When you are over 30, the topics of conversation change – and they become, it has to be said so clearly, more stuffy. Eight examples that (almost) everyone should know.
It happens insidiously and when you notice it, it is usually too late: At some point, life and thinking change, other things become important, some things no longer seem so interesting. In short: you grow up sometime after your 30th birthday – and then you can’t deny it.
This is particularly noticeable if you listen to yourself during conversations at parties, with friends, at weddings, with siblings or parents. Suddenly it comes to topics that not so long ago we would have dismissed with grand gesture as stuffy and boring. And still do it – until we suddenly realize that in reality they have long played a major role in our lives.
children
People over 30 talk almost continuously about children – either their own or those of others. Incidentally, it makes only a minor difference whether women or men are speaking. Parents are constantly talking about all facets of their offspring anyway; after all, the topic is complex. But people who are still a long way from their own children also love to tell about what their nieces, nephews or godchildren are doing and, ideally, to give a complete overview of the lives of the little ones with cell phone pictures.
money
Who would have thought that a few years ago? We are now making real money in a real job. It is well known that most of the people don’t talk about money (so much), but they prefer to talk about what they do with the money. Funds, ETFs, stocks, TradeRepublic, old-age provision, the pension gap – until recently we didn’t even know what it was. Now these terms are taken for granted with beer. Incidentally, this is still primarily an expression of how little most people have a clue about the topic: They just want to know how the others do it.
nourishment
There was a time in the twenties when we ate and drank what we liked and what we wanted. Long ago, unimaginable today. Apart from the fact that more and more people (for understandable reasons) are becoming vegetarians and vegans and are happy to justify this verbatim – the over 30s group thinks a lot about nutrition. This is discussed in detail, especially when eating together: proteins are good, carbohydrates are bad, but not always. No way sugar. And if you do, please talk a lot about how bad you feel eating this.
(No time
How much time you had in the past is shown above all by how much time you could spend talking about nonsensical stuff. Today the schedule is full, spontaneity has become a concept that is as difficult to implement as it is to spell. The mantra of the over 30s who struggle between work, self-optimization and social life is: “We have to go”, their favorite word is “Sometime”. All of these things that you promise yourself between these words will probably never happen. And because you know that, you always add how stressful everything is, how little time you have right now and that it will soon be “more relaxed” again – without believing in it yourself.
Alcohol – still, but different
It’s a cliché, but one that’s often true: Young people keep talking about the next opportunity they’ll drink alcohol. And worse, you find these opportunities all the time. People over 30 still talk about alcohol, but in a different way: more cultured, more reflective. About smoky whiskeys, the finish of wines, they even have a favorite beer. Now it’s finally about quality instead of quantity.
fatigue
Adults are always tired – and they keep talking about how tired they are. It almost seems like they are taking part in a never-ending fatigue contest. Sleeping until noon is no longer possible, the days have long since started at single-digit times and are often very demanding and exhausting.
Houses
Sooner or later the small talk reaches topics like houses. Rent, buy, build? Even those who are still a long way from owning their own property in terms of their phase of life and bank balance will find themselves thinking again and again when taking a walk: Man, you could live nicely here – with family and garden. And what do you pay here, if one may ask? No Please not.
Previously
You have probably already noticed in this text: The talk of “before” is now really inevitable – and the clearest proof that one is no longer very young. Most meetings with long-time friends consist to a certain extent of shared memories, which is something very nice. It’s just a shame if these memories have to serve as a substitute for time together in the present. And even people you get to know are constantly being told what you did in the past. Maybe no better than today, but definitely different.
This article originally appeared on stern.de.