Why do elderly love to complain so much?

2026-04-26 08:25 UTC

I am sorry if this is offensive to any elderly, but I am getting so sick of my soon-to-pension father who does nothing but complain about other people. They do everything wrong with the undertone, but never explicitly said, that he knows better than them. Especially journalist, oh he loves complaining about them and how they are hiding the truth because they didn’t report about something that he knows is true in a short news article or clip (often the fact he mentions is true, but it is a really niche knowledge and he has always struggled with the idea that other people don’t know everything he knows). This has gotten worse and worse as he gets older. We used to always discuss politics and what works and what doesn’t and I enjoy those conversations, but lately he is getting stuck on topics and gets very very repetitive. He is also getting sensitive about it, getting upset and raising his voice when I don’t agree with him. have anyone else experienced this with their beloved elders? This is common stereotype for elderly, especially elderly men, but it is so true for him! I do remember my grandpa also being like this, although he never talked about politics.

Replies (10)

@hanrahan@slrpnk.net 2026-04-26 08:50

om 61, i too am complaining about people complaining but seriously, I can only agree , whiney old white guys are ubiquitous. as an old white guy sick of it.

Open ##1712986
@Admetus@sopuli.xyz 2026-04-26 09:02

The elderly I expect come from a generation of school students who were not taught critical thinking. The elderly are exposed probably more to the whims of the media than young people are, and coupled with cognitive decline and lack of critical thinking, their brains are easily rewired and indoctrinated. Think about the number of voters you can sway.

Open ##1713415
@zealouscurmedgeon@lemmy.ml 2026-04-26 09:14

Because without conscious effort to expand your horizons, your preferences and distastes ossify around what you were exposed to growing up and in young adulthood. However, the world continues to change. Aging also can make adapting harder cognitively.

Open ##1713665
@Ildsaye@hexbear.net 2026-04-26 09:49

Could easily be displacement of frustration and helplessness he’s feeling with other things. Is there anything else newly stressing him out since around the time you began to observe this?

Open ##1716671
@faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 2026-04-26 10:19

but lately he is getting stuck on topics and gets very very repetitive. I used to do elder care, and this in particular could be an early sign of dementia.

Open ##1719830
@IWW4@lemmy.zip 2026-04-26 11:02

Do you really think complaining is limited old people? This message board has multiple complaints posted hourly and what do you think the age demographic is here?

Open ##1725433
@digdilem@lemmy.ml 2026-04-26 11:49

Says the millenial, complainingly.

Open ##1725618
@Nemo@slrpnk.net 2026-04-26 11:54

Have you tried complaining? It’s amazing. One of my favorite activities.

Open ##1725664
@melsaskca@lemmy.ca 2026-04-26 12:33

I reject the premise. All people love to complain, especially if they have something to complain about. Mark Twain once said that people will generally go way out of their way to become offended. It’s either a weird human thing or a weird capitalist thing.

Open ##1729072
@FriendOfDeSoto@startrek.website 2026-04-26 09:42

Many reasons. The older one gets, the more stuff if not wealth one has acquired, the more one stands to lose. That has most people make a turn for conservative viewpoints if they weren't there already. Also, as the Peter Principle in the workplace (I paraphrase: everybody gets eventually promoted to a position they are not qualified to do well) old people get to an age where they overestimate their worldly knowledge. Getting old is shit. Your joints hurt, hair grows out of weird spots, people around you move to farms upstate. Things you loved from when you were crisp and shiny get swept by the wayside by progress. You have a lot more to complain about now because you also have more time for it. And you wait an awful lot at doctor's clinics. Not all people do all of these things all the time but there average person will tick at least two of these broad boxes. There is nothing you can do really. Listen but don't take to heart the crap. I draw a line at right-wing politics and hurtful -isms. If my parents didn't cross into that territory I turned my head into an extractor fan. When you were little, they wiped shit out of your ass crack and worried about you when you were sick. As a bonus they now get you annoy you. The circle of life.

Open ##1988174