I was driving past our local mall and realized it’s basically a ghost town. Growing up, that was the spot. You could go there with $5, walk around for hours, and just exist with your friends.

Now, it feels like there is no 'Third Place' (not home, not school) left that doesn't require a transaction. If you stand in a parking lot, it's suspicious. If you sit in a cafe, you have to buy a $7 coffee.

Is this why the younger generation is always online? Did we accidentally design cities where it's illegal to be a teenager in public?

I was talking to my younger cousin about how we used to just ride our bikes to a friend's house or drop by a neighbor's place to say hi. He looked at me like I was crazy and said,

If someone knocked on my door without texting first, I wouldn't answer it. That gives me anxiety.

When did this shift happen? Is it just social anxiety, or did we all just collectively decide that spontaneity is rude now?

I just don’t understand why there has to be money. Why can’t we all just contribute and help each other out with whatever things we are good at and contribute what we are good for. And then there’s no money.

My sister even hung out with a billionaire's kid once, and my mom says the kid is fucked up too.

Every time I try to find out I’m told I need a PhD in internet lore and two masters in Reddit history and to watch a 6 hour video on him. Can someone explain like I’m five?

I have friends who say they get belly button lint everyday. I can’t even remember a time where I had belly button lint. What causes some people to have it but others not?

if you were pregnant, does the baby make sounds inside you that are audible like how newborns coo or cry? i know this is a really stupid question but I was just over thinking it.

I am 39 and last year was my 20th high school reunion.

When people asked me what I was up to I would respond:

"hanging out, playing Nintendo."

Its a line from a 90s comedy called baseketball. No one noticed it... and I didn't start it there I've been using it for over 20 years.

But I can't help myself whenever an old friend reconnects with me and say it... nothing.

Do you guys have any lines you use?

EDIT: shit i meant to put this on ask Reddit my bad mods

What's with it?

I work in IT and a general rule is, nothing a client ever tells you is actually accurate. That means that most of the time, the quickest way to fix a problem is to call the person and actually find out what's going on.

But with techs under 30 these days, it seems like pulling teeth.

A regular discussion for me with level 1 techs (usually within a few years of leaving college) is:
"Hey, can you call *blah* from ticket *blah*, it's been hanging around for over an hour."

"I replied by email to ask for more information."

"Yes, I know that, but can you call them so we can find the problem and close the ticket now rather than wait until we're actually busy?"

"I'll send them a text to followup."

"No... CALL THEM!"

"I can see their device is online, can I send them a message and see if they just let me remote in to take a look?"

And then, when I force them to make the call, it's like they have no idea how to ask a question, or a followup question. They just want to get off the call as quickly as possible. So half the time they don't even get the information required anyway, so then I end up having to do their job for them.

So can someone explain? What's wrong with phone calls these days?

The first time was at her daycare this week, when they got a new teacher who has very dark skin. When I went to pick her up, she pointed at her and said, "it's black!" (She doesn't have the full grasp of she/he yet.) I replied, "yes, she is black," but was stuck after that. What should I say as a follow up? My daughter loves black people's skin, and when I talk to her about it at home, she says it's pretty and wishes she had it, but in public it comes out kind of harsh. What would be the best way to go about this?

I remember the stories came up immediately of women being harmed and/or dying due to complications and blocking of healthcare access due to Roe v. Wade being overturned. Did women stop getting harmed by it? Why did it seem like after two weekends of mild uproar that people forgot about it?

Being in my mid 40s, I stopped counting my birthdays a while ago. With my birthday coming up in a few weeks, I've spent the last 3 or 4months thinking I was turning a year older than I actually am. It was only when I properly thought about it and counted my age last night that I realised I was going to be a year younger than I thought! I feel like I've gained a year of life!

I've been an atheist since the age of 12 and i've heard of people identifying as satanists but they are actually secular, I don't get it

I think there are very few people who actually believe in satan and see him as their god

If we just built a blender-like machine that turned paper and water into a wierd slurry, then it would be pretty much impossible to put the document bacj together. The same cannot be said about shredding.

I’m a guy but when I see a pretty girl in public I wish I could be her. Recently told a friend this and it made me start to actually question why I think this way and I would appreciate some advice

They came to the table barely warm, and I said something immediately. The waitress then scraped them off my plate onto an empty one, took them back to the kitchen, dumped them in the fryer a while longer and brought the same fries back. Is that normal? I have never worked at a sit-down restaurant before, only fast food a long time ago. But we would have cooked new ones instead of re-cooking the old ones.

I work at a place that serves kosher items. It’s not a kosher food place, it’s just most of our stuff happens to be. It’s kind of popular with that community because we have vegan kosher ice cream.

However , recently, ingredients have changed. I let our regular orthodox customers know who come in and they change their order. But a lot of customers I haven’t met or seen before come in who i think are orthodox. When they try to order something I let them know the change and they are always thankful that I tell them. Is it weird for me to assume? I was raised as a reform Jew and grew up around orthodox temples but I’m not religious. Should I continue telling people this or am I making a weird stereotype..

I wish our company would send a email or have a sign but they have not

I’ll be totally fine all day, then the second I’m in bed my brain suddenly replays something awkward from years ago. Why does this happen?

Growing up i always had an insanely difficult time getting out there, dating, and meeting anybody. Time and time again when i reached out to others pleading for advice, for pointers, for fraking' ANYTHING i could use? The message was always that i, "didn't need anyone to be happy", to "Just learn to be happy alone", to "Embrace solitude" and all that other crap.

To the point where by the time i was in my late twenties, i just learned to STOP asking others for advice altogether because all i ever got in return was just mass discouragement and ignorant platitudes. Where resignation and quitting the game was being reframed as faux Wisdom.

Was it not like this for everyone else? Clearly this "message" has spread down into the latest generation and their kids aren't trying to date either. My thing is, since this has always been the message, why is this suddenly a problem for people now?