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It’s nice to get a useful piece of advice when we’re really looking for one. But as time goes by and things change, not everything that we once thought to be true and helpful could be applied in today’s context. Having this in mind, Reddit user @u/KarenTheManagah asked others online “What was great advice 20 years ago, but definitely isn’t now?”, and her question received more than 31k upvotes and got 14k responses. 

The question made people online remember how certain things were back at the start of the 2000s and wonder how time flew so quickly. Some of the answers included topics on education, work, dating, and technology, demonstrating how much the world has changed in 20 years, including our habits, choices, and certain beliefs. With the rise of the internet over a couple of decades, we probably forgot what it was all like at the very beginning when it was advised to print out our maps or download some music for the road. Now that we have smartphones, different apps, and streaming services, this all puts a smile on our faces, reminding us of older and perhaps simpler times. 

A lot of users online still remember hearing that it’s much smarter to bring your job application to the workplace rather than send it online. It’s interesting to think about whether anyone still does that now or if it’s even possible to apply for a job this way. 

What was a piece of great advice that you heard a long time ago, but now think that it’s no longer valid? Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments down below! 

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#1

30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group I remember when my dad told me as a teenager to never be the one to pursue a guy (because I'm a woman). Maybe that was to keep me safe in my youth, but I've since come to realize that most of the dudes who are worth being with are either shy or oblivious, and I have no choice but to make the first move.

coke8827 , mrhayata Report

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    #2

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group “You can rest when you are dead”, in my opinion the “grind” culture is harmful and leads to a lot of physical and mental Illness. Stress induced illnesses have never been as bad as it is right now. Burnouts have never been as high as they are now. Mental health is plummeting. I understand that in some countries you have no choice but to grind to survive, but in developed countries I do not think society should encourage that mentality. Stress is a disease and this society is sick.

    NotUrKhaleesi , Fabian Rosdalen Report

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    #3

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group "Highschool is some of the best years of your life"

    Yeah, I might have believed that b******t back then, but having lived an actual life between then and now, highschool was nowhere near my best years!

    Lord_Jair , m_takahashi Report

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    eds2 avatar
    Doctor Strange
    Doctor Strange
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The only people who say this are those who peaked in high school

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    #4

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group “Everyone needs a college degree.” Trade school is absolutely the way to go for some people, myself included. And I did both.

    Av8rDave1994 , Joe Hall Report

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    Oerff On Tour
    Oerff On Tour
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    For the last 3 decades, my government hammered on "the knowledge economy" and invested heavily in it, while cutting funding on vocational education. Now Healthcare, construction, transportation, primary and secondary education, hospitality and food industry can't find qualified employees.

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    #5

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group 20 years ago: Don't meet up with people you met on the internet and don't get in cars with strangers.

    Today: Get into the car with a stranger that you've summoned to your house using the internet.

    DarkShadow04 , Alper Çuğun Report

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    ola_n avatar
    Headless Roach
    Headless Roach
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Just because WE CAN do it so easily these days, doesn't mean we always SHOULD (the risks are still there)

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    #6

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group You won’t always have a calculator in your pocket!

    parishilton2 , Jan Kaláb Report

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    #7

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group Stay away from the guy walking down the street having a full conversation with nobody.

    Now it's just Airpods.

    hymie0 , HS You Report

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    #8

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group To this day, my mom believes the way to apply for ANY job, is to walk in and hand your future boss your paper resume. Whether or not they're actively hiring.

    She's not even 60 yet, but calls anyone who applies online a "lazy piece of s**t," and she doesn't believe I have an actual job because I work from home. She just hates computers.

    **Edit:** I guess some people like sorting by new, lmao. I don't live anywhere near my mom. We don't get along, but if we did live close she would absolutely assume I'm available all day long. No, I don't know why she hates technology. She thinks it's all a scam. She's the person that would call IT Support asking where the "any key" is. My job is entirely tech based, and we only meet in person to run inventory quarterly, but she's 1000% under the assumption I work in a diner because that's the family legacy, I guess. Or maybe because I just love diners, so she assumes I work there? I'm uncertain.

    IAmBabs , Chris Blackwell Report

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    Tessa Fontaine
    Tessa Fontaine
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Your mother is the biggest example of a ‘phone bad, book good’ boomer i have seen in a while.

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    #9

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group "if she says no, just be persistent! You'll wear her down eventually"

    Edited to add: I took the question to mean "What was assumed to be good advice".

    Like, if it was asking what good advice 100 years ago was, it would include things like smoking cigarettes whiner pregnant so you delivered smaller babies, or using cocaine to treat a teething baby. In hindsight, it's certainly not good advice. At the time, the culture thought it WAS good advice.

    spasticpoodle , Ștefan Jurcă Report

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    Doctor Strange
    Doctor Strange
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Looking at you Hollywood Romance Films. Its not romantic, its stalking.

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    #10

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group Stay at the same company for long periods - they show no loyalty or keep up in pay rises. If you want pay increase and promotion best to swap company every 1-3 years

    DarkDarkness , Dushan Hanuska Report

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    #11

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group “Save your money” lol like how…? We live paycheck to paycheck. We don’t even make enough money to save to begin with!

    Mediocre-Wasabi-9470 , Lee Haywood Report

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    Jill Bussey
    Jill Bussey
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I save the change left in my purse at the end of the week. It's not much, I know, but I bought my first music system after saving in this way for a couple of years.

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    #12

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group Take your money and put it in a high interest savings account.

    Sure thing, should I be getting 0.5% interest or 0.8% interest on that?

    go4tli , Reading Tom Report

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    harpling
    harpling
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You lost me at "take your money..." I don't understand. What money? I have no money to take anywhere!

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    #13

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group Get a masters degree and you can become a professor.

    Right now, you are lucky to be an adjunct.

    PhD is the new masters for academia.

    Setthescene , todd.vision Report

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    Niki A
    Niki A
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I can't handle any more student debt. As it is, I will never own a house.

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    #14

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group Be kind, rewind

    ShakyTheBear , Natxo Rodriguez Report

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    #15

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group Buy that house!! Sure it seems weird that you qualified for such a high home loan but I'm sure they wouldn't offer it to you if you couldn't afford it.

    JD_85 , David Sawyer Report

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    Jill Bussey
    Jill Bussey
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When applying for my first mortgage, I was told a figure that was way out of my budget. It would have been necessary to stop eating, driving, socialising, etc. I think I went for an amount about 20% lower.

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    #16

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group You'll never run out of space with a 10GB HD.

    AndrewSB49 , Scouse Smurf Report

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    #17

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group You need to memorize this cause you won't have the info accessible later

    rt312410 , Paul Keller Report

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    ssnx01 avatar
    Chich
    Chich
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The next carrington event is going to be so much fun!

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    #18

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group "Work hard and you'll go places and live comfortably with a successful career that will cover everything you want in life or at least let you live comfortably."

    Pensions no longer exist in almost every career, single earner household's went from 65% of all households in the 1970s to under 20% by 2020. My dad made $25/hr stocking shelves at Stop and Shop when he retired in 2011 because he was grandfathered past the pay cap of $12/hr at the time in the state of CT. My first job was retail at Target where even the assistant floor managers were capped at $15/hr where I made $9.00.

    So work hard, forget the extra money that would be in your pension that you should see in your paycheck now, and get capped on the value of your labor. Took 7 years after graduating college in 2011 for me to have a job that covered COL expenses. After that I spent 60+ hour weeks for several months on end, just to basically get dumped by one company for another. I went on about 5 vacations with my family for weeks before I turned 16, haven't been on one ever since, even alone.

    lostcauz707 , David Martyn Hunt Report

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    #19

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group In high school as part of one of my classes they brought in a lady who worked HR for some recruiting firm for a few days to teach us how to do resumes and cover letters and such and she told us even if a place has an option to apply online always go in person and pick up an application no one takes online applications seriously.

    profJesusfish , Blogtrepreneur Report

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    #20

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group "Spending whole day on the internet would never make you successfull in life"

    livelifereal , Bryan Alexander Report

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    ola_n avatar
    Headless Roach
    Headless Roach
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Lol, that's like my entire job description. Guess I failed miserably

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    #21

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group To look after your phone battery you should let it go all the way down to 0% and then charge fully to 100%.

    PangolinMandolin , Jacqui Brown Report

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    ola_n avatar
    Headless Roach
    Headless Roach
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Pretty reasonable advice if you are planning to sell your second kidney to get a newer iphone very soon.

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    #22

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group When you dial collect on the pay phone, just say where you are, what time you need a ride then hang up as not to get charged.

    Practice_Girls , Mike Mozart Report

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    Israel Martinez
    Israel Martinez
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Operator: "I have a collect call from ..." Caller: "Wehadababy Itsaboy." Receiver: "Call denied." Receiver's Wife: "Who was that, Dear." Receiver: "It was our son. They had a baby. It's a boy."

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    #23

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group Don't forget to print out your directions from MapQuest before you leave

    stugautz , Paul Swansen Report

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    #24

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group "If your tv isn't working, try hitting it."

    SuvenPan , Jon Lee Clark Report

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    ola_n avatar
    Headless Roach
    Headless Roach
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It only changed to "have you tried turning it off and on again?"

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    #25

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group My dad told me once, "Son you shouldn't schedule a single vacation day the first year of your job. It shows you're committed."

    DayDreamer9119 , Nogwater Report

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    Tessa Fontaine
    Tessa Fontaine
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It’s not healthy working that hard, and you’ll preform poorly in comparison to taking a week off for a well-earned vacay.

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    #26

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group You're searching for a soulmate on the internet? Lord you must be insane.

    yanks8190 , Cristian Ungureanu Report

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    #27

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group Get into teaching. You get summers off and good benefits…

    cinefilestu , Daniel Nugent Report

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    K W
    K W
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Lol summers off. Even 30 years ago my dad had to get a summer job to supplement his teacher's income. And the insurance was expensive even then. That said he does have two retirement pensions from both states he taught in. Don't know if it was worth the annual heart event he had every school year. Teaching gave that man about 12 heart stents I swear. All this to say I appreciate the heck out of anyone teaching in public schools right now. Absolutely heroes who deserve better pay.

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    #28

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group This was real advice when I was in college: “What degree you get doesn’t matter; employers just want to know that you can stick with it for 4 years.”

    cyclopath , Michael Lehet Report

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    #29

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group Plastics.

    Well maybe more like 50 years ago.

    ninjamullet , Mr.TinMD Report

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    waddles
    waddles
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    plastic water bottles are the scum of the earth (unless you don’t have clean drinking water) drinking damn tap water won’t kill you OR the turtles

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    #30

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group Get an ARM loan on your house! Values go up like 10-20% each year and by the time the load adjusts, flip that house for a sweet profit!

    Evets616 , 401(K) 2012 Report

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    #31

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group Buy Yahoo stock

    WickedSlice_ , Neon Tommy Report

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    #32

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group Just find you a job you like and stick with it. Doesn’t work now a days. Maximize salary, minimize “family style” work environment.

    dhustyrhodes , Dossy Shiobara Report

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    StrangeOne
    StrangeOne
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Even if you find a job you like it takes one terrible higher up micromanaging you to make it feel like a terrible job.

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    #33

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group If you ever travel back in time, don't touch anything.

    earhere , barbara w Report

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    #34

    30 Pieces Of Advice That Didn't Age Well, According To Folks In This Online Group generic dating advice

    SupremoZanne , Virginia State Parks Report

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