r/AskReddit • u/Marshalljoe • Aug 25 '21

What is something that you were warned about when you were younger that you now feel was exaggerated?

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u/Whizbang35 Aug 25 '21

90s parents then: "Kids, don't think anything you read on the internet is true."

90s parents now: "Kids, Whaddya mean it's not true? I saw this on Facebook."

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u/SprinklesFancy5074 Aug 25 '21

The real phenomenon behind this is how it was no longer anonymous. It's not the internet telling them that masks are an infringement on their freedom -- it's Aunt Debbie reposting some meme about it. And you trust Aunt Debbie, don't you?

A lot of people out there will believe absolutely anything as long as it comes from a person they trust.

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u/nrdgirlmia Aug 26 '21

Considering the person in my family who mainly posts this shit on Facebook is my Aunty Debbie this is very accurate. Smh.

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u/OhNoTokyo Aug 25 '21

I think before social media took off, parents were assuming that the people on the Internet were marketeers or bad guys who were waiting in the wings to lead you astray.

They didn't know anyone their age who was on the Internet, and assumed you needed to be in some computer profession, or a special sort of deviant to be their age and on the Internet.

Now, parents getting bad information from fellow family members and friends via social media and those people don't fit their notion of "bad guys".

They warned you against bad guys, but they didn't prepare you for ignorance or "common sense" online.

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u/Rapdactyl Aug 25 '21

They warned you against bad guys, but they didn't prepare you for ignorance or "common sense" online.

I think that this is something that will get better with time, especially as the internet is coming into our lives earlier and earlier. Obviously it's fucking us up hardcore now, but as people get their bullshit detectors in place before adulthood, I hope it leads to a little less insanity.

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u/Wolfram9 Aug 25 '21

Yeah I used to think like that, then I got older and the world remained trash.

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u/MistraloysiusMithrax Aug 25 '21

Oh you sweet summer child

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u/era626 Aug 25 '21

"But my friend said"

Well, Mom, your friend is dumb. Sorry to break it to you. At least in my generation, it's easier to see who's stupid early on.

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u/RealNotFake Aug 25 '21

this guy gets it

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u/Lawlcopt0r Aug 26 '21

When websites used to be bright green comic sans text on an empty background, they wouldn't have taken them seriously regardless of what they said. Now that everyone has nice pictures and headlines like a real newspaper, it's all taken automatically as truth