Are older people more sociable?

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  • Frankie_LittleFrankie_Little Posts: 9,271
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    I bet they did not moan and whinge as much as you
    I bet they could spell leper right, too. :kitty:^_^
  • Flat MattFlat Matt Posts: 7,023
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    Blondie X wrote: »
    Where did anyone mention, insinuate or suggest anything of the sort? :confused:

    Fine, you have no problem with having conversations with strangers and that's completely your prerogative. But the OP seems to be saying that anyone who doesn't want to do this or feel comfortable doing this is rude, unsociable and destined to die alone in a bedsit and I disagree with him

    If you don't respond to another person who speaks to you simply because you don't know them, I'd say that you are very rude.
  • PrincessTTPrincessTT Posts: 4,300
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    I find that younger people are generally more sociable... However that may just be because I'm quite young myself and so younger people are more comfortable talking to me / fawning over my kids.

    I don't think there's any sort of hard and fast rule though, in all age groups there are some very sociable people and some less sociable people.
  • Blondie XBlondie X Posts: 28,662
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    Flat Matt wrote: »
    If you don't respond to another person who speaks to you simply because you don't know them, I'd say that you are very rude.

    So I'm on a train reading the paper and the person next to me tries to start a conversation. I am polite and give one word responses making it clear I don't want a conversation and return back to my paper but they keep pressing for a chat. Personally, I would say they are the rude one in that situation not me.
    In any situation, if you are keeping yourself to yourself and not showing any signs up wanting to talk, I really don't see how that is rude or unsociable. Some people are private and don't want to pass the time with all and sundry
  • spotty_catspotty_cat Posts: 557
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    The Wizard wrote: »
    Whenever we go out to a pub and some random stranger starts chatting to us and being nice it's always an older person. Young people never seem to do this and keep themselves to themselves. Older peoples pubs are the best as people actually bother to chat to you.

    Older people make more effort to chat to fellow neighbours whereas young people never bother with their neighbours.

    While walking my son to school in the morning it's always old people who bother to smile and bid me a good morning or stop and make a fuss of my little boy. Young people just walk past with their head down looking like the world owes them a living.

    Old people don't mind sitting next to you on the bus and make the effort to chat to you whereas young people would rather sit on their own playing with their phone or sit with their headphones in listening to music rather than be seen dead making conversation.

    Whenever I go to the supermarket I always pick the till with the older person serving on it as they tend to make light chit-chat and ask how your day is going whereas young people just ask you the obligatory "want a hand with your packing" and never bother to talk to you as they sit there with a face that says they don't really want to be there.

    Absolutely agree...I want to slap those surly youngsters on the checkouts these days. When I worked in shops (in the eighties) we treated our customers with respect and talked to them too.
  • annette kurtenannette kurten Posts: 39,543
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    the older i get the less i like people.
  • The WizardThe Wizard Posts: 11,071
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    Blondie X wrote: »
    So I'm on a train reading the paper and the person next to me tries to start a conversation. I am polite and give one word responses making it clear I don't want a conversation and return back to my paper but they keep pressing for a chat. Personally, I would say they are the rude one in that situation not me.
    In any situation, if you are keeping yourself to yourself and not showing any signs up wanting to talk, I really don't see how that is rude or unsociable. Some people are private and don't want to pass the time with all and sundry

    That's a fair point and I agree that if someone is engaged in something then it's rude to keep pestering them however how come most young people can't even manage a simple hello and good morning?

    Round where I live there's a field where loads of people take their dogs for a walk. I have to go past it every morning to take my son to school. It's only ever the older ones that pass me and say good morning. Young people NEVER greet you as they pass you. I'm not talking about engaging in a full blown conversation here. Young people can't even seem to manage a simple hello let alone anything else. If I walk past a young person, smile and say, 'Hello, Lovely morning isn't it?' they look at you like you're weird and usually just ignore you and walk past. At the very most you might get a grunt out of them.

    Young people are mostly antisocial and rude and unless they're talking to their mates or family they won't engage in conversation with anyone. They prefer to remain in their own little bubble with their headphones in their ears or glued to their mobile.

    Whenever we go out for New Years Eve you can guarantee that while all the older people are up wishing one another a Happy New Year, the younger ones are all sat up a corner, head down, texting their mates. One girl was sat there all night texting her friends asking them what they were up to. How sad. God forbid she'd actually have to socialise with anyone. Some young people don't know how to socialise unless it involves a computer or a mobile phone.
  • spotty_catspotty_cat Posts: 557
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    The Wizard wrote: »
    That's a fair point and I agree that if someone is engaged in something then it's rude to keep pestering them however how come most young people can't even manage a simple hello and good morning?

    Round where I live there's a field where loads of people take their dogs for a walk. I have to go past it every morning to take my son to school. It's only ever the older ones that pass me and say good morning. Young people NEVER greet you as they pass you. I'm not talking about engaging in a full blown conversation here. Young people can't even seem to manage a simple hello let alone anything else. If I walk past a young person, smile and say, 'Hello, Lovely morning isn't it?' they look at you like you're weird and usually just ignore you and walk past. At the very most you might get a grunt out of them.

    Young people are mostly antisocial and rude and unless they're talking to their mates or family they won't engage in conversation with anyone. They prefer to remain in their own little bubble with their headphones in their ears or glued to their mobile.

    Whenever we go out for New Years Eve you can guarantee that while all the older people are up wishing one another a Happy New Year, the younger ones are all sat up a corner, head down, texting their mates. One girl was sat there all night texting her friends asking them what they were up to. How sad. God forbid she'd actually have to socialise with anyone. Some young people don't know how to socialise unless it involves a computer or a mobile phone.

    Oh God yeah. Youngsters and their damn mobiles. I have a mobile/laptop but at least I know how to have a conversation with someone, they don't and it's sad.
  • malpascmalpasc Posts: 9,626
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    Why would I strike up conversation with someone I don't know and am either never going to see again?
  • Jambo_cJambo_c Posts: 4,672
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    I think you're generalising a lot. I find quite a variety of people will talk to you. If a random person says hello to me in a pub I'll say hello back to be polite but usually if I'm in a pub I'm there with a group of mates and am socialising with them so don't really have any need to talk to random strangers. I'd have no problem having a conversation if needed though and when on holiday we'll generally chat to locals in bars, but that's as much about getting a feel for the local area and finding things out.

    I'm not keen on people talking to me in the supermarket and that kind of thing though as at the supermarket I just want to get everything done as quickly as possible. For this reason I use the scan as you shop so we don't need any human interaction.
  • hyperstarspongehyperstarsponge Posts: 16,564
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    spotty_cat wrote: »
    Oh God yeah. Youngsters and their damn mobiles. I have a mobile/laptop but at least I know how to have a conversation with someone, they don't and it's sad.

    They are on Twitter, Instagram, Kix, Snapchat and Facetime. I won't use Facebook as that is for older people. Wi-fi connections on buses doesn't help as I can just browse the internet and not talk to anyone.
  • thefairydandythefairydandy Posts: 3,235
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    Blondie X wrote: »
    When I'm on a train with my book, I want to sit and read my book indulge in chit chat with the person next to me. Ditto on a plane etc. When I'm out with friends and/or family, I want to spend time with them and not be manking small talk with all and sundry.

    I'm not rude at all. I have very good manners, always say please and thank you but that's as far as me striking up conversation with a stranger will go. I have an excellent social circle as well and could never be called unsociable and I really can't see how not wanting to talk to every person who crosses your path can ever be considered rude and/or unsociable. Some people like to chat, others don't - end of story.

    I'm not young either and I've certainly had no trouble making friends all of my life so the generalisations are way off. I certainly wouldn't be rude if someone does try and strike up a conversation but I'd make it clear that I wasn't interested in chatting

    I wholeheartedly agree.

    I find it very rude in fact when people ignore the 'leave me/us alone' signals and persist even though I'm clearly not interested. I was working on a train trip home once, and an old lady talked to me for the whole two hours she was on the train with me, even though I gave several polite indications that I needed to do my work. Once I even suceeded in diverting her, only for her to tap my arm five minutes later, point something out and start yakking again.

    Likewise I got fed up of 'working lunches' with my boss and told him I was going to go and get lunch by myself the other day. He kept offering me other options for joining him for lunch, even though I was giving him the brush of as politely as I could.

    Old people have no excuse, they've had a lifetime to learn the signals for someone who's up for a chat and who wants to be left alone :p
  • Entropy_NebulaEntropy_Nebula Posts: 538
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    OP your life sounds pretty sh**t....all these terrible things you have to put up with:

    Strangers won't talk to you
    Pubs aint what they used to be
    People buying watches
    Paying for the Cinema
    The existence of fruit machines
    The naunces of using baby speak to your children
    The audacity of the BBC to show educational programmes
    The resistance of Cheshire cheese to undergo phase transtion
    Your crossdressing
    Americanisations
    Asians owning shops
    People look down on your for being a house husband
    Samsung TV (I bet it's a nice big plasma ;-) ) not working properly
    Women taking ages to get ready
    People taking offence at everything
    Big Brother
    The cost of gig tickets
    Weddings
    Someone bumming a cigarette
    Students with identical voices
    The death of the novelty song
    Media bias
    You 'literally' cannot stand people using 'literally' for everything
    Others letting kids play computer games
    Helen Flanagan
    Broken outdoor fairy lights

    I don't know how you manage to stand up out of bed each day, the weight of the world must be killing you. I think i'd just pack it all in and give up, probably drive myself to Beachy head and have done with it,....you sir, deserve a medal.
  • The WizardThe Wizard Posts: 11,071
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    OP your life sounds pretty sh**t....all these terrible things you have to put up with:

    Strangers won't talk to you
    Pubs aint what they used to be
    People buying watches
    Paying for the Cinema
    The existence of fruit machines
    The naunces of using baby speak to your children
    The audacity of the BBC to show educational programmes
    The resistance of Cheshire cheese to undergo phase transtion
    Your crossdressing
    Americanisations
    Asians owning shops
    People look down on your for being a house husband
    Samsung TV (I bet it's a nice big plasma ;-) ) not working properly
    Women taking ages to get ready
    People taking offence at everything
    Big Brother
    The cost of gig tickets
    Weddings
    Someone bumming a cigarette
    Students with identical voices
    The death of the novelty song
    Media bias
    You 'literally' cannot stand people using 'literally' for everything
    Others letting kids play computer games
    Helen Flanagan
    Broken outdoor fairy lights

    I don't know how you manage to stand up out of bed each day, the weight of the world must be killing you. I think i'd just pack it all in and give up, probably drive myself to Beachy head and have done with it,....you sir, deserve a medal.

    oh dear. Somebody's got a bit too time on their hands it would seem. You must be exhausted from all that digging.
  • Entropy_NebulaEntropy_Nebula Posts: 538
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    The Wizard wrote: »
    oh dear. Somebody's got a bit too time on their hands it would seem. You must be exhausted from all that digging.

    Yes those first 3 pages on your previous thread titles were exhausting...the hardest 5 mins of my life. Not that 5 mins living in my shoes would be as hard as the life you lead may I add, I know I have it easy in comparison.
  • Uncle FesterUncle Fester Posts: 15,357
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    I am old and I will speak to any one :cool:
  • The WizardThe Wizard Posts: 11,071
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    Yes those first 3 pages on your previous thread titles were exhausting...the hardest 5 mins of my life. Not that 5 mins living in my shoes would be as hard as the life you lead may I add, I know I have it easy in comparison.

    You only bothered to read the thread titles so actually you have no idea what I've said at all yet you feel you know me well enough to judge what kind of life I've got compared to you by reading a few thread titles. Right, ok (rolleyes)

    Shame is was all for nothing because I'm not really bothered.
  • MustabusterMustabuster Posts: 5,973
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    I am old and I will speak to any one :cool:

    You can speak to my dad if you like. Within the first 5 minutes your eyes will be rolling up into your head I guarantee it.
  • Entropy_NebulaEntropy_Nebula Posts: 538
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    The Wizard wrote: »
    You only bothered to read the thread titles so actually you have no idea what I've said at all yet you feel you know me well enough to judge what kind of life I've got compared to you by reading a few thread titles. Right, ok (rolleyes)

    On the contrary Mr W, I've been around these forums many years and know exactly what you're like. You seem bright enough not to get fooled by a join date ;-)

    Just because I said I only listed off your titles today doesn't mean I don't know what the content is within them. You assumed wrong my miserable moaning friend.
  • The WizardThe Wizard Posts: 11,071
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    On the contrary Mr W, I've been around these forums many years and know exactly what you're like. You seem bright enough not to get fooled by a join date ;-)

    Just because I said I only listed off your titles today doesn't mean I don't know what the content is within them. You assumed wrong my miserable moaning friend.

    Like I say. Not at all bothered. Best thing to do if you don't like what I discuss is stay off my threads but instead you came on to have a whinge and a moan about how I whinge and moan. Oh the irony!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 7,182
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    One thing that I've noticed is, if you converse with a 20 something then you are the one who asks questions about them, and they rarely ask any questions about you in return. Maybe they just aren't that interested. I do find people who are 30+ have more skills in the art of conversation. It isn't a one way conversation, unlike that of an early 20 something. Then it tends to be "me, me, me".
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