LegendaryGamer0 said:
Never let go of your inner child, and have some fun. Go out there hoping and doing for the best but prepare for the worst and to get kicked in the balls/labia.
Then get back up and make life take the lemony ballabiakick back!
FPLOON said:
Adults do not exist... The only thing that does exist is responsibility and maturity, which have nothing to do with with the age that can be classified as an "Adult"...
Between you two, [user]thaluikhain[/user], and [user]evilthecat[/user] maybe my point was already made in a nice, concise manner and I should have just said something about not getting impatient playing
The Phantom Pain (I only started playing it recently after buying it for a friend, still don't own it myself, and I am terrible at its style of gameplay) like I do. All well.
Sniper Team 4 said:
Put down the phone and learn how to talk with people. Actually talk with them. [snip]
I get it. Working in retail or fast food is a bummer. I know, I've been through it. But if you cheer up just a bit, try smiling, and just learning how to interact with a live human being instead of through the internet or your phone, you'd be surprised how easier it is to get through the day.
I know people are always saying it, but it's true.
And XKCD had a counter social commentary strip ready for this sort of thing 40 strips ago. Never ceases to amaze me
Don't exactly fit the under 21 part of this, but I do fit the fast food and phone part of this so here goes:
Other than the point XKCD makes, sometimes when I'm on my phone it's because I got an emergency text, message, or call. Though, I try to hide that from customers and do it within what the store policy allows, use it on my break, or go to another room when I can. Or, I'm using my phone to study for school or was anyway since I'm not in school at this very moment (And, yes, while working. I had to at the time). Or, I'm catching up on the latest news or research. Don't look at the moment; think of the big picture. I know it's anecdotal, no more anecdotal than the entire premise of this discussion really though, but every person I've seen accused of lacking the social skills you are talking about never actually lacked them. They got judged for looking at their phone in the moment and it was extrapolated to "all the time, must be". The judges never saw them in the big picture. Besides, interaction online or on your phone is very much like daily interaction and does not negatively impact the latter in anywhere near the capacity people say it does. I even remember a semi-recent study that backs this up. I'll try to find it in the meantime.
Anyway, I currently do work in fast food and I've been doing it for 2 years. I try my best. You're not wrong about why we should do that and how it affects our day. Sometimes I'm dead tired, which affects your disposition and can make you unintentionally seem un-cheery. Sometimes I just break, often from the heavily disorganized and broken communication ritual used by probably all fast food chains. You know the one, right? It's the one that leads to confusing back and forths between a small proportion of customers (who probably weren't making it any easier on their end either a lot of the time) that could have been made much smoother, simpler, and nicer for everyone all around. And, to top it off, if those customers were unreasonably rude or assumptive? They color the rest of your day, they stress you out, they stick despite the overwhelming fine attitude of most customers. This advice is good, don't get me wrong, but just unreasonable at times. We're only human and there has to be a point of acceptance that such disposition happens in the line of business. No matter how hard you try to suppress it for the sake of your well being, your job, and your customers it happens. Believe me, in regards to the customers, I know many don't deserve the attitude much of the time and I do sincerely want to treat them well as their order taker or presenter. By the way, this all goes especially if, while dealing with all the above, those people are on very hard times (Heck, a lot of people who work fast food are and they doubly suffer from a feeling of being stuck there, of being entrenched in a cycle of poverty).
I know it's tempting to take your individual experiences and assume why they're un-cheery by relating it back to what it was like for you. I know it's tempting to generalize. I know it's tempting to see moments and assume that's what they're like all day the same way a manager complains I'm not working because I had to stand and pause for five seconds or zoned out or had to get a closer look at the order screen. I ask you take all this into account before doing any of that. Actually, I find that many people who look at younger people and see them on the phone are committing many of the same fast food errors and assumptions as I listed here. That's just to add to the phone aspect. Basically though, too much sympathy, not enough empathy I feel and that's why people get tired of hearing it. As you said, people are always give this advice and there is a reason why it doesn't get through despite being sound advice. It lacks the understanding and empathy component necessary to function well.
