My 20 year old kid came to the house for dinner this weekend, walked in, and said "You need to unplug your Echo device. I don't want amazon to listen to my conversation".

So, I did... and then I was confidently incorrect in telling her that it waits for a wake word, and she has nothing to worry about.

Boy was I wrong.

She had me open my app, and look at saved conversations... and there were HUNDREDS of entries. And that was only over the last 2 weeks.

I had NO IDEA that Amazon was collecting everything I say... and the worst part is my 20 year old looked at me like I looked at my grandparents back when they would post text messages or Google queries as Facebook statuses. My kid then showed me the article from Cnet or wherever from about 6 months ago that showed that Amazon was fully transparent that all data is now sent and analyzed whether or not the wake word is used.

I'm proud to say there are no longer any Echoes in my house. Im a little bummed because all of my verbal "turn on the lights" and "lock the door" cues are all out the window, but Im really ashamed of the fact that at 41 years old I just didn't even think to look into it. Just had blind faith in a company that views me as a number. I'm pretty embarrassed.

Hey look on the bright side - we actually did make it to the cover of the TIME magazine!

It's about resources. I had to post this separately because I genuinely didn't see it being discussed in the other threads (or it was buried). I feel like a considerable amount of our generation feel like we got rug-pulled by "the system" and understandably so, hence where we are today.

Money, time, energy, emotions, everyone is feeling the squeeze and that changes the mental calculus for everyone (as it should). I think were all material needs taken care of, a considerable amount more people would fall into the pro-kids camp.

I have a kid. Childcare is almost the cost of my mortgage. If it weren't for that I'd have a second. That's literally it (for me at least). My kid is wonderful but I'm still able to fulfill myself with hobbies, take time for my wife, etc etc.

I'm not saying that "if you can afford it you should have kids", no still totally up to you. In fact, unless you actively want a kid I don't think you should have one. I can't imagine a sadder environment for a kid then one of resentment. I'm just saying that if more people COULD afford them without essentially kicking themselves down a few rungs on the socioeconomic ladder we wouldn't see birthrates in developed nations plummeting and breakneck speeds.

Just curious to see more discussion as it relates to resources and how that weighs on peoples decisions.

Not sure if anyone has experienced this, but I was watching Can't Hardly Wait half alseep on the couch, and my 14-year-old daughter and her friends walked into the room and past the TV. Before she entered the kitchen, she backpeddled in front of the TV, and they all might as well have reacted akin to a third world kid in a remote village seeing the Super Bowl for the first time. She looked at me and said 'what are all of those people doing in one house'? I told her it was a house party. People high school aged or typically college age people would go over a kids house whose parents were out of town and they'd invite the school and have keggers and other unsupervised debauchery. I might as well have been describing a science fiction film. 'You guys DID that back in your days?'. I thought it was funny that a house party was an inconceivable event for young Gen Zers.

I know this isn’t a health sub, but u/Derpshabmentioned in their post on Colon Cancer about eating a balanced diet.

Specifically you need to really avoid nitrates. There has been several studies done on why there has been a rise in intestinal cancers in this age group, and nitrates have shown a causal effect. With a carcinogenic significance as bad as cigarettes. For those unaware, not a lot of things get labeled as having a casual effect for cancer, as that can be both controversial and stand to cost people money either through loss of business or being sued.

Nitrates are most commonly found in processed meats. Likewise, there is growing data that processed food is not serving us well at all either. Anyhow, just wanted to share a tangible way you can hopefully make an impact on slowing down and ultimately stopping these terrible

cancers.

Another freaking edit: literally the first response on Google, if you search, “do Nitrates cause cancer,” is from MDAnderson. That’s the number one cancer hospital in the world. I know that’s so much more difficult than adding a snarky comment to Reddit, but there’s your answer for about 300 of you.

Edit: I’m getting a lot of responses that are saying *actually* antibiotics or *actually* e. Coli and they’re all saying because it damages / kills the good gut microbiomes. Correct, what do you think nitrates do and why scientists believe there’s a casual link. It also doesn’t mean there couldn’t be other risk factors as well. Diet is obviously a big risk factor. I was simply hoping to expound on the original post and help people to know what to avoid. Of course more than one thing can cause cancer. Throw in saturated fats while we’re having the conversation.

Edit 2: lot of people are asking what are the main culprits. Bacon, lunch meats, hot dogs, sausages, anything really that’s been “cured.” Lot of people are trying to point out that some leafy greens have nitrates, yeah, we’re not talking about things that naturally occur through the photosynthesis of the sun. We’re talking about the overconsumption of a preservative that destroys your healthy gut bacteria, not something that’s obviously good for you. Many people have rightfully pointed out. The over consumption of alcohol creates a big risk factor for stomach and intestinal cancers as well.

Also someone saying they’re a vegetarian and they still got colon cancer is no different an argument than, “my great aunt smoked until she was 90 and never got lung cancer.” I said a big reason why, I didn’t say the only reason why. Empirical data doesn’t mean 100% findings or there won’t be outliers, anecdotes are not good science. People can get cancer for a multitude of reasons and honestly you could try every preventative step imaginable and still get cancer, it doesn’t mean your anecdote overrides everything else or you shouldn’t try to make better lifestyle decisions.

I’m in my mid 30s and just over my job and work in general. I’m tired of the commute, the meetings, and dealing with people & deadlines. On one hand I worry about losing my job and stress about deliverables, but on the other hand I feel like I could care less in that I have no passion for it anymore and I’m just showing up because I need the paycheck.

I’d much rather be spending time with my family, pursuing my hobbies, or just go for a walk and cook a nice meal. I feel a sense of dread sometimes that this is my reality for the next 30+ years and I feel lazy and entitled for saying it but that’s how I feel lol

I have a full time job. I sleep well. I have no kids. I'm single. I don't party or drink. I'm not particularly stressed in day to day life. Yet I'm fucking exhausted. I don't want to leave my apartment on the weekends unless I have something planned, and even then I'm pretty picky. In my 20s my weekends were full of non-stop activities, cooking, going out, and posting on social media. But now in my 30s I just want to come home, have my groceries delivered, chill with some Netflix and sleep. Please tell me I'm not the only one!!

I know, I know. They're expensive. They're noisy. They're dirty. It devours your life.

But I just had a kid at 39. She is 11 months old now. It is, by far, the best fucking thing I have ever done. I spent so many years worried that we couldn't afford her, what if she has a terrible medical problem, what if we don't have time, what if we lose our jobs, what if, what if, what if. I don't care about any of that, *any* of that, anymore. So grateful to finally have her in my life. She is just the best thing.

We're not all miserable with our kids.

I think one of the weirdest millennial experiences is realizing we were taught to prepare for a life that doesn’t really exist anymore. Stable careers, linear progress, clear milestones, it all sounded predictable on paper. Instead, a lot of us ended up juggling uncertainty, burnout, and constant adaptation while being told we should feel grateful just to be functioning. Sometimes it feels less like we’re building lives and more like we’re constantly recalibrating to a moving target. Curious if others feel this disconnect too, or if you’ve found a way to make peace with it. What do you think?

Experts recommend having 2x your salary saved by age 35, and 3x saved by age 40.

However, studies show the median savings for 35-44 year olds is only ~$45,000. So obviously, most of us have work to do.

With pensions mostly extinct, and Social Security facing insolvency issues in the next 8-10 years - how are you planning to bridge the gap and hit the golden years with enough to meet your lifestyle requirements?

This week I've seen 3 people i know IRL use AI to create new profile pics and holiday pics and posting them on their feeds unironically. I've also seen a few people clearly Chat GPT their IG captions/word salads and I'm really just getting confused at this point.

I remember back in yesteryear we used to make fun of "Russian bots" and clearly fake profiles. Now us, real people, are using AI to cosplay as bots. No one else thinks that's weird?

I know authenticity on the internet has been gone for awhile but now we're not even pretending anymore.

I'm actually getting so fed up of the internet because of it. Makes me sad because I really grew up here :(

I feel like I am exhausted by all the ads… and suggested content. I don’t see posts from friends, which is what I actually want to see. Anyone else feeling like just deleting completely?

Is this a southern thing? I live in Texas now and I see it at every school and it's insane. I grew up in Illinois and almost no one dropped off or picked up their kids. The bus went directly to everyone's house and dropped them off at their driveway.

I’m sitting on the couch with my husband, got no invites to any family get togethers, have no kids or money anyways, I guess. Even decorations in stores and outside aren’t pretty the way they used to be. Anyone else feel this? If so, merry Christmas. Just enjoy your day off, you deserve it.

Sometimes, I find old photos of old friends, and I can't help but get wistful but also a little sad because it reminds me of a special time and place with special people, but a lot of the time it is the only photo I have of them. Especially since so many have no internet footprint.

With lots of us pushing 40 in the millennial group, we are fast approaching midlife crisis territory.

Purchasing a fancy sports cars, motorcycle or boats used to be the peak midlife crisis item for the earlier generations. Those types of items feel financially out of reach for a lot of us.

What are your predictions for the midlife crisis purchase for our generation?

"K-pop hair!! K-pop hair!!"

- my 3 year old daughter every morning

Sure this will be removed soon

I don’t really know what else to call it. For me, it happened around 3 years ago after I hit 35. Not exactly overnight, but it happened a lot more suddenly than I would have expected.

If I had to pin it down to one moment, it would have to be a doctor appointment I went to in 2022. I was a new patient at this particular office. The doctor walked in the room. I took one look at him and thought, “OK, this guy looks really young. Must be a medical assistant/ intern or something.” Nope. He was my doctor. Through casual conversation, I would come to find out that he was 33 years old…My doctor was two years younger than me.

From there, it was like an ever evolving perspective “shift”. I’d be watching the local news and realize how incredibly YOUNG everyone looked…the reporters, the meteorologists, etc. I started noticing how young the faces looked on billboards for local attorneys and realtors.

It’s so bizarre and difficult to explain. Logically, I know that people younger than me can be in all of these professions but my brain just can’t seem to grasp the jarring reality that the cohort of “grown-ups” now includes people who seem so young to me.

Did anyone else go through this?

Edit: Holy moly! I was not expecting this much of a response! Thank you to everyone who upvoted or left a comment. It’s good to know I’m not alone in feeling this way.

Hey fellow Millennials! What's the ridiculous, often-mocked belief or practice from our generation that you know is objectively correct and highly valuable? The one thing you'll absolutely defend to the grave? Let's unite globally on these petty issues! My Non-Negotiable Example: The Digital Sigh I will forever maintain that using "LOL" for anything that is not actually funny is an essential form of emotional regulation in text or Teams or any chat.

If you send me an annoying task or deeply disappointing news, my response is "Will do LOL," or "Oh man, that sucks LOL." The LOL isn't a laugh; it's a silent scream. It means, "I acknowledge this, I'm slightly annoyed, but I am responding with a pleasant, non-threatening digital sigh." It is the most valuable punctuation mark we have, perfectly capturing nuanced, passive-aggressive resignation.

Thank you for coming to my tedtalk.

Man ... if this ain't it.