Now you gotta think Men over 30, what’s something you stopped caring about after 30 that felt impossible to let go of in your 20s?
September 11, 2025
You know what, I was kinda obsessed with trying to be impressive like job title, car, clothes, all that. And I realized I didn’t even like that version of myself haha. What did you used to care about that you just… outgrew? Do you have any?
46 comments
College football. new music. I just don’t have the time anymore.
Following every twist and turn of the F1 racing calendar
Happened for all the sports I liked. I simply wasn’t that vested anymore.
Women
Draft beer, man. Used to drink so much and now I barely drink.
For me it’s definitely drinking and partying culture.
Also watching the latest movies definitely is up there after having a child. You can wait for it to come out on streaming services
People.
30 is not a big deal at all. It really blurs with my 20’s and have no distinct memory of any changes after turning 30. 40 is a much bigger milestone and definitely started to feel older. That did probably start in the mid to late thirties but by 40 it’s more pronounced. 30 is your officially not a teen anymore. lol
My hair 100%. i still have it, but the hairline is a little further back than it used to be. One day when it looks bad enough i’ll probably shave it all off, but til then I honestly cant gaf about it anymore. I stopped using styling products at like 31.
Fucks…….
I used to think being ready to crash out was not giving one. Now? I realized never careing enough to crash out is really giving none. Always just being willing to walk away from anyone anywhere anytime is truly giving no fucks. I used to think I needed to right wrongs and fix things. Now I realize I just need to chuck trash in the bin and replace it with better things.
If it’s not my wife or kids??? It can burn.
What people think. And I always told myself and others I didn’t care what people thought about me – but looking back I did. I still care about a couple of people’s opinions but they are very close to me.
The secret for me was realizing I don’t give a fuck about what anyone else does why would anyone care about what I do?
Drinking, sex, people etc
Dating/marriage:
Nobody wants me, oh well; I’ll just go cry about sitting on top of all of my disposable income
I stopped paying for haircuts
Partying.
Other peoples opinions, but to be fair I started not caring about what other people said or thought in my mid to late 20s
Spend a lot less emotional energy on trying to get people to like me. Turns out, spending more of that energy on myself result in being more likeable… who knew? And the people who don’t like me I just don’t really care about anymore so it’s just a huge emotional load off my shoulders.
Other peoples opinions of me. I’m approaching 40 and am completely comfortable with my family, circle of friends, and who I am as a person.
Relationships. I quit looking once I passed 30, and then six months ago my GF came along and was like “Hi!” lol.
Sports, I was a major soccer fan, but these days I might only watch one game a month. College football has slowly started to wind down as well. Fortunately, my daughter doing marching band is keeping it somewhat alive.
I can’t name any new music artists. So, I’ve hit the stage in life.
Cargo shorts and bootcut jeans.
Being jealous during a relationship. If they want to go let them go, if they want to stay let them stay.
Lifetime friendship. I thought friendships ending meant something bad or wrong happened, but a lot of times, people just have different priorities. If I want someone to choose me in their day to day life, I need to find a romantic partner
Being likable by everyone.
It’s a lot easier to just be myself. If they fuck with me, cool; if not, that’s fine too.
Around 30 is when I realized that people are never convinced of anything on the internet, so there’s no sense in getting into it with a stranger about anything. Say your piece and move on.
I’m so glad I realized that stuff in my early twenties instead of wasting it trying to impress people 😭 I outgrew the last real desires for most forms of socializing really, I’ve never been one to need or want friends as they’ve always just came very easy to me but nowadays even the friendships I hold close are fine being managed almost at a distance with sporadic in person interactions
Chasing money. Used to work every waking hour so I could have the nice car, nice clothes, nice house etc. Had kids and realized I’d rather spend time with my family than chasing the dollar.
I don’t think anything really changed that sort of way after I turned 30. I think I might be more focused on completing goals around the house than I used to be, but if someone told me I was still 26 I’d believe them.
I agree with most of the peeps here. 30s and 20s were similar.
But at 39 now, in the last year I’m beginning to feel changes in my body.
It’s like my body has been in a abusive relationship with my dikhead brain. And now my body has had enough.
My body is like, “You need to respect my boundaries! Or I’m done.”
So now I gotta eat right, sleep on time, exercise, blah blah… To have the same level of energy that I used to have in my 20s.
I’m telling you, my body is beginning to act like a real bitch as it gets older. 🤣
To tell the truth, I don’t know like I still go out I drink I watch movies like I’m around where younger people are like the only thing that would change me is having a family and that’s about it
Sports. I still enjoy going to a baseball game or 3, and attending hockey games. I rarely watch any sports (aside from MMA) on TV.
I also don’t give a flying “F” what others think of me. I mean, if someone came up to me and told me I was a sack of shit and a terrible human being, I would take that personally, but I wear the clothes I want to wear, go where I want to go, do the things that make me happy, and I don’t care who does or does not approve of my actions/hobbies.
I’m not out committing crimes, but I usually wear shorts and band t-shirts when we go to the store on weekends. I dress in clothes that I’m comfortable in and don’t care if they are “in-style” or not. I’ve unfortunately been about the same size (I’m a rotund fella) for years so a lot of the clothes I wear are 15 years old, maybe older.
I like to let people enjoy the things they like, and I like to enjoy the things I like w/out worrying about what other people think.
I used to be nearly paralyzed by fear of standing out. I hated going anywhere alone. For years now I’ve not cared. I have a lot more fun and that is my advice to younger people. Enjoy what you enjoy, and let others know you enjoy it. (keep it legal).
I have cells of friends at concert venues in SoCal, I show up and I know someone in line pretty much at any venue I go to from LA to San Diego. All because I’m not afraid to talk to people any longer.
Honestly.
How much i took MMORPG seriously lol.
Growing up i snorted world of warcraft like no tomorrow lol.
Now i still play but i’m so much more casual about it
Live music, as a musician. I always felt pressured into performing live and going to shows. I like albums and recording studios.
people being wrong on the internet
Other peoples opinions.
God, I so wanted not to care about it in my 20’s, but so many of my decisions was bassed around what other people would think. What I wore, what I ate, what I liked, I didn’t tell anyone I played video games because I was afraid I would be judged, even when they had expressed interest in games.
Now, thankfully, I have genuinely reached a point where I don’t care about 90% of peoples opinions. I still care how i present myself, not so much my clothes more my grooming and cleanliness. I care about their opinion on how I smell. I care if they think I’m nice/friendly/kind.
I do not care about what they think of me playing video games, I do not care what they think of me being single and like being single. I’m not embarrassed about the fact I didn’t lose my virginity until I was 22 or that I frankly don’t find sex to be the end all of existence, it’s been 2 years since I had sex and that’s fine. I don’t care what they think of my clothes, they’re not worn, they’re washed, and they’re comfortable, stay out of it. I don’t care what they think about what I eat. I don’t care about what they think of my body. And if any of those things are enough to not make you like me, then I don’t care if you do.
Obsessing over being the best at something you can play sport without thinking your gonna be the world champion at it and being a sore loser at 30+ makes you look beyond pathetic.
Does birthdays count?
I stopped celebrating mine after my “friends” left me to celebrate alone on my 30th
I stopped caring about what other people thought of me
Dating and relationships ? … to much muck to fight through for to little reward.
I also think I’ve done a pretty good job of “not caring what other people think”. (as far as how I dress or what car I drive or etc). In my new job over the past 2 years I think I’ve only put on pants maybe 5 times. I pretty much wear shorts or leggings every day and I’m a 50yr old male. (but I do walk an awful lot. so I do have great muscular legs). I don’t really care what other people think about what I wear. Life is short. Wear what you want.
Sports. Wouldn’t say I “don’t care” anymore, but I didn’t expect the seriousness/excitement of sports to diminish so much through my 30’s. In my 20’s I’d never imagine my teams not being a deadly serious part of my life and identity. I guess they’re still a big part of my identity but it’s more casual & fun now. My team(s) winning isn’t nearly as exciting & losing isn’t nearly as awful as in my 20’s. I didn’t anticipate how the longer you live each game & season is a smaller & smaller slice of the big picture & therefore less important. When I was younger every game/season felt like life & death, but when 2018 feels roughly as recent as 2023 it just all runs together.
Career and partying all the time.
I spent a lot of my 20s worrying about what other people thought about what kind of work I was doing. In my 30s between having really hit the sweet spot and wanting to unshackle myself from expectations of people who don’t actually care, it has been great.
Partying is partially just that I’m in a different stage of life with kids. Even if I wanted to, I can’t party every weekend cause I have a kid and a baby who need me to not be hungover.
I realized that I just don’t dream of labor. I don’t have a dream job and I need to stop searching for a career I’ll enjoy and just find a career I can tolerate. I thought there was something wrong with me for years, but in reality, the question itself is kind of weird.
Drinking, partying, magic the gathering lol, video games are in the process of losing my care.
FOMO
I used to want to go to every music festival and go to every show and travel to every new destination – now I don’t give a shit.
It’s so obvious to me now how most things are cash grabs and I can’t imagine how much money I blew in my 20s on stupid experiences that didn’t provide any value or benefit to my life.
Mostly just the general vibe I give off. When I was in my 20s I wanted to appear approachable, interesting, etc. and I kind of over-fixated on making myself appear that way. As I’ve gotten older, I stopped caring about that so much – it’s tiring to try to consistently give off the impression that I’m all of these things. I keep to myself a lot more these days and don’t really think much about how others perceive me. It feels a lot more freeing.
My larger friend group. I used to prioritize them so much. I cared about them all. I’m not super close with my siblings, and so to me, they were my siblings. I’d drive 5-6 hours just to see them for a day and hang out.
Now with a wife and kid, I just don’t have the energy for it. And even if I did, the realization that I poured way more into that proverbial cup than was reciprocated is tough to deal with.
Outgrew everything. Started over at 30. New place, new people, went blue collar for work.
46 comments
College football. new music. I just don’t have the time anymore.
Following every twist and turn of the F1 racing calendar
Happened for all the sports I liked. I simply wasn’t that vested anymore.
Women
Draft beer, man. Used to drink so much and now I barely drink.
For me it’s definitely drinking and partying culture.
Also watching the latest movies definitely is up there after having a child. You can wait for it to come out on streaming services
People.
30 is not a big deal at all. It really blurs with my 20’s and have no distinct memory of any changes after turning 30. 40 is a much bigger milestone and definitely started to feel older. That did probably start in the mid to late thirties but by 40 it’s more pronounced. 30 is your officially not a teen anymore. lol
My hair 100%. i still have it, but the hairline is a little further back than it used to be. One day when it looks bad enough i’ll probably shave it all off, but til then I honestly cant gaf about it anymore. I stopped using styling products at like 31.
Fucks…….
I used to think being ready to crash out was not giving one. Now? I realized never careing enough to crash out is really giving none. Always just being willing to walk away from anyone anywhere anytime is truly giving no fucks. I used to think I needed to right wrongs and fix things. Now I realize I just need to chuck trash in the bin and replace it with better things.
If it’s not my wife or kids??? It can burn.
What people think. And I always told myself and others I didn’t care what people thought about me – but looking back I did. I still care about a couple of people’s opinions but they are very close to me.
The secret for me was realizing I don’t give a fuck about what anyone else does why would anyone care about what I do?
Drinking, sex, people etc
Dating/marriage:
Nobody wants me, oh well; I’ll just go cry about sitting on top of all of my disposable income
I stopped paying for haircuts
Partying.
Other peoples opinions, but to be fair I started not caring about what other people said or thought in my mid to late 20s
Spend a lot less emotional energy on trying to get people to like me. Turns out, spending more of that energy on myself result in being more likeable… who knew? And the people who don’t like me I just don’t really care about anymore so it’s just a huge emotional load off my shoulders.
Other peoples opinions of me. I’m approaching 40 and am completely comfortable with my family, circle of friends, and who I am as a person.
Relationships. I quit looking once I passed 30, and then six months ago my GF came along and was like “Hi!” lol.
Sports, I was a major soccer fan, but these days I might only watch one game a month. College football has slowly started to wind down as well. Fortunately, my daughter doing marching band is keeping it somewhat alive.
I can’t name any new music artists. So, I’ve hit the stage in life.
Cargo shorts and bootcut jeans.
Being jealous during a relationship. If they want to go let them go, if they want to stay let them stay.
Lifetime friendship. I thought friendships ending meant something bad or wrong happened, but a lot of times, people just have different priorities. If I want someone to choose me in their day to day life, I need to find a romantic partner
Being likable by everyone.
It’s a lot easier to just be myself. If they fuck with me, cool; if not, that’s fine too.
Around 30 is when I realized that people are never convinced of anything on the internet, so there’s no sense in getting into it with a stranger about anything. Say your piece and move on.
I’m so glad I realized that stuff in my early twenties instead of wasting it trying to impress people 😭 I outgrew the last real desires for most forms of socializing really, I’ve never been one to need or want friends as they’ve always just came very easy to me but nowadays even the friendships I hold close are fine being managed almost at a distance with sporadic in person interactions
Chasing money. Used to work every waking hour so I could have the nice car, nice clothes, nice house etc. Had kids and realized I’d rather spend time with my family than chasing the dollar.
I don’t think anything really changed that sort of way after I turned 30. I think I might be more focused on completing goals around the house than I used to be, but if someone told me I was still 26 I’d believe them.
I agree with most of the peeps here. 30s and 20s were similar.
But at 39 now, in the last year I’m beginning to feel changes in my body.
It’s like my body has been in a abusive relationship with my dikhead brain. And now my body has had enough.
My body is like, “You need to respect my boundaries! Or I’m done.”
So now I gotta eat right, sleep on time, exercise, blah blah… To have the same level of energy that I used to have in my 20s.
I’m telling you, my body is beginning to act like a real bitch as it gets older. 🤣
To tell the truth, I don’t know like I still go out I drink I watch movies like I’m around where younger people are like the only thing that would change me is having a family and that’s about it
Sports. I still enjoy going to a baseball game or 3, and attending hockey games. I rarely watch any sports (aside from MMA) on TV.
I also don’t give a flying “F” what others think of me. I mean, if someone came up to me and told me I was a sack of shit and a terrible human being, I would take that personally, but I wear the clothes I want to wear, go where I want to go, do the things that make me happy, and I don’t care who does or does not approve of my actions/hobbies.
I’m not out committing crimes, but I usually wear shorts and band t-shirts when we go to the store on weekends. I dress in clothes that I’m comfortable in and don’t care if they are “in-style” or not. I’ve unfortunately been about the same size (I’m a rotund fella) for years so a lot of the clothes I wear are 15 years old, maybe older.
I like to let people enjoy the things they like, and I like to enjoy the things I like w/out worrying about what other people think.
I used to be nearly paralyzed by fear of standing out. I hated going anywhere alone. For years now I’ve not cared. I have a lot more fun and that is my advice to younger people. Enjoy what you enjoy, and let others know you enjoy it. (keep it legal).
I have cells of friends at concert venues in SoCal, I show up and I know someone in line pretty much at any venue I go to from LA to San Diego. All because I’m not afraid to talk to people any longer.
Honestly.
How much i took MMORPG seriously lol.
Growing up i snorted world of warcraft like no tomorrow lol.
Now i still play but i’m so much more casual about it
Live music, as a musician. I always felt pressured into performing live and going to shows. I like albums and recording studios.
people being wrong on the internet
Other peoples opinions.
God, I so wanted not to care about it in my 20’s, but so many of my decisions was bassed around what other people would think. What I wore, what I ate, what I liked, I didn’t tell anyone I played video games because I was afraid I would be judged, even when they had expressed interest in games.
Now, thankfully, I have genuinely reached a point where I don’t care about 90% of peoples opinions. I still care how i present myself, not so much my clothes more my grooming and cleanliness. I care about their opinion on how I smell. I care if they think I’m nice/friendly/kind.
I do not care about what they think of me playing video games, I do not care what they think of me being single and like being single. I’m not embarrassed about the fact I didn’t lose my virginity until I was 22 or that I frankly don’t find sex to be the end all of existence, it’s been 2 years since I had sex and that’s fine. I don’t care what they think of my clothes, they’re not worn, they’re washed, and they’re comfortable, stay out of it. I don’t care what they think about what I eat. I don’t care about what they think of my body. And if any of those things are enough to not make you like me, then I don’t care if you do.
Obsessing over being the best at something you can play sport without thinking your gonna be the world champion at it and being a sore loser at 30+ makes you look beyond pathetic.
Does birthdays count?
I stopped celebrating mine after my “friends” left me to celebrate alone on my 30th
I stopped caring about what other people thought of me
Dating and relationships ? … to much muck to fight through for to little reward.
I also think I’ve done a pretty good job of “not caring what other people think”. (as far as how I dress or what car I drive or etc). In my new job over the past 2 years I think I’ve only put on pants maybe 5 times. I pretty much wear shorts or leggings every day and I’m a 50yr old male. (but I do walk an awful lot. so I do have great muscular legs). I don’t really care what other people think about what I wear. Life is short. Wear what you want.
Sports. Wouldn’t say I “don’t care” anymore, but I didn’t expect the seriousness/excitement of sports to diminish so much through my 30’s. In my 20’s I’d never imagine my teams not being a deadly serious part of my life and identity. I guess they’re still a big part of my identity but it’s more casual & fun now. My team(s) winning isn’t nearly as exciting & losing isn’t nearly as awful as in my 20’s. I didn’t anticipate how the longer you live each game & season is a smaller & smaller slice of the big picture & therefore less important. When I was younger every game/season felt like life & death, but when 2018 feels roughly as recent as 2023 it just all runs together.
Career and partying all the time.
I spent a lot of my 20s worrying about what other people thought about what kind of work I was doing. In my 30s between having really hit the sweet spot and wanting to unshackle myself from expectations of people who don’t actually care, it has been great.
Partying is partially just that I’m in a different stage of life with kids. Even if I wanted to, I can’t party every weekend cause I have a kid and a baby who need me to not be hungover.
I realized that I just don’t dream of labor. I don’t have a dream job and I need to stop searching for a career I’ll enjoy and just find a career I can tolerate. I thought there was something wrong with me for years, but in reality, the question itself is kind of weird.
Drinking, partying, magic the gathering lol, video games are in the process of losing my care.
FOMO
I used to want to go to every music festival and go to every show and travel to every new destination – now I don’t give a shit.
It’s so obvious to me now how most things are cash grabs and I can’t imagine how much money I blew in my 20s on stupid experiences that didn’t provide any value or benefit to my life.
Mostly just the general vibe I give off. When I was in my 20s I wanted to appear approachable, interesting, etc. and I kind of over-fixated on making myself appear that way. As I’ve gotten older, I stopped caring about that so much – it’s tiring to try to consistently give off the impression that I’m all of these things. I keep to myself a lot more these days and don’t really think much about how others perceive me. It feels a lot more freeing.
My larger friend group. I used to prioritize them so much. I cared about them all. I’m not super close with my siblings, and so to me, they were my siblings. I’d drive 5-6 hours just to see them for a day and hang out.
Now with a wife and kid, I just don’t have the energy for it. And even if I did, the realization that I poured way more into that proverbial cup than was reciprocated is tough to deal with.
Outgrew everything. Started over at 30. New place, new people, went blue collar for work.