Intergenerational Friendships In Your 30s – A Complete Guide
Intergenerational Friendships In Your 30s!
You might be wondering, “What the heck are intergenerational friendships?” Well, they are friends that are not in your generation. Because for the most part, when we look for friends we are going to find friends who are exactly our age or close to it. From the time we are in school to the present day, we are so used to having friends in our age bracket. And it makes sense for the most part, because we can easily share and relate to others to those who are similar age (click here to learn how to relate to others).
But what about intergenerational friends? I can tell you from experience that it’s wonderful to have friends from different generations. I have hosted many events over the years and have gotten to meet many people of different ages. Not only does having intergenerational friends offer you unique perspectives, you can learn so much from them! Being in your 30s is a wonderful time to have intergenerational friends. You’re old enough now to have adult friends who are younger than you, but still young enough to learn from a variety of older generations.
So how do you go about intergenerational friends? What are some things you should know? That’s what I’ll be talking about today!
In this post, I’ll go over the things you should about having intergenerational friends in your 30s. It takes some getting used to. It won’t be like the friends you have in your age group, but it’ll be worthwhile and you’ll learn a lot from different generations.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
You need to calibrate your personality to each different age group.
When it comes to interacting with different age groups, the first advice I give is that you need to calibrate your conversations and actions to the specific age group you’re talking to. What I mean by this is that you need to talk and react differently to the different intergenerational people you’re communicating with. The way you talk to your 60-year old friend is not going to be the same way you talk to your 25-year old friend.
For example, I find with friends my age group or younger, I talk more about fun and trivial things, whereas my older friends it’s more about intellectual stuff. Not to say that older friends can’t talk trivial and younger friends can’t be more serious, but that’s the way it goes usually. I try to calibrate my conversations to what my intergenerational friends are interested in. Don’t forget that all these friends are in different stages of life, so what the interests of a younger friend will probably be different from an older friend.
Now that does that mean you should completely change your personality for each friend? Absolutely not! You are still you and calibrating your conversations does not mean changing your personality for them. Whether I’m talking to my 25-year friend or 60-year old, I’m still talking to them as James!
You won’t know it all.
Listen, when it comes to having intergenerational friends, you might think you need to put up a front and pretend that you know it all. Whether it’s being as cool as the younger generation or as wise as the older ones, you want to fit right in.
I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to do this. In fact, trying to pretend that you know everything to your intergenerational friends will make you look bad! You don’t know it all and can’t know it all. But the beauty of having intergenerational friends is that you can learn SO much from them, because they’re in a different age group. I have gained so much perspective and knowledge from all my friends who are of a different age than me.
I find myself with older friends that I’m picking their brain and asking for their perspective, because they’ve been through a lot more experiences than I have. And with younger friends, they teach me stuff about the current culture and some cool strategies that I never thought of. It’s such a wonderful thing to have intergenerational friends; you learn so much from them.
You can offer something as well.
Last but not least, you don’t need to feel left out when you’re hanging out with your intergenerational friends. It might feel that way; too old for your younger friends and too young for your older friends. But don’t forget that they’re friends with you because they enjoy having YOU around!
That means you can offer a lot to them as a friend. Whether it’s being a good friend (click here to read how to be a good friend) or teaching them things that they didn’t know, you have a lot to offer! I find that in my experience, age is somewhat a number when you’re an adult. There are many older adults who can act pretty immaturely. Meanwhile, I’ve also met people who are relatively young yet so wise and mature for their age. So in this context, you’d be surprised to see how valuable you are as a friend, regardless of your age. Everyone’s life experience is different, and whether they’re younger or older than you, you can probably offer something as a friend.
Take me for example. I have actually taught quite a few things to my older friends because of my experiences with certain subjects. I was actually surprised myself when it happened and felt very proud of myself. On the flip side, I have already been through my younger years and I try to teach my younger friends on how to best navigate their young adult years (when they ask of course). Learning from each other is why we make such great intergenerational friends!
Conclusion
Anyways, I hope you found this post about intergenerational friends helpful. Don’t be afraid to make friends who are not in the same age group as you. You’ll find that you’ll learn lots from them.
If you have any questions or feedback, leave them in the comments below!
