Are pensioners perceived differently now?

An interesting discussion. The thing I find really odd is that the young of today don't seem to grasp that they will be the elderly of the future - and a lot sooner than they think. On the other hand, I don't wonder why they seem to have no concept that the old were once young - because I have been young.

librarylady I personally am very aware that being young today is NOTHING like being young in my day. I havent experienced the world my children are facing as a young person. I really worry for them and feel sad that they can't have the outlook that my generation were able to have.

Its a terrible time to be young. IMO.

Don’t agree. Humour not so long ago in tv comedies was horribly ageist. Mother in law jokes etc. Even likes of Joan Rivers saying how she hated old people.
Pensioners or near that age are now fitter, smarter, doing all sorts. Younger people I speak to have great respect for me and my equivalents. And are happy to spend time with us.

I think that nowadays people realise that the term "pensioners" is quite broad, and there are pensioners from several different generations. A 99yr old pensioner isnt from the same generation as a 67yr old one. There are pensioners whose parents are still alive.

Perhaps it’s true that our generation shouldn’t criticise the younger generation for the way they spend their money Paddyann, but perhaps it’s also true that the younger generation shouldn’t criticise the way our generation spends its money, votes, takes holidays, or owns property. Quite right, it’s nothing to do with us how they spend their money, and it’s nothing to do with them how we spend our money. So perhaps the Twitter users, The Guardian readers and so on can leave our generation alone, and get on with their own business.

Well anyone (of any generation) who is spending their money on cruises is making it everyones business by ruining the planet

Just like anyone (of any generation) who hoards badly kept investment properties or vacant holiday homes are making how they spend their money everyones business.

We dont exist in a bubble. How we live affects others.

Everyone "minding their own business" is not a good way forward... especially for the younger generation who have to try to forge lives in this society/planet.

But perhaps it explains the huge divide that people are complaining about notanan2, and perhaps if, as we are supposed to be older and wiser, we bothered to look at the realities for many young people we would recognise the problems they encounter, rather than condemning them as many have on here.
There is much on her about how in the past older people were poorer. My gran always said that she was better off as a pensioner than she ever had been. But then she scraped by working all her life and nursing a sick husband. So I suspect some of it was to do with expectations. Oh and she lived to be 90 so took full advantage of her pension.

the younger generation who have to try to forge lives in this society/planet

Ye Gods!

That's a bit much notanan! Anyone would think the younger generation were a species of weaklings facing insurmountable adversity. Get real!

However, your 'the world - and uk- is in a horrible condition' pessimism that the left uses to shame those who 'have' and get by. Our generation had to struggle, budget, go without, care for elderly parents, raise families and faced periods of economic uncertainty.

When I grew up we lived on bread and dripping and wore clothes others had worn before us, in a world without TV. Oh for food banks then! We knew poverty and hardship too. Today's young may struggle too, but they have many advantages my generation did not.

I refused to be shamed about growing old and owning a house. I worked damned hard for everything in days when youth weren't even recognised or talked about. Now, the topics of youth, growing and ageing are aired most weeks in newspapers, TV and on social media so awareness is high.

I dare say when my own AC are in their 60s, they'll know a world where care of the elderly is so much better. Do not forget Gransnet has so many threads devoted to hardship, illness, the worries of shouldering childcare for their AC, fallouts, and the stress and exhaustion of keeping everyone happy.

I am happy and I get by. Many of the younger generation can say the same.

For every young person struggling in life there is an old person facing difficulties too. We are all products of our times. This generational 'war' issue should be put to bed.

Most of our generation would say life hasn't been easy. Life often isn't easy. Many people struggle. Life is often hard and every generation knows it. Full stop.

That's a bit much notanan! Anyone would think the younger generation were a species of weaklings facing insurmountable adversity. Get real!

The HALF of the paragraph you quoted was in the context of everyone "minding their own business" as if how we live doesn't affect each other.

Your reply wasn't in keeping with the context of the quote. Do you think that nobody should care about how anyone else lives? And everyone should live in selfish little self serving bubbles and sod the effect your choices have on anyone else?

Another one of your incredibly harsh and insensitive remarks.

I think perhaps there is a wider spectrum of lifestyles now. When I was young I do not know of anyone who had a second car. People buying houses sometimes bought a large enough house to have a spare room but that was unusual. In my experience children were two to a room. Now it seems there is a panic when another baby comes along to move to a bigger property, whether buying or renting. I know this varies according to area and house price, just generalising. Although my mum was a SAHM, we took in lodgers who got breakfast, packed lunch and evening meal - hardly “Not working”. We all slept in one room to make room for the lodgers, in order for the mortgage to be paid. There is a different level of what is considered “essential” now. That is life, things change. I am not a grandparent, but as I am in my 60s I am perceived to be available time wise by relatives and friends with young children although I still work part time from home. I cannot remember ever making such assumptions as a parent so in that way I think that our generation is asked for more than previous ones. Washerwoman please stay. You expressed yourself clearly and fairly.

And I still think people should 'mind their own business' about how other people, young or old, spend their own money ie the money they have earned. So long as people are not engaging in illegal activities it is up to them, and them alone, how they choose to spend their money. If people wish to go on a cruise, buy a new car, give all their money to charity, give it to their children, or grandchildren, or do anything else that is legal, then it's up to them, and no one else. As long as it's legal, they can choose to do it.

When you do things that affect other people you make it their business. And no amount of telling them otherwise will change that.

So do what you want, but don't expect the people it affects to not notice or pipe up.

newgran2019 what a load of twiddle. I stated a fact, not an opinion.

I think that how your children behave when they are adult depends how you brought them up.
If they were spoilt to death and obviously some were according to GN, then the parents are to blame.

As for growing up in a difficult world then many of us, born in the post war generation, were able to make a life and not being spoilt we were hardy enough to cope

As for growing up in a difficult world then many of us, born in the post war generation, were able to make a life and not being spoilt we were hardy enough to cope

Still a different world.

Things ARE different now one way or another.

People who say "I was young once so I know all about it" are usually the most out of touch.

There is a scene in Adulthood which demonstrates this perfectly

My youth didn't give me any experience of what it is like to be young today.

Well trisher once again you know different sorts of people to me. I know of people who would not consider themselves to have 'least' but who quietly give generously of both their time and money. Yes, it is the sort of thing I discovered by accident in all except one case. Perhaps you 'notice' the ones who talk about it? But then I don't tend to judge people very much unless their weaknesses/failings are brought to my attention. I certainly don't decide that anyone has a 'narrow circle of friends' because I couldn't possibly know. There is a minority of posters on here who seem to enjoy 'interpreting' what others say. I suspect they do so because of the way their own minds work rather than what the poster actually says. C'est la vie.

A couple of comments based on what I have just read.

Environment I suspect that the young do more harm to the environment than the pensioners. I have long felt that when the government tries to persuade us to be more environmentally friendly they should talk about how we can save ourselves money rather than saving the planet. I think it would be more effective because an awful lot of people only think about themselves.

I recently heard of a new approach suggesting we Repair, Reuse and Recycle. I am sure I am not alone in repairing clothes and other things. DH has just repaired several Christmas decorations before we put them away. I recently made new covers for the dining chair cushions from a pair of curtains and they look great. DS has several pieces of furniture we no longer need and I have a lovely low rocking chair in my study which the previous owner left in DS's house when she moved. DS has lots of clothes from his older brother. However most of the young people I worked with couldn't sew, cook or do anything with things that no longer worked or were damaged. They simply threw them out and bought new.

Young people my own family are not, imo, typical. They don't like wasting money at all. They buy food with yellow stickers and freeze it, they cook from scratch and accept hand me downs. We had to sign as guarantors when one bought his first house when he was very young and he took in lodgers to help pay his mortgage. He knew we were willing to help if necessary but didn't ask once. So many of their friends buy their coffees and lunches when at work and get takeaways. It will be DiLs birthday next week and when asked what she wanted to do and where to eat she asked for fish and chips because it would be a treat. They have good jobs and a lovely home but still don't waste money.

When I left school in 1969 I could expect a 'job for life' because of my level of education and my friends who had left 2 years earlier to go into apprenticeships or training jobs were also looking at a rosy future of stability. All of us expected to get work..some better paid than others but all on reasonably 'living wages'. Council housing was still a possibility and rentals were accessible. In 1971 DH and I rented a 3 bed terrace in Sth London for £5 per week. That was a 1/3 of DHs monthly wage. A 2 bed flat here has a rental of £1500 pm locally (45 mins out of London) which would require an income of over £54k. No comparison.

I sew. It takes space to have the bits and bobs that may be needed as and when.

When people have to move every 6/12 months they can't collect those kinds of supplies.

Same for furniture, if you accommodation is temporary then so must your furniture be. I have heavy older repairable solid furniture because I don't rent I also am lucky enough to have space to do repairs, and space to store tools and supplies. Again because I never have to move to suit other peoples timetables so I can build up supplies. If you dont have that space and security then buying all the tools and supplies for just one repair isn't worth it

Collapsible dismantlable easily moved furniture is much harder to repair, once chipboard cracks or cheap metal bends its done for. And going from furnished to unfurnished to furnished doesn't lend itself to collecting lasting sturdy pieces

If young renters were able to make their houses (or flats) their homes, and had some security, they would be much more inclined to mend and repair and build up supplies and skills.

PECS where I was living when we got married council housing was most certainly not obtainable.

notanan a few needles and threads don't take up much space, neither does a tube of superglue. I bought my sewing machine to share with DiL because I could get the material for curtains and the machine for about the same price as buying ready made curtains. Actually a sewing machine doesn't take up much space either. A few cooking pans can usually be accommodated. I do know, I shared a bedsit with a friend before I got married and we used to take our family on holiday in a small touring caravan. There are ways to live in small spaces if you really try.

We give furniture we no longer need to one of the charities which sell it. Anyone can buy pretty good furniture there and Freegle gives it away. A bit off thread but why will people take away your unwanted bed but not the mattress? Do they expect a new mattress when they stay in a hotel? Always puzzled me.

Some of my friends were from the really poor end of town.. they had garden sheds.

A young couple or young family these days with a property big enough for a garden shed is doing VERY well for themselves.

It didn't used to be a luxury. It used to be pretty ordinary. Which was why it was EASIER to mend things and collect spares and skills.

How do you do that in those awful newer build flats with barely room to swing a cat?