dishonest (to put it mildly) framings.

Plus I, of course, have a long running (since I joined DU and before) issue with the few progs (unfortunately AOC included) who falsely self-label as democratic socialists and falsely call us Nordic nations (I live in Sweden now, am half Swedish) democratic socialist states, when they (the US progs) and us Nordic nations practise and espouse bog standard social democracy. Not a single federally elected member of the Democratic caucus (Bernie included, who has specifically said multiple times he is not in favour of it) is for state appropriation of the means of production, a key tenet of socialism. Also, NO Nordic nation is socialist (here in Sweden the socialists have never once been in power in the Government). In fact our capitalist sectors are in some measures more vibrant and robust than the US. We also do a much better job regulating and mitigating the more rapacious aspects of capitalism, something the US unfortunately tragically fails at far too often.

[Aussie105]

126. I like DU!

I'm allowed to use naughty words and bring up any topic!

Young people are doers, not thinkers. They think they have invented things like the Internet, complete with naughty lady type websites, mobile phones, and computers.

And of course, sex.

Us oldies discovered those long before you did, grew up with them as they appeared in the world, so up yours youngsters!

The whole sex thing of course, has been around forever.
As witnessed by Roman porn murals found in Pompeii. lol

A lot of youngsters feel resentment towards older generations . . . it is the 'why is my life so hard and complicated? Who is to blame?' style of thinking.

Youngsters, go do something useful. Make it a first of some sort.

DU is the home of an older demographic? Good, more intelligent discussion that way.
The first time I walked in not too long ago I thought, yep, nice place to be.

Me raises an imaginary prune juice drink to Atticus.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

127. Is the rah rah chorus an age thing?

Hope not.

[TigressDem]

129. Having brains and using them is apparently OG. (Origional Gangster)

And if the young will listen awhile, they will start calling you GOAT. (Greatest Of All Time)

IF they can actually take time to listen. It's a skill some have and some don't.

But hopefully, we can all work together and get the BLUE wall up and get our Country back from the brink, again.

If they tease a bit, don't worry.

Someday, when they too are old, they will look back on this place and realize how it helped lots of people not give up hope.

[Mr.Bill]

130. You are not only the age you are now,

you are also every age you've ever been. I'm 69 today, but I'm also 55, 42, 26, 15, 8, etc., because I have lived all of those ages. And that 16-year-old is still inside of me, along with the 35-year-old and all my other former aged selves. And every year that goes by just broadens the list and makes me that much more complete.

I can't wait until July 29th 2023. That's when I will add 70 to that list of ages.

[highplainsdem]

142. +1,000,000. Very well said, and perceptive. Worth posting as an OP.

[housecat]

154. yes!

[Brother Buzz]

131. My wife and I are still relegated to the childrens table during family gatherings so we can't be old

It's kinda cool, we used to sit with our niece and nephews, now we sit with their children while they sit at the 'Old Folks' table.

[betsuni]

134. I think it's only natural for older people with more free time to be here, can't

imagine being in my twenties or thirties when I actually had a life spending so much time online!

[Just_Vote_Dem]

143. A life? What's that????

LOL

[AngryOldDem]

137. I am sick of the ageism.

I deal with it every damn day (even posted about it in the Lounge about a month ago when it got to be too much at work).

Enough. As you said, we’ll all be gone soon enough. Patience, people.

[old as dirt]

146. Alan Parsons Project - "Old and Wise" - Lyrics on screen

[Atticus]

147. Thank you for that. nt

[old as dirt]

149. "Bibliotecas Vivas" ("Living Libraries")

(This is from my wife's culture. You can turn on audio-generated closed captions and set it to translate to English, if you want.)

Cantaoras Del Patía - Historia y Trayectoria (15 min)

Note the use of "Bibliotecas Vivas" here:

Sur Real - La pedagogía de la corridez (Capítulo completo) (26 min)

[Pachamama]

152. No more Prune Juice for you Atticus!

I recommend Wheatgrass instead and drinking Kombucha regularly.

Have sex and take lots of walks. Have regular massage if you can. Give one and receive one.

And remember - age is a state of mind. We are wiser now and have much knowledge and understanding. We just thought we used to know more - now we do.

We are still in our prime….it just sucks when our bodies don’t cooperate always as well.

[Ananda62]

156. A young person

In his 30s told me about this site in 2018, when I was 56. I turn 61 this week. I don’t post much, but come here daily to read the threads.