Niko said 10 years, 2 months ago:

I’ve had a couple instances where my age was a factor in whether or not someone wanted to vent to me. Sometimes they would disconnect when they found out my age, other times they listened intently to what I had to say and chocked it up to my experience.

I’d say for the most part, my age doesn’t play a factor in my ability to give sound advice. But some feel comfortable talking to peers, which I understand completely.

In hindsight, talking to a teen about MY problems, I’d assume most teenagers would not even BEGIN to understand the type of stuff some 27 year old like ME go through either. haha

NicNac said 10 years, 2 months ago:

I don’t believe age plays a big part in being able to give sound advice. I can give sound advice just as well to someone who is 14 and one who is 40. When you give advice to younger generations, you kind of have to ‘dumb things down’ just a bit to allow them to grasp the concepts you’re trying to get it.

Getting advice from a teenager can seem awkward if you’re up there in age (I’m 22, I still feel a little awkward getting advice from a 16 year old..), but, at least they care enough to listen to you vent. Right? And I think you kind of have to make them understand a little better about what you are going through. Kind of take the advice they give you, and adapt it to your age; if that makes sense.

My big thing, is gender. For some reason a lot of people disconnect because I am a guy. I HATE gender discrimination, on either side. I probably wouldn’t be able to understand feminine problems (yes, THAT stuff), but you know relationship, depressive matters, stuff that may be pertinent to both genders; I can give just as good advice as the next person.

Kitta said 10 years, 1 month ago:

I am in the “middle ground” I think. I’m 24, so my teen years are not that far behind me and I can still relate to them, however I also kind of have the adult mindset. I like being the listener, it’s therapeutic for me and even when am having a bad day sometimes listening and focusing on someone else’s problems helps. I have vented once or twice, though, and it does kind of suck to get a teen sometimes. Their world is “Homework sucks!/is he into me?!/My parents are jerks!” and I’m over here like, “May daughter hates me right now because I’d rather have gas to get to work than buy her cupcake snacks for lunch.”

Also, teenagers don’t get the idea of being completely screwed, lol. In their world, if you’re being treated unfairly you can talk to an adult, move to another class, etc. In the big leagues if your boss is a total jerk to you nine times out of ten you just gotta suck it up and keep your mouth closed because you can’t afford to live on unemployment. O.O

Panktty said 9 years, 10 months ago:

I wish I could sort the listeners by age. I just did a vent, to a 17 year old, and I’m 30. I feel LAME now, and that kid had no idea what I was really talking about. Nice kid for being polite and upfront about having no life experience, though. I appreciate that

n0ndescript said 9 years, 9 months ago:

Same here. I have been rejected by teens coz they think i am too old for their problems, or too old to even hear them out. I have been rejected coz someone typically wants to talk to a girl, and the moment i tell them that i m a 34 year old male..poof…many of them vanish. I guess its time they start by asking “ASL”

n0ndescript said 9 years, 9 months ago:

haha @walkwithme . I mean, i dont even think i am that old..well maybe but seriously, i have that urge too. I can understand that at times, you may want a view / an advice from a specific age group or gender, but why do i need to tell you my age, sex, name (oh yeah, i have been asked that too) if you just want to vent.

n0ndescript said 9 years, 9 months ago:

oh you 19 year old schmuck @djnotnice i have tried that, as in, asking if my age or gender is relevant. and again, not generalizing, the ppl who are here just to talk to a girl or a “woman” get offended by it and anyways disconnect. But like i said, there are genuine people too who just want to vent or be heard

Levi-UR said 9 years, 9 months ago:

The main issue I’ve had with teens is the lack of life experience. Also they all seem to be convinced that they are the first ones to feel “this way”. The real problem for me is that i tend to ask a lot of questions when i am the listener. A lot of adults prefer that because i am not telling them what to do i am just acting as a sounding board. Teenagers hear me ask a question and think that i have no clue what they are going through. With teens for some reason i am expected to have an empathic understanding of their life. . When i vent i tend to prefer adults because many of them tend to be better at listening then teenagers. Some teenagers are awesome but a majority of these issues do not arise with adults.