Eight pieces of advice people in their 20s should never take

Reddit users over thirty listed the advice they believed people in their 20s should ignore

Alexandra Sims
Wednesday 16 December 2015 12:46 GMT
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(Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

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From financial tips to career guidance, millennials are often deluged with reams of advice from their elders.

But what advice should 20-somethings embarking into the adult world not take?

Replying to a call for the worst tips commonly handed out to young people, reddit users over thirty listed the advice they believed people in their 20s should ignore.

1) Break up if you’ve lost the spark in your relationship

Denouncing the common reaction to cut all ties with your significant other when rough patches hit user, enjo13, said: “The reality is that relationships are hard. I'm going on my 17th year of a relationship, and the reality is our 'spark' ebbs and flows. With strong communication and genuine love, you can weather those ebbs and enjoy the high points all the more.”

2) Don’t care what people think of you

The age-old advice to not care how people perceive you has been slammed by Paulwhite959: “You should care about what others think of you, at least if you want a functional career and any social life to speak of. That doesn't mean you totally alter every little detail, but if everyone thinks you're annoying, then you might want to look at your behaviours.”

"I love credit cards because I don't misuse them" Getty
"I love credit cards because I don't misuse them" Getty (DAMIEN MEYER/AFP/Getty Images)

3) Don’t get a credit card

"It's frequently said that you should never get credit cards," said one user. "I love credit cards because I don't misuse them. This means that I get rewards, such as cash back, for buying stuff I would buy anyway as well as building my credit score.

4) Make changes to avoid regrets

Reddit user, Jonathonathon, pointed out the importance of forgiving yourself for your mistakes: “I see a lot of talk about making changes because some day you'll regret not doing it, like your entire life will be filled with regret over that one mistake you made that one time over that thing that wouldn't be a big deal if you just let it go.

“I don't have any crippling regrets personally. Just accept that you did the best you could with what you had at the time you did it and always try to do exactly that.

5) Always be yourself

Rather than always trying to be yourself you should instead keep striving to be better, according to one commenter who said: "One of the biggest epiphanies I had as I got older was realizing that self-improvement was not the same thing as 'changing who you are'. You are still the same person that people love, you are just trying to become the best version of that person."

Another commenter said: “I had a similar epiphany about how trying to improve doesn't mean you don't love yourself, I'm not trying to change because I hate myself, I'm trying to change because I want to be the best person I have the potential to be.”

"I feel like my generation really has it against the desk-job life" Getty
"I feel like my generation really has it against the desk-job life" Getty (LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images)

6) Never have a desk job

User, LimerickExplorer, said the suggestion “that having a stable desk job is worse than death, and if you're not an artist or rock star you have failed yourself” was false.

Other users took the opportunity to praise their office jobs, commenter jfm2143 said: "I feel like my generation really has it against the desk-job life […] they don't know what they're missing. No one wears a suit, stability is AMAZING, and the benes can't be beat so yeah, I'll take my 9-5 any day.”

7) Going to university is a waste of time

One user debunked "the oft-stated advice that college is a guaranteed waste of time". They said: "Obviously if you have no idea why you want to go and what you want out of it, then don't go, but there are a ton of people out there who got a lot out of their college education. (Source: I am definitely one of them)."

8) Growing out of things

“Stop worrying about when you are going to 'grow out of' things," said one user. "There's no reason to stop doing something just because you hit a certain age. I'm 34, married and have three kids and I still play LEGO and video games."

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