to think people are allowed have first world problems

[user1485342611]

I hate the supercilious response 'first world problem' as if the person posting it gets upset about absolutely nothing except climate change, forced migration and war.

Yes, of course we all know they are issues hugely more important than the stuff that bothers us in our normal everyday life. But that doesn't stop us getting upset about the normal everyday trials and tribulations.

AIBU to think we're still allowed get upset about relatively unimportant stuff and posters who post 'first world problem' are arseholes?

Yeah, I’d say YANBU but I also dislike “check your privilege” which other people like.

Nah, YANBU. People get upset by the things they get upset by. Unless it's literally "I took such a long shower today that the hot water ran out" etc (as seen on Buzzfeed as examples of first world problems). Whether someone is "allowed" to get upset over something or not, feelings are feelings anyway. They happen quite naturally.

Given my user name I had to respond to this!

Of course people are allowed to have problems that aren’t, in the grand scheme of things, really significant problems. If it’s a problem or worry for you, it’s a problem, no matter how trivial.

The caveat to that is those who have no sense of perspective at all when dealing with others’ problems and insist on making it all about them.

I also can’t feel too Sorry for people who moan about what an admin hassle running two houses is.

Yanbu.

Yanbu. You could probably say it about the majority of day to day problems that people have in this country, but it's not actually a helpful response.

I'm having some problems in work at the moment, in the grand scheme of things they're not that major - hell, compared to things that have happened to me in other jobs it's not that much really, but they're stressing me out at the moment and the fact other things are worse doesn't make it ok.

I hate when people say getting full fat juice instead of diet is a first world problem.

DP is diabetic so it's not a first world problem. It's a genuine issue.

We all like very in our own bubble, so of course you're allowed to be pissed off by minor stuff.

But I do sometimes wonder if people have too much time on their hands.

*live in our own bubble.

Ffs autocorrect.

Yanbu

I think it’s ok to be upset by first world problems - we live in the first world after all! But I suppose it’s just having the self awareness of recognising in the big scheme of things it’s not the same severity as bigger issues in life.

I only tend to use it for really trivial stuff though - the other day I lost my iPhone in my bed - a first world problem! Or Pret ran out of the soup i had fancied all morning - first world problem!

Yanbu. You're also allowed to be upset by trivial things, someone else's life is always worse - doesn't make your suffering less.

I also think the phrase “first world problem” is offensive - people in developing countries have small trivial worries too, the phrase is really “othering”. Guess what, people in developing countries probably sweat the small stuff too, how patronising when people suggest otherwise!

People in developing countries have phones too and probably feel annoyed when they can’t find it!

I think it can go both ways. Some things are genuine annoyances and it's reasonable to have a moan about them. Other things - well, let me give you an example. I was working at a fast food restaurant and a woman came in and wanted a chicken meal with a keel. I checked with the kitchen and they couldn't do it because we have to have a certain number of keels in each of the bigger buckets, and we didn't have enough. She threw a fit. I'm sorry but it's a piece of chicken. Not to mention this was not the only eatery available - there were a number of other fast food places nearby. It wasn't the only chicken place within reasonable (read: 20 minute or so) driving distance. Yet she chose to have a wobbly. (Needless to say she left without purchasing anything and I never saw her again. We weren't mean to her or anything, even.)

What's a keel??

As long as the person whingeing about their hotel room being 2 degrees too cold or their G&T not being fizzy enough shows some self-awareness about the seriousness of their first world problem, then I don’t have a problem with them having a little moan.

It’s when that perspective is missing that I might point out that a sense of proportion may be in order....

People get so nasty about things. When I had my third miscarriage someone said to me "at least you had the chance to experience pregnancy, some women never do". Now I can't imagine not being able to get pregnant but they were genuinely insinuating I should feel grateful for miscarrying.
There is always someone with it worse than you and it doesn't hurt to put things into perspective. However, that doesn't mean nothing will ever make us feel certain emotions or cause us stress.

Boblemon

A breast. Chicken breast. It's sometimes called a "keel" because birds have a sternum (breastbone) shaped similar to the keel of a ship. It's an adaptation that allows them to fly.

I had a genuine first world problem yesterday.

Went to buy a new iPhone but they didn’t have a rose gold one. So I had to choose between having to wait for them to order one in (I am very impatient) or having a phone that didn’t match my iPad or my Apple Watch.

YANBU.
Of course we all know there are worse problems in the world. But just because our problems could be worse, it doesn't mean we can't get angry/upset about them!

If you are getting irritated about other people's threads about trivia, does that count as a first world problem?

Of course you can get upset about them, but they are generally not something that will effect your life in the long run so once you've vented let it go.

Littlepond 100% this! As if people in developing countries have no personal or cultural life or interests beyond brooding on their next meal. Every individual in the world has small concerns and large concerns. Even people in immediate crisis take their coffee a certain way or prefer fiction to non-fiction or whatever.

I also dislike the way 'first world problems' is often used let women know their interests and preferences are trivial because there is always someone in a worse position. I mean, isn't that true of any concern ever uttered by anyone? As if anyone goes around making profound utterances on nothing but properly important matters...