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Getting older has so many perks–grandkids, retirement, senior discounts (!). But the biggest benefit? Wisdom. Years of life experience add up. There's a reason young people look to their elders for life advice and guidance. Plain and simple–they've lived it. And with age comes confidence in identity and what truly matters–without sweating the small stuff.

Thankfully, that sage advice has been freely given freely to younger generations who seek it. Here are 27 of the best responses from older people to the question, "What things do you care less about as you age?"

1. "Other people's opinions about me." – recoveredcrush

2. "Impressing others." – orangedustt

3. "So grateful I grew up without social media. I just want to be a good person, the rest is silliness." – SuperCookie22

4. "Everything but the weather." – NANNYNEGLEY

5. "My clothes, buying more stuff, arguing, holding grudges, stress, none of it I care about or think about anymore." – AvocadoSoggy9854

6. "Having toxic people in my life. If they disturb my peace, they’re gone. Idgaf if they’re related to me or not." – Pepperjones808

7. "Anyone else’s opinion." – typhoidmarry

8. "New cars." – Artimusjones88

New carSeason 5 Nbc GIF by The OfficeGiphy

9. "I’m in a 'prestigious' job, having to wear suits daily. Make a decent amount of money. 85% of my clothes in my closet are from Walmart. I will always choose comfort and price over brand." – Few-Truth7307

10. "Makeup. I just realized today that I don’t always wear it everyday. If I’m going out to dinner, a meeting at school, lunch with a friend, date night with my husband or volunteering- Yes I’ll wear makeup. Grocery store or running errands and other random things? No. I still put on nice clothes, fix my hair and put jewelry on but depending on what I’m doing I only put some moisturizer on. My face feels so good not having anything on it. I was THAT girl who would put makeup on at the beach when I was a teen 🙄😂." – JDRL320

11. "New technology. Currently redoing my kitchen. I do not want a microwave with some kind of flip out electronic control panel, it's just one more thing to break. The fridge we liked had 3 cameras inside and required an app. You know what I don't want people watching? Me half asleep, looking for a snack in my underwear. It seems like everything requires an app now." – superthrust123

12. "(Celebrities.) The musicians I enjoyed are dying off, leaving only the ones that I have no idea who they are. I’m 65 and just found out in 2024 who the Kardashians are (yes, I’ve seen the name forever but never wanted/needed to know about them). Still not sure why anyone cares." – JustMeInTN

Kim KardashianInterested Kim Kardashian GIFGiphy

13. "All of the things that used to eat away at me just don’t anymore. I’m three years away from sixty, and I don’t have time for all of the BS." – EWH733

14. "I hit a point this January that I just don't care about social media. It was like a light bulb being switched off. I'll keep it around for some things, but I just don't feel the need to post updates every day or even every week. Everyone is just arguing. No one is listening." – elphaba00

15. "Pleasing other people. At about 50 I learned to say 'no' without guilt or regrets. Now I really enjoy gatherings with friends and family because I only do the work I want to do." – queenofmyhouses2

16. "Less about people - but I care more about their dogs - pet all dogs." – the_Jockstrap

17. "Buying stuff. I really dialed back buying clothes, I do refresh the wardrobe but I give away / toss stuff at the same time. I don't like opening closets and see clothes and shoes all piled up." – ProStockJohnX

Get rid of stuffHide Throwing Away GIF by The Streamy AwardsGiphy

18. "Being right." – FogPetal

19. "I care less about trends and more about meaningful connections and experiences. Priorities just shift as we grow." – StrongDifficulty4644

20. "Vanity, being palatable to EVERYONE in your life, hustling, trying to be cool/impressive to others." – MaximumTrick2573

21. "If my career is 'successful' (I just want to pay the bills and be happy)." – Front-Rub-439

22. "Having a busy social calendar. Staying home and reading or watching TV is fine with me. The occasional dinner out with friends is enough socializing for me. And I try to avoid parties if I can. Elaborate vacations. Sitting on the beach is fine with me. I did the Europe thing when I was in my 20s." – Ineffable7980x

Beach vacationHappy Eddie Murphy GIFGiphy

23. "Buying almost anything new. I love thrift shopping." – Dvanpat

24. "Accumulating more stuff! Downsizing is what I want most now." – Audience_Either

25. "Keeping up with decorating trends for my house. I'm just happy to have a home full of useful appliances and sturdy furniture I inherited over the years." – TXteachr2018

26. "Not knowing things. It used to drive me crazy, like the saying goes, 'curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought him back' but more and more I'm stressing less and less about the secrets others keep, what I don't understand, and just being out of the loop in general." – Carrollz

27. "Relationships that aren’t reciprocal." – Optimal_Guitar8921

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A gay man in Vegas was approached by a 40-year-old stranger asking for advice on raising his son

A gay man in Vegas was approached by a 40-year-old stranger asking for advice on raising his son

Jack Remmington got a surprise he says he’ll never forget. While playing the slots in Las Vegas he and his friend were approached by a middle-aged man they had never met who wanted to know if they were gay. Although it was a relatively safe public space, you never know what might happen in a city fueled by alcohol, sex and gambling.

Source: GIPHY

Instead, the man who approached Remmington wanted to ask some perfectly wholesome advice about communicating with his young son whom he thinks is probably still in the closet. Remmington wrote about the interaction on his Twitter page and the breakdown has quickly gone viral for the best reasons. “Ok I just experienced the nicest exchange with a stranger and think it’ll help to share: I was playing on the Mariah Carey slots in Vegas (naturally) and a friendly circa-mid-40s ish guy sat down to play on the machine next to me,” Remmington wrote.

"I was sitting with @marcoalessifilm, both wearing pink (naturally) and after chatting a little to the guy about Vegas, he nervously asked if he could ask us a question. I knew where this was gonna go as it always does so did a bit of an inner eye roll but indulged him anyway."

"He then asked if we were together so we said no (we’re best friends and he has a fab bf) and he asked if we were gay, so we said yes. He then said he thinks his 13 year old son might be gay and wondered if he could ask us how best for him to navigate that."

"He lit up when talking about his son, and I nearly started crying at how much he clearly loved him. The guy wanted to know how to make his son feel most comfortable about himself whilst not being too overt and glaringly obvious in forcing a conversation about his sexuality."

Source: GIPHY

"This man is SO sweet. From rural Arkansas and said whilst things are so much better now, he still just wants the world to be totally equal for his son. Marco and I said he sounds like he’s doing all the right things and that making his son know he’s loved is the best he can do."

"We both gave a couple of anecdotes from personal experience, largely relating to condoning abstract things when you see them like normalising conversations around gay kisses on TV or calling our family conversations that might shame potential queerness."

"We also mentioned not accidentally policing things so as to shame him - for instance, often out of a sense of protection and love parents can frown on a child’s behaviour or outfit because they’re worried for their safety when on a night out etc."

Source: GIPHY

"But we stressed that if this was their feeling it’s important to vocalise this exactly, rather than leaving the child ruminating over the parent’s intentions and second guessing why they said what they said."

"So in terms of advice to friends or relatives of a potentially queer person, what would fellow queers advise is the best way to make it known they have their love and support without causing an uncomfortable conversation that might force someone to come out before they’re ready?"

You can read the whole thing on Remmington’s Twitter thread, here.

While it’s understandable that he and his friend were apprehensive about being approached, the exchange goes a long way toward showing we should never make too many hard assumptions about people based on their appearances alone.

Even in 2024, not every parent, child or friend has a safe space to educate themselves on LGBTQ issues.

Obviously, it would be ideal if this random guy had a friend, family member, or educator who could give him the advice he was looking for but we have to salute Remmington for being so generous and kind in his response. There’s so much we can learn from each other when we take the time to ask questions -- and listen.

Source: GIPHY

“My first impression was that he seemed nice as he chatted which is more than what tends to happen with people you sit next to in Vegas at the slots. That said, I didn’t expect it to take this turn at all,” Remmington said in an interview with Bored Panda.

“The relationship between him and his son has a 100% future – he was a wonderful and caring man, despite what he said was quite a difficult town to grow up in if you’re at all different. I wish all fathers could be like him.”

This article was originally published five years ago.

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