Why do people waste their life in this way?

[Whythatdoor]

I know of a family friend, in his early 70s. He has some health challenges but he’s mobile and still has all his faculties. He’s not at deaths door, I appreciate, but likewise he’s not in the first flush of youth.

He spends nearly all his time watching rolling news, getting massively worked up about things, and firing off emails. His latest moan is bias at the BBC. He’s sent them lots of emails and shares FB posts several times a day. He’s obsessed with small boats, and is generally right wing.

He hasn’t got much time left on Earth, why waste it hating on everyone and everything? Why not just live his life,‘experience what he can with an open mind and an open heart while he’s still fit enough to do so?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying people shouldn’t care about these things, or be interested in the news, or write to organisations if they feel strongly. But his life is consumed by it, negativity, bile, anger. I feel like I want to shake him.

AIBU?

Thinking the BBC has a left-wing bias and worrying about the endless boatloads of young men posing as refugees doesn’t make you right-wing ffs🙄I wish people would read a history book and find out what right-wing really means. I have seen people who want rapists deported described as right-wing!! It’s insane. He’s just a normal, rational human being who thinks for himself and doesn’t mindlessly regurgitate globalist Marxist dogma.

YABU to make it a political thing. Left wing people are just as moany as the right wing, but you won’t kick up a fuss because you agree with them

Also, speaking as someone still in their 20s, you need to have a bit more empathy for this guy. He will have seen a lot of change over his lifetime and not of all of it will be positive.

I don’t like people who constantly complain and curtain twitch but he’s not really harming anyone, is he?

The implication is he’s an “evil right wing old man” but I actually think he sounds the opposite, a grandfather looking at the thousands per week boatloads of men from countries like Afghanistan where women can’t go out without a man or speak in public and worrying about the future for his grandchildren.
Give me someone like him over someone else his age who doesn’t care for anything except Sunning themselves in Spain

We have the internet now, which allows us to debate all sorts of things with complete strangers, which is a mixed blessing, I guess 😉

Tiktok is literally a cesspit of young people bitching and moaning about everything under the fucking sun? Haven't they got anything better to do with their lives either?

what do you want him to do instead?

Touch grass. Interact with real people. Living online is no good for anyone.

They are called "grumpy old men" - I know, I'm married to one. I just tell him to stop moaning and stand for parliament if he wants to do something about it. Best ignore behaviour like that - it's easy when you try!

Yes, but I find that the people more like this way are left wing people.

It's sad to see and I understand your concern, but what can we do? I'm South African and have noticed more and more people of my parents' generation (baby boomers) getting hooked into social media algorithms to the point where they develop strangely passionate opinions about American issues that have nothing to do with us.

I have no idea why a South African needs to be pro-Trump, and the culture wars in the UK and US are not at all relevant to our experience here in SA.

It seems like they're bored and spend all their time scrolling Facebook and allowing the algorithm to make them scared and angry.

My poor mom has lost a friend to the QAnon cult, and some of the men in our friendship circle have become brainwashed by the Andrew Tate manosphere ideology.

I don't mean to laugh, but that is comically sad.

My parents have a friend who lives in a posh retirement village with a few retired doctors, lawyers, etc, who are always getting into bitter disputes and threatening to sue each other over the length of the grass 😆

You're right, maybe a good fight gets the blood flowing and people living longer!

Or at least they feel alive?!!!!!!!!!

I have no idea why a South African needs to be pro-Trump

Ask Elon Musk!

You're not as different as you think.

Youve got irritated by the way he does things then created a debate about it on the internet.

You should get out more, ironic really

I've been thinking of trying to get to more films...in a cinema the full immersive experience like. 500 per annum is a bit OTT mind you!

We do not claim Musk as one of ours.

Understandable!

I don't think Elon Musk is pro-Trump anymore....

I say the same thing about him being autistic. We don't want him either.

Some of us learn and develop, and some of us.. don't.

If others posters think this has anything to do with politics, they will probably miss the point of life also. Some people will just waste their limited time here.

Although of course he's entitled to live his life however he wants, I get what you're saying. I have a family member who works from home, watches TV the rest of the time, never goes out and doesn't really look after himself. I also wonder (privately and, I'm sure, unreasonably) - why waste life in this way?

Exactly this. Truth is, if the man is in his 70s, he has almost certainly lived through, genuinely, much better times and is probably feeling a mix of sadness, anger and frustration at watching the country he loves go to shit. Which it is doing. Rapidly. People should be allowed to say so.
As the saying goes: 'I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees'

@greenbuckets might he be depressed? Seems like he's displaying some of the symptoms.