Plagued Consoomers / Consoomer Culture - Because if it has a recogniseable brand on it, I’d buy it!

[Randy Butternubs]

To get back on topic: Nothing says, "I'm a consoomer and always have been" more than old people trying to get money for their Disney VHS tapes they bought because everyone all read the same article back in the 00's saying they'll be worth money. I've noticed a lot of them getting upset when told the tapes are worthless essentially

 

[Cuntspiracy Man]

To get back on topic: Nothing says, "I'm a consoomer and always have been" more than old people trying to get money for their Disney VHS tapes they bought because everyone all read the same article back in the 00's saying they'll be worth money. I've noticed a lot of them getting upset when told the tapes are worthless essentially

i do, on the other hand, feel bad for people who earnestly collected things and now want to sell them getting fucked over by those "BUY X BUY IT BUY IT NOOOOOW!" articles coming out after they've long done it without it being a big fad, because it's usually done by people who already own something trying to trick others to pawn off THEIR own crap
once articles about how something is gonna be "super big in the future trust me gais" start coming out, you better get off the ride, because every schmuck's gonna start getting into it

 

[GeorgeFloydFentanylStash]

Apple ruined the world in more ways than just the iphone. Theirs and Goggle's corporate culture trickled down to pretty much every other industry. Muh bland and minimal equals smart

Super fucking bland and hate the minimalism trend that’s been ongoing for years.

 

[NoReturn]

To get back on topic: Nothing says, "I'm a consoomer and always have been" more than old people trying to get money for their Disney VHS tapes they bought because everyone all read the same article back in the 00's saying they'll be worth money. I've noticed a lot of them getting upset when told the tapes are worthless essentially

i do, on the other hand, feel bad for people who earnestly collected things and now want to sell them getting fucked over by those "BUY X BUY IT BUY IT NOOOOOW!" articles coming out after they've long done it without it being a big fad, because it's usually done by people who already own something trying to trick others to pawn off THEIR own crap
once articles about how something is gonna be "super big in the future trust me gais" start coming out, you better get off the ride, because every schmuck's gonna start getting into it

There are a bunch of articles about this re: Boomers in particular:

• Millennials nix their parents treasures
• Sorry, Nobody Wants Your Parents' Stuff
• Boomer parents: 'One day, this will all be yours.' Grown children: 'Noooo!'

I've also seen it in my own life. Boomers are looking to downsize and pawn off stuff to their kids, but their children don't want it, and even if they did, they have nowhere to put it.

One recent interaction involving a friend of mine went something like this:

Boomer-mom: "I want to move to Hawaii. I need to sell the house, so you're going to have to take in some of this stuff or pay for a storage unit. I can't take it with me."​

Millennial-child: "There's no space in my apartment and I can't afford $200/month for a climate controlled storage space."​

Boomer-mom: "Then you need to get a better job! I'm not going to be around forever."​

 

[Cuntspiracy Man]

• Millennials nix their parents treasures
• Sorry, Nobody Wants Your Parents' Stuff
• Boomer parents: 'One day, this will all be yours.' Grown children: 'Noooo!'

this is way the fuck sadder because a lot of the time this is stuff that older generations treasured and thought their children would at least treat with some semblance of respect, just for the younger folks go to "LOL FUCK YOU GRANDAD I HATE YOU" *slam dunks your shit into the bin*
you can feel the disdain as they do it, it's not just "oh man i feel bad because my dad was into something i'm not and i don't know how to tell him" it's "UUUUGH I GOTTA... OWN SOME STUFF??? AND ACT LIKE I CARE? CRINGEEEEEEEEEEEE"
it reminds me of chris chan completely disrespecting the things his dad left him

i noticed newer gens, specifically younger millenials and gen z, have this habit of downright insulting and disregarding things that make them uncomfortable to avoid that discomfort, they can't handle one conflicting emotion, one speck of guilt, one inch of consideration, so they go "lol this never even mattered i hate this this sucks"
when proposed the question of, say, abortions, they can't say "it's unfortunate but must be done", they go "babies? 'ate em, simple as, chuck em all away!" because admitting it's a tough decision makes their feefees ache
when proposed the question of freedom vs safety, they can't say "it's a difficult balance to maintain", they go "i don't even WANT freedom literally fuck freedom it sucks it's the worst!" because admitting that it's a more complex question that can't be solved in one sitting of a 5th grade debate class makes them panic
and here too we see the same issue
"do i want to show respect for my elders, yet don't actually wanna own the things they leave to me? the things they cared so much about and thought would bring *me* joy in the future too? man, what a difficult dillemma..... if i actually cared, lol sike! *puts on the diaper of irony* i never cared at all! not a bit!"

 

[NoReturn]

i noticed newer gens, specifically younger millenials and gen z, have this habit of downright insulting and disregarding things that make them uncomfortable to avoid that discomfort, they can't handle one conflicting emotion, one speck of guilt, one inch of consideration, so they go "lol this never even mattered i hate this this sucks"
when proposed the question of, say, abortions, they can't say "it's unfortunate but must be done", they go "babies? 'ate em, simple as, chuck em all away!" because admitting it's a tough decision makes their feefees ache
when proposed the question of freedom vs safety, they can't say "it's a difficult balance to maintain", they go "i don't even WANT freedom literally fuck freedom it sucks it's the worst!" because admitting that it's a more complex question that can't be solved in one sitting of a 5th grade debate class makes them panic
and here too we see the same issue
"do i want to show respect for my elders, yet don't actually wanna own the things they leave to me? the things they cared so much about and thought would bring *me* joy in the future too? man, what a difficult dillemma..... if i actually cared, lol sike! *puts on the diaper of irony* i never cared at all! not a bit!"

Not to blame this also on the Boomers, but rather that I feel like there's an alternating pattern of disfunction that goes:

Greatest = Affected​

Silent = Unaffected​

Boomers = Affected​

Genx = Unaffected​

Millennials = Affected​

GenZ = Unaffected​

Alpha = Likely will be affected​

The Greatests sat their children down in front of TVs and raised them to expect a lifetime of the wealth that came to the country after WWII, but look at some of those interviews with them and you'll see a lot of things that look odd to modern eyes.
The Boomers then raised their own children in the boom-time of the 80s and 90s. These Boomers were able to raise children, but were missing critical knowledge they would have learned from their own parents, and so were woefully unprepared for having "adult children" which led to a (generally) bad dynamic with their own kids.
The millennials, now parents themselves, are now two generations separated from the knowledge and family dynamics that their grandparents knew, and so they're doing an even more exaggerated version of what their own parents did. Where Boomer-Mary may have turned to Dr. Spock for child rearing advice, Millennial-Jessica is turning to social media, and you can see the effects in Alpha-Olivia's Kindergarten class.

 

[LinkinParkxNaruto[AMV]]

One recent interaction involving a friend of mine went something like this:

There's a lot of stories of old people who sell their homes to go on cruises, travel abroad, wine and dine and move to Florida instead of leaving the property to their kids, if i were in that kind of situation i'd also be kinda pissed if all i get is some Elvis memorabilia.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

I think it's less folks maliciously shitting on their parents (I know a sizeable chunk do, though) and more priorities changing as time go on. Boomers being the largest generational group of people means they've been marketed to the most their entire lives. There are thousands of things that were just made to be collected by boomers on the basis that it will bring up their status i.e. the collectible plate market, cars, etc. Y'know, status symbols.

I think recent generations just don't see the value in many status symbols anymore and the old people can't comprehend it. I forgot the article but it said that a goof chunk of young folk splurge on groceries now instead of status symbols like their grandparents and parents. It's not that people don't care about their families or families feelings, but once gram gram is gone, all the antique glassware that's in the hutch kinda loses all of it's purpose except for the gram gram memories.

 

[Cuntspiracy Man]

I think recent generations just don't see the value in many status symbols anymore

that is the most incorrect thing you could possibly say
every generation is more obsessed with status symbols than the last, it's just that the newer ones are better at covering up what's considered a status symbol + the things they buy don't last as long, whereas the average member of baby boomer generation might've fixated on one thing thruout their adulthood, plates, figurines, a particular genre of memorabilia or something... modern generations switch their aesthetic up weekly like a pair of socks so nothing truly "defines" them, it's easy to do when a whole lifestyle can be sold, bought and lived through within the span of one international shipping work week

 

[Randy Butternubs]

that is the most incorrect thing you could possibly say
every generation is more obsessed with status symbols than the last, it's just that the newer ones are better at covering up what's considered a status symbol + the things they buy don't last as long, whereas the average member of baby boomer generation might've fixated on one thing thruout their adulthood, plates, figurines, a particular genre of memorabilia or something... modern generations switch their aesthetic up weekly like a pair of socks so nothing truly "defines" them, it's easy to do when a whole lifestyle can be sold, bought and lived through within the span of one international shipping work week

That's a good point. Status definition definitely changes far, far faster now than it did back in the day. I guess the Boomer high class culture morphed into the modern day influencer lifestyle. It's almost shifted from Quality over Quantity to vice versa.

 

[Coldsteel the Hedgehog]

The problem is that all the shit boomers left to their kids is ridiculous and useless. When articles talk about millenials throwing away entire storage units of collectibles, they're not talking about grandma's fine china or the handmade quilts from their aunts. They're talking about boxes of stamps, novelty coins that aren't even worth their face value, garages full of cheap toys and comic books and 30lbs of princess Diana beanie babies. Instead of doing anything to look out for their kids, boomers sold their houses to vacation in Florida and trusted their "mint condition" 1970s national geographic magazines would be worth something.

For fuck's sake, you know what my grandparent's "legacy" was to their kids? Three closets' full of kitschy bull-fighting decor and a bunch of those tacky cat statuettes old ladies keep on top of their kitchen cabinets. They spent weeks sorting through dozens of boxes of porcelain carousel horses.

It's not a status thing, and for most people it's not even a "fuck you, dad!" thing, it's just... who the fuck wants any of this stuff?

 

[Ravier Xavenblood]

The problem is that all the shit boomers left to their kids is ridiculous and useless. When articles talk about millenials throwing away entire storage units of collectibles, they're not talking about grandma's fine china or the handmade quilts from their aunts. They're talking about boxes of stamps, novelty coins that aren't even worth their face value, garages full of cheap toys and comic books and 30lbs of princess Diana beanie babies. Instead of doing anything to look out for their kids, boomers sold their houses to vacation in Florida and trusted their "mint condition" 1970s national geographic magazines would be worth something.

For fuck's sake, you know what my grandparent's "legacy" was to their kids? Three closets' full of kitschy bull-fighting decor and a bunch of those tacky cat statuettes old ladies keep on top of their kitchen cabinets. They spent weeks sorting through dozens of boxes of porcelain carousel horses.

It's not a status thing, and for most people it's not even a "fuck you, dad!" thing, it's just... who the fuck wants any of this stuff?

This was pretty much the silent and boomer generations' version of consume product. "These mass produced knickknacks will be valuable some day because it says it's a collectible on the box!". Even though all it does it take up space and most of them have no real practical use. Think of it as funko pops for old people.

It's no wonder their kids don't want it, especially when housing space is at a premium because of the housing crisis that the boomers HELPED CREATE and are still actively fueling it. That being said, it is sad seeing adult children do stuff like pawn off all their parents jewelry/coins or turn in the guns they inherited at a gun buyback. I know I'm going to treasure my uncle's Winchester .30-30 from the 50's and his Smith and Wesson duty pistol forever once he passes.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

The problem is that all the shit boomers left to their kids is ridiculous and useless. When articles talk about millenials throwing away entire storage units of collectibles, they're not talking about grandma's fine china or the handmade quilts from their aunts. They're talking about boxes of stamps, novelty coins that aren't even worth their face value, garages full of cheap toys and comic books and 30lbs of princess Diana beanie babies. Instead of doing anything to look out for their kids, boomers sold their houses to vacation in Florida and trusted their "mint condition" 1970s national geographic magazines would be worth something.

It's not a status thing, and for most people it's not even a "fuck you, dad!" thing, it's just... who the fuck wants any of this stuff?

Exactly! That's what I was attempting to say earlier. At my job people bring us their old goods to sell for some extra change. We see at least 1-2 different old men every month, who drag in their entire Nat Geo collection and act like we've shot their dog when we say we can only offer $5 for them and recycle most of them.

Often times it's their children and their kids going "My mom just died and left us all these moldy books from 1920, 500 romance novels, 6 boxes of travel books, and a ceramic cross, are we able to get any money for this, we need money, our family is hurting for money. We have 2 more storage lockers like this."

Everyone is hurting for money nowadays

It really does start to paint a picture of boomers spending all their money all willy nilly on shit that was made to be collected and traveling instead of helping their flesh and blood. Not like this is new information lol. Like I said, they are the largest generational group of people to exist, so naturally they would've been the most marketed towards and told to consume, consume, consume, so corpos could get some of those sweet Boomer bucks.

Quite literally yesterday at work some corpse was drug in in a wheelchair by her daughter and this corpse would pick out the largest, heaviest, books and ask random people to bring these books to the desk to be put on hold for her, because they're too heavy for her (I once had an old lady get mad at me because the change I handed her was "too heavy"). So when all is done, the loud corpse wheels up, heckles her daughter for not finding anything to buy and then drops $98 on books she can't lift, like it was nothing.

 

[AnOminous]

Exactly! That's what I was attempting to say earlier. At my job people bring us their old goods to sell for some extra change. We see at least 1-2 different old men every month, who drag in their entire Nat Geo collection and act like we've shot their dog when we say we can only offer $5 for them and recycle most of them.

Unless it's some really specific shit, almost nothing like this is actually worth anything. The only reason to take in stuff like this as a batch is to clear up space and you don't feel like just throwing it out. Also Nat Geo is a ridiculously common item for random boomers to have decades of.

 

[John Titor]

One recent interaction involving a friend of mine went something like this:
Boomer-mom: "I want to move to Hawaii. I need to sell the house, so you're going to have to take in some of this stuff or pay for a storage unit. I can't take it with me.
"Millennial-child: "There's no space in my apartment and I can't afford $200/month for a climate controlled storage space.
"Boomer-mom: "Then you need to get a better job! I'm not going to be around forever."

Isn't Hawaii outrageously expensive?

 

[Lady Bizness]

This turned into a gay circlejerk.

But one thing about VHS is that even now there are lots of things that are only available in that format and will likely never see a release ever again.

All I know is I regret not buying the Plan 10 from Outer Space VHS when my old local place was closing. Last time I looked into it, the original creator only sells DVDs of this thing out of his very web 1.0 site for an exorbitant amount.

Not Plan 9, I do mean Plan 10.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Unless it's some really specific shit, almost nothing like this is actually worth anything. The only reason to take in stuff like this as a batch is to clear up space and you don't feel like just throwing it out. Also Nat Geo is a ridiculously common item for random boomers to have decades of.

Yep! If it's not sets of Nat Geo, it's like, 78 Volume World Book sets that were $98 in 1970s money. They never sell and the old person who owned them usually gets upset that they spent $98 in 1970. They never counted on the Internet I guess lmao. Bet they looked real smart and cool tho for their friends during parties, at the time.

Even the ones that get paid $5 and know their 90 Volumes book set from 1935 is just getting recycled, walk off with the look of having regretting buying them in the first place.

The other thing that I've noticed while in the used goods game is that older people are by and far the people who insist most that their stuff must be reused and is valuable. When I did time at several thrift stores, it wouldn't be uncommon for a frail corpse to walk up with essentially a bag of used toilet paper rolls and go "I'm sure someone will want these for crafts and projects" and then ask for a tax exempt sheet and mosey on off.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

World Book and Britannica cost a couple thousand back in the day. IMO encyclopedias should never be thrown away. They contain knowledge that the Internet doesn't have and I don't think that should be lost.

Collier's and Funk & Wagnalls are trash though.

 

[UnsufficentBoobage]

boxes of porcelain carousel horses

*heavy breathing*

 

[Free the Pedos]

they're not talking about grandma's fine china

Loads od it is China. Boomers bought it by the truckload and hardly ever used it, but they believe it’s worth something (it’s not, unless it’s a specific brand and even then it’s not worth much). They get all offended when none of their kids want china…that they themselves never used and that can’t be put in the dishwasher.