I mean I'm "older" too, which is to say, still fairly young but with a decade of actual out-of-college work experience and bills and such lol. Yeah, I see the ageism. Yes, it annoys me.

But here's the thing: if we're lucky, you age. Those people who are young and being brats will also age if they are lucky. Then they get to deal with the reality of getting older and realizing that there is no magic switch that turns you into an adult whose only interests are reading the Constitution and doing taxes. Who you are is whom you will become.

What I would advise people is to cling to what you love. That's not youth. That's not immaturity. That's what brings you delight in life. Life should have joys in the midst of *gestures at the hellscape of the world.* If those joys are fandom, good. Continue to indulge in it. It makes you smile.

Life's too short to avoid that because of what, people twenty years younger than you who worry about what's cool? Why should I care what you kids think about what brings me joy? You're just scared of getting older yourselves. It's hopefully gonna happen, inevitably, barring tragedy. Learn to invest in what you like when you're young. That's the advice I'de give young people. And the best way for older people to do that is to lead by example.

I was going to wait until post notifs can be turned off, but nah.

Minors: You can't cry ageism whenever you get treated like a kid, but also expect random ass adults on the internet to parent you.

Part of parenting is teaching kids that sometimes life isn't about their opinions, so in that aspect I'm doing a decent job in an area your parents are clearly neglecting if you are old enough to use the internet and think you are the fucking boss of strangers.

And guess what? You can't decide when you do and don't want to be parented. Life does not work that way.

If I wanted a kid, I'd adopt one. I'm not being paid to babysit you. This blog is a hobby I run on my own free time, and you aren't entitled to moderate it for me.

If you are a teen on the internet and want to be treated as an equal, stop acting like a toddler. I do treat teens with respect. But those specific teens earned it first, the same way the adults I treat with respect on this site earned it first.