Do younger people go home earlier now? Or go out less? Is it since COVID?

Submitted ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨Today@lemm.ee⁩ to ⁨nostupidquestions@lemmy.world⁩

Someone asked a question about how frequently young people have time to socialize and it made me think about what people do with their evenings. I recently asked my son to go to a concert (free ticket to see a band i know he likes) and he declined because it was an hour away on a weeknight. If we invite our kids or niece/nephew to dinner they always want to go at 6/630 which feels so early.

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Sabata11792@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Early 30s. Outside is a scam. Everything there involves spending money and dealing with people. I'll talk and play games with my friends online but don't see people unless I am at work or forced to go out.

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- awwwyissss@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  
  Everything there involves spending money
  
  Almost all the good socialization has become commercialized. There’s no town square anymore, it’s turned into a Walmart.
  
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  - Bipta@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    And not even a 24 hour Walmart.
    
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  - Turkey_Titty_city@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    not even a walmart. where i live it's a neiman marcus. if you don't have $2000 to drop on a single coat, GTFO.
    
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  - FlyingSquid@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Libraries still exist! They have activities every single day!
    
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- cubedsteaks@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Late 30’s. I don’t always spend money when I go out and if I do have to spend its usually on cheap public transit to get somewhere else. I often leave the house and just walk around town. Good exercise and I’m not always stuck at home driving my cat bonkers.
  
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- someguy3@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Games are a scam too.
  
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  - xT1TANx@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Some are, and some aren’t. 100 dollars with bg3 gets you 100 plus hours of enjoyment. That is < 1 dollar / hour. That is value. I am still playing Skyrim after 10+ years and it was 60 bucks. I have 1000+ hours in it. Worth.
    
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qwamqwamqwam@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
At least for me, its a threshold problem. The internet means that staying at home is always going to be at least somewhat interesting, which makes it a lot harder to take a gamble on a random late night outing. It’s not just staying out late, either—Gen Z shows declines in a whole host of risky behaviors. Smoking, alcohol, drug use, teen pregnancy, are all way down in our generation.

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HidingCat@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

If we invite our kids or niece/nephew to dinner they always want to go at 6/630 which feels so early.

I hate to break this to you... but it's likely because they want to do their own things as well.

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- Fleppensteijn@feddit.nl ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  For dinner 6.30 seems very late to me imo
  
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  - vinceman@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    I typically eat around 730 8 630 sounds early to me.
    
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  - TitanLaGrange@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    It’s funny how much this varies from family to family. We never eat dinner before 9PM. Usually two meals per day, lunch at maybe 1PM and dinner between 9 and 10PM. We’re just doing desk-work though, so no extra calorie needs. If I’m doing physical stuff I’ll usually add a light breakfast.
    
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- Today@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Like to do something else afterwards? Maybe that’s it.
  
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- jigsaw250@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Yep. I don’t mind doing it for birthdays or other special events, I’ll just need to take the day after off.
  
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Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I have two 15 years old sons. One of them is never home. He is always going out with his friends, either to the gym, or just walking around town. The other one rarely leaves the house. He’ll invite his friends over to hang out, and sometimes he visits them, but they usually talk at school or online.

One difference I noticed is that back in the 1900s, we had to get a ride from our parents in order to play video games with our friends, but thanks to the Internet, it’s very easy to play and socialize with your friends from home, and being in the same room now PREVENTS people from playing together.

The kids are actually socializing MORE because they don’t need to meet at the same location, and I don’t have to drive their asses all over town, so I’m ok with that.

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- Today@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  1900’s… 🤣🤣🤣 Thanks for the age gut punch.
  
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  - Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    One of my kids said it a few months ago, and I decided that MUST be how I refer to it from then on! 😂
    
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- SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I don’t think they had video games in the 1900s, since Tennis for Two was invented in the 1950s.
  
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chutapues@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Cost of living and going out is insane. We don’t have the expendable income to do so.

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SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I’m in my 40s, I’m not gonna go out to a concert an hour away on a weeknight because that means I’m not getting home 'til after 1 and I have to be up in the morning with a functioning brain because I have a damn job.

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- Turkey_Titty_city@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  speak for yourself. same here. i still go to concerts and come home at 1am. at least concerts are still affordable and like 20 bucks.
  
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  - SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Again, I have to actually use my brain for a living.
    
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  - Bipta@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Maybe near you... A hundred or more here.
    
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  - HonoraryMancunian@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    How old are you, what time do you wake up for work, how much sleep do you normally require, and what’s your job?
    
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- FlyingSquid@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I’m 46. I took a half-day off last time I went to an event an hour away so I could sleep in the next day. It’s the only way I can do it and I do it rarely because I don’t have much PTO.
  
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PlzGivHugs@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I don’t know about your location specifically or the specific age range you’re refering to, but at least where I am, school/college tends to start at like 8:00 am, and most students want to or need to work fairly busy jobs given the ongoing cost of living crisis. Considering that, it mean they can’t stay up late, and don’t have much energy to socialize compared to older generations. Although again, this varys by area and individual.

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- Today@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I should have mentioned that the kids are 30ish. In the US, Texas. We all work generally 8-5 jobs and my husband is the only one who drives more than 20 minutes to work. He’s almost an hour each way- maybe that’s why we tend to go out later - come home, love on the animals, have a drink, go to dinner.
  
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  - girl@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    I’m nearly 30. When it comes to family dinners, I want to eat earlier because I need time to unwind after the dinner. I want to get home by 9 so I have time to wind down before bed. I’m very introverted, and even though I get along well with both my family and my in-laws it’s still tiring to be around them. The only person who doesn’t wear me out is my husband, so I feel the same about hanging out with friends.
    
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  - Zippy@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    I think that has always been the case. Working that is.
    
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Album@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Your kids aren’t kids and probably understand the value of a good night’s sleep in order to work the next day?

I generally don’t go out on week nights especially not late because I want to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep or I’m a grumpy unproductive mess. My evenings I’m making dinner, getting ready for the next day, and trying to find an hour or two to relax before doing it all over again

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BassaForte@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I’m 29. Wife and I go out for food 4 times a week. Also to do things to get out of the house. But, I make software engineer money and we live in a relatively small city in Wisconsin. I bought my house at 27 and own a sports car.

I know shit is rough for a lot of people and inflation is nuts. I don’t take my career for granted.

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UnhappyCamper@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I'm in my 30s and with constant stress of life, I have no interest in really doing much of anything besides sitting on my couch playing video games and forgeting everything in my down time.

I used to go out and party every weekend and during the week, but that was my early 20s.

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WtfEvenIsExistence@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Hard to go outside when you have depression from the shit that the world throws at you. People always tell stories about wars, plagues, and, various disasters. But it’s all just stories. Most people don’t experience them, and for those who do, it’s only happebing in a small part of the world. War refugees can go to another country, you can move out of the country to avoid a local plague, and you move out of the way of a hurricane. Sars-Cov-2 (Covid-19) is worldwide, and it’s not in a history textbook. It’s not like there’s anywhere in the world that’s safe to hide. I think many people just have a sort of existential crisis. The world world having an existential crisis at the same time, over a period of a few months to years. The world is so interconnected, every news is about it. I mean, this feels so apocalyptic, like a worldwide apocalypse.

Humans have never, on a global scale, all experience a disaster, at the same time. And being able to tell each other across the world how much people are suffering.

Also, people are (at least where I live) getting violent due to the instability caused by Covid.

All this on top of worldwide Autocrazation in every country, and the seemingly inevitable climate disasters awaiting in the near future.

I don’t think humans are evolved enough to process this.

Also, people might have long-covid which further damages the brain.

People these days are just too depressed.

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- teft@startrek.website ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  
  War refugees can go to another country, you can move out of the country to avoid a local plague, and you move out of the way of a hurricane.
  
  I’ve been to war. Most people in war torn countries are stuck there. Someone with a bunch of kids who is poor isn’t going to easily be able to move out of the way of any disaster whether it be man made or natural.
  
  Also I think you need to do less doomscrolling. The world is shit but it’s the best it’s ever been. Crime is the lowest it’s ever been, same with poverty and disease. Yes the corona virus affected the whole world but that’s one disease, humans are recovering from it just fine. The powers that be want you to remain depressed and placid so that you are easier to rule over. Don’t make it easy for them by believing all the propoganda. Find something small in your life that you can fix and have control over and fix it. At least then your brain won’t think everything is doom and gloom, just some things.
  
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  - Turkey_Titty_city@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Yeah you can control small things and fix them.
    
    However, healthcare, education, and housing are rapidly becoming out of reach for the majority of people. That isn't a small thing any one person can fix on their own.
    
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- Today@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Covid definitely changed the way people think, behave, and live. I think my husband and i feel like we dodged a bullet, came through it ok, and enjoy being out (cautiously with the recent uptick). During lockdown we did dog walks to wave at neighbors, and moved our dart board outside to have people over for game nights.
  
  Both kids are musicians (hobby and small gigs, not for survival) - one returned to bars to watch and play when they re-opened (he went to the concert with me) while the other now mostly watches videos, plays, and records at home.
  
  We do have a couple of friends with long symptoms, especially fatigue, who crash after work on Wednesdays so we tend to see them on weekends.
  
  Being in Texas we are super familiar with oppressive government. When i read the news or watch tv i get pretty sad, frustrated, angry about it. When i talk to friends, neighbors, coworkers I’m relieved and hopeful for change. About 75 percent of the people i see in a day share my values. The few who don’t are at least reasonable enough that we can find some issues to agree on. I’m sure those numbers would be very different if i moved to a smaller city so i feel pretty thankful to be where i am.
  
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AA5B@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I blame video games! No, seriously. During COViD, my kids leaned on video games as their only social outlet - everything is online and they’re generally chatting the whole time. We stopped limiting their gaming time because that was their socializing time.

Since COViD and work from home, I don’t go out anywhere nearly as much. It’s too much hassle

My ex moved to a new town and my younger kid (high school) is very active so spent the summer exploring the town. He’d spend entire days walking around, and never found “where the high school kids hang out”, I don’t think they do (outside the house)

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- WeebLife@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Yes, let’s blame video games. they are the typical scapegoat for complex societal issues.
  
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  - AA5B@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Or sometimes the answer is more complex than the first two sentences and you have to read the rest too
    
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  - pwalshj@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    NO! It’s the rock music.
    
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  - spader312@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    I’ll say maybe they are right but it might not be a bad thing 🤷‍♂️
    
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- MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Okay, but, video games aren’t the problem here, they were a solution to the problem; so I’m not sure how they’re to blame.
  
  They couldn’t go outside (stay at home orders), couldn’t really play around outside with friends (social distancing at least), and didn’t really have options to simply hang out with friends, at all, ever. Many schools were doing remote learning too. So they spent all day, every day, physically alone.
  
  So they played games with their friends, so they could chat, emote and dance at eachother in the game, goof off if they wanted (within the limits of the game), and work together or against eachother to achieve goals or whatever the purpose of the game was.
  
  It seems video games were not the problem, but rather the solution to a litany of issues during the pandemic. On top of all of that, they didn’t have to beg for money to go to the shops or movies or whatever… Which is a benefit not only to the kids, who rely on their parents approval to do those things and provide them with the required funds to participate, but also on the parents pocket book. Overall a win/win.
  
  On top of that, they don’t need to worry about curfews, or any danger from strangers, or bullies battering them. If they don’t want to associate with someone they can simply not team up with groups that include that person. They can jump into public groups if their friends are busy and make new friends. Literally the only sacrifice they make is that they’re not going outside or getting much exercise.
  
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AgentGrimstone@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I just don’t feel like it anymore, I’m a different person than I was in my 20s. COVID has nothing to do with it.

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mojo@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Covid isn’t a factor for me anymore, I keep up with my shots. It’s financial reasons and time restraints mostly. I got too much shit to do to have any sort of fun. My off days is catching up on sleep debt and errands. Speaking of which I need to do right now.

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malloc@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

I recently asked my son to go to a concert (free ticket to see a band i know he likes) and he declined because it was an hour away on a weeknight

Either your son is more responsible than you or he already had plans to sneak out with his friends or gf 😂

Also are your kids and nieces/nephews more like young adults, teenagers or middle schoolers?

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- Today@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  My kids are 30ish. If he’s sneaking out, his punishment comes from his wife, which i suspect is more effective than any grounding he got from us. 😁 Niece’s and nephews are late 30s-mid 40s. The older ones seem more likely to go out later and stay someplace longer drinking and chatting than the younger ones.
  
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  - malloc@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Oh, they are full grown adults. During the week, they are grinding at work. Sometimes they just want to come home and reset with their own family (wife, kids, games, catch up on shows, whatever). Not sure what their commute or work is like, but I can definitely see dipping out on random family events early or just not going out completely. Especially during working days.
    
    I think you just need to plan it better. Maybe schedule family dinner and events on the weekends.
    
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- Izzy@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Kids seem depressingly lethargic these days. They will probably doomscroll tiktok instead of going out with friends.
  
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  - VelvetStorm@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    The world is a depressing place what do you expect?
    
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  - Today@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    I don’t think you deserve the negative reaction you’re getting. I think it just hit a nerve with some people. There does seem to be more depression in younger people and lethargy is a symptom of that.
    
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  - girl@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    
    Kids seem depress~~ingly lethargic~~ed these days
    
    FTFY
    
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Kolanaki@yiffit.net ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I’m 30ish. There is no time. Gotta go.

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RBWells@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
My kids, the teenagers, definitely do not go out like I did - it’s not money, most of what we did back then was just drink in empty parking lots, go to garage punk shows, concerts when we could. Sometimes the beach at night too. We had no money. They do similar (much less drinking, more of a police state now) but way, way less often and not usually till late.

The older set, 25-31, it varies. Some eat at civilized 8-9pm when they do go out. Some like to go at teatime then just go home.

The husband and I, we do usually go out to eat at teatime but sometimes go out for a drink, literally one, or to a concert or show.

Every single one of us, adults and teens, like outdoor concerts because they have to end by 11, noise ordinance. Or concerts at clubs that wrap them early to open afterwards as a dance club. Nobody likes staying up till 3am at a show anymore, but maybe nobody actually liked it in the first place?

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- Today@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  If we have a show or something we eat early, or sometimes go to happy hour and eat there. Normally, we come home, talk to the animals, have a drink, and decide what to eat. We have an agreement that if we say NO to 5 restaurants, we’re having for tacos. All of that usually occurs between 6 and 7 with dinner around 8ish.
  
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  - cubedsteaks@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    
    We have an agreement that if we say NO to 5 restaurants, we’re having for tacos
    
    I love this rule.
    
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- Today@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I agree with that. The best thing to come from the early-ending shows is less waiting. Remember the old days of standing for an hour between bands and the headliner started at midnight?
  
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Mdotaut801@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
In my early 30s, I don’t have time and I’d rather spend money on stuff for my house or trips (when I finally do have time). I don’t drink or party, AND I’d rather have a good night’s sleep and feel good the next day than stay out past my bed time. I’m asleep between 9-1030 most nights including weekends.

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beefcat@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
This year I’ve been going out more than ever. COVID gave me a new appreciation for out-of-the-house activities and now I can’t get enough of them.

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son_named_bort@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
If you don’t go to dinner at like 6:30 these days then you probably won’t be able to go while the restaurants are still open.

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hark@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Too much to do indoors.

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scarabic@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
The potential for device-driven entertainment right at home is so much greater now than it was for prior generations. It’s not just social media but also games. Kids these days hang out on Discord while playing a game together.

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sibannac@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I would say from personal experience it’s nice to have an evening to myself after events. I’ve stayed out late playing shows at bars in my early 20s while working a full time job and it is a godsend to have time that isn’t for sleeping to spend my own way. Again not everyone yearns for that introversion time.

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Alwaysfallingupyup@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Younger people are weird as shit compared to older generations

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- Today@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I don’t think they’re more weird; just different weird. Every gen has different shit they deal with and react to.
  
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Hazdaz@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Young people can’t do anything these days without their emotional support ferrets or without their phones clutched in their hands so they can ask the internet what to think.

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- Venomnik0@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I wonder which generation could be responsible for such a “useless generation”.
  
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  - LetterboxPancake@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Probably the next to come. Such a bunch of tossers!
    
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  - Hazdaz@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Oh, let me add “can’t take any responsibility or else they experience PTSD or some other debilitating mental trauma” to my list.
    
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- FlyingSquid@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  
  The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.
  
  – Socrates
  
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