--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the depressing things one realizes…" description: "\"One of the depressing things one realizes as one gets older is how much of one's tastes and attitudes are simply products of economic circumstance at t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/nick-hornby-325_depressing_one-of-the-depressing-things-one-realize_1550822.png" --- # One of the depressing things one realizes as one gets… ![“One of the depressing things one realizes as one gets older is how much of one's tastes and attitudes are simply products of economic circumstance at the time.” quote by Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/nick-hornby-325_depressing_one-of-the-depressing-things-one-realize_1550822.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/nick-hornby-325_depressing_one-of-the-depressing-things-one-realize_1550822.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/nick-hornby-325_depressing_one-of-the-depressing-things-one-realize_1550822.png) > “One of the depressing things one realizes as one gets older is how much of one's tastes and attitudes are simply products of economic circumstance at the time.” [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our preferences are heavily shaped by the economic conditions we grew up in. **In simple terms:** Economic background shapes tastes and attitudes. Key Takeaway Recognize how economics influences personal choices. Themes economics culture identity growth Mood thoughtful insightful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - career choices - consumer habits - political views Key Concepts social determinism personal development Questions to Reflect On - How have your tastes changed with your economic situation? - Can you consciously reshape preferences beyond economic constraints? A Different Perspective Changing circumstances can alter those influences over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depressing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressing/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [I qualify myself like a bottle of wine - the more I get older, the more it tastes sweet!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrice-evra/i-qualify-myself-like-a-bottle-of-wine-the-more-i-get-older-the-more/) [Patrice Evra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrice-evra/) > [One of the depressing things in England is the total orthodoxy: the law is handed down from Downing Street.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/one-of-the-depressing-things-in-england-is-the-total-orthodoxy-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [ I've seen a lot of doom and gloom and depressing things, and it's \[the\] youth that give me hope. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-cousteau-jr/i-ve-seen-a-lot-of-doom-and-gloom-and-depressing-things-and-it-s-the/) [Philippe Cousteau, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-cousteau-jr/) > [Growing up in New York, we lived all around the city depending on our economic circumstance. I also lived in Puerto Rico for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-smits/growing-up-in-new-york-we-lived-all-around-the-city-depending-on-our/) [Jimmy Smits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-smits/) > [Endings of television shows are sometimes such depressing things. It's like you're not going to hang out with these people anymore, and that's bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-aukerman/endings-of-television-shows-are-sometimes-such-depressing-things-it-s/) [Scott Aukerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-aukerman/) > [I was reading some books by Michel Houellebecq, and the first thing that comes to mind is that they're really funny, all the ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaspar-noe/i-was-reading-some-books-by-michel-houellebecq-and-the-first-thing/) [Gaspar Noe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaspar-noe/) > [Whenever I see the news, it's always the same depressing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/whenever-i-see-the-news-it-s-always-the-same-depressing-things/) [Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/) > [“surprises seldom grow more welcome as one gets older.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-greenwood/surprises-seldom-grow-more-welcome-as-one-gets-older/) [Ed Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-greenwood/) > [In one's youth, one has tremendous access to one's feelings. And as one gets older, some of those feelings kind of drift away. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/in-one-s-youth-one-has-tremendous-access-to-one-s-feelings-and-as-one/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [I love looking at old photographs. I don't know if it's something that gets more appealing as one gets older and you're trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-jones/i-love-looking-at-old-photographs-i-don-t-know-if-it-s-something-that/) [Ruth Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-jones/) > [“I observe her in astonishment, she is so changed. Has memory played me false here too, then? Did it grow and grow too, until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/i-observe-her-in-astonishment-she-is-so-changed-has-memory-played-me/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [Her grandmother, as she gets older, is not fading but rather becoming more concentrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulette-alden/her-grandmother-as-she-gets-older-is-not-fading-but-rather-becoming/) Paulette Alden > [As one gets older, this question of death, becomes more vexing and urgent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/as-one-gets-older-this-question-of-death-becomes-more-vexing-and/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The world gets older, without getting either better or worse and so does literature. But I do think that the drab current phenomenon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/the-world-gets-older-without-getting-either-better-or-worse-and-so/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [As one gets older being sad and miserable can become a bit of a habit. To counteract this, she suggests making a point of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumer-godden/as-one-gets-older-being-sad-and-miserable-can-become-a-bit-of-a-habit/) [Rumer Godden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumer-godden/) ## More by Nick Hornby > [You can wait forever for the muse to sit on your shoulder, but most of the time you know what has to be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-can-wait-forever-for-the-muse-to-sit-on-your-shoulder-but-most-of/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > […I've had a bad week." What's happened?" Nothing's happened. I've had a bad week in my head, is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-ve-had-a-bad-week-what-s-happened-nothing-s-happened-i-ve-had-a-bad/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“When they – I cannot bring myself to use the first-person plural in this instance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/when-they-i-cannot-bring-myself-to-use-the-first-person-plural-in/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“What you don't ever catch a glimpse of on your wedding day - because how could you? - is that some days you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/what-you-don-t-ever-catch-a-glimpse-of-on-your-wedding-day-because/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You've got to kick off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/a-good-compilation-tape-like-breaking-up-is-hard-to-do-and-takes-ages/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I'm still not a very good white wine, but I'm drinkable - you could put me in a punch, anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-m-still-not-a-very-good-white-wine-but-i-m-drinkable-you-could-put/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I never mind the accusations of domesticity, as long as people recognise that all of us, even the luckiest, will live lives in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-never-mind-the-accusations-of-domesticity-as-long-as-people/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I wasted the 1980s. I wasted every minute at Cambridge talking to people who knew more about music than I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-wasted-the-1980s-i-wasted-every-minute-at-cambridge-talking-to/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I took her outside on to a little roof terrace that looked like it never got the sun at nay time of the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-took-her-outside-on-to-a-little-roof-terrace-that-looked-like-it/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I feel as though I have been having conversations like this all my life. None of us is young anymore, but what has just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-feel-as-though-i-have-been-having-conversations-like-this-all-my/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I'm OK. Really. I can find people. I'll be all right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-m-ok-really-i-can-find-people-i-ll-be-all-right/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Read any women's magazine and you'll see the same complaint over and over again: men - those little boys ten or twenty or thirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/read-any-women-s-magazine-and-you-ll-see-the-same-complaint-over-and/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Defansçılar her zaman forvetçilerden daha iyi analizcilerdir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/defans-lar-her-zaman-forvet-ilerden-daha-iyi-analizcilerdir/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [On New Year's Eve he ould make a resolution to recover some his previous scepticism, but until then he would do as the Romans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/on-new-year-s-eve-he-ould-make-a-resolution-to-recover-some-his/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [It's no good looking to writers for definitions of what constitutes proper writing, because you will drive yourself crazy, and you won't find anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/it-s-no-good-looking-to-writers-for-definitions-of-what-constitutes/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) [Explore all 645 Nick Hornby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) ## More Depressing quotes > [We don't make glamorous movies today. Everything now is very realistic, artistic - and depressing. When is the last time you you saw a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-head/we-don-t-make-glamorous-movies-today-everything-now-is-very-realistic/) [Edith Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-head/) > [There is not a country on earth that could get its fiscal house in order by shrinking opportunity and depressing growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-o-malley/there-is-not-a-country-on-earth-that-could-get-its-fiscal-house-in/) [Martin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-o-malley/) > [It is true that from a behavioral economics perspective we are fallible, easily confused, not that smart, and often irrational. We are more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/it-is-true-that-from-a-behavioral-economics-perspective-we-are/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [I think it is kind of depressing how few female filmmakers there are. I think it is in general depressing how few women there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-bier/i-think-it-is-kind-of-depressing-how-few-female-filmmakers-there-are/) [Susanne Bier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-bier/) > [We're in a situation where talented, motivated school leavers and graduates can send off a hundred CVs and not get a reply, and where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jameela-jamil/we-re-in-a-situation-where-talented-motivated-school-leavers-and/) [Jameela Jamil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jameela-jamil/) > [It's so Canada. On some level, you laugh, but on another level, it's just depressing. We pride ourselves: We're not like the bad old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-backhouse/it-s-so-canada-on-some-level-you-laugh-but-on-another-level-it-s-just/) [Constance Backhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-backhouse/) > [It is, of course, a luxury to create art and, on top of this, to insist on expressing one's own artistic opinion. Nothing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/it-is-of-course-a-luxury-to-create-art-and-on-top-of-this-to-insist/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [Antidepressants sure kill your sexual life...Now, THAT'S depressing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/antidepressants-sure-kill-your-sexual-life-now-that-s-depressing/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [I read the most extravagant things about people who suffer and depress because of things written about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-jagger/i-read-the-most-extravagant-things-about-people-who-suffer-and/) [Mick Jagger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-jagger/) > [Take the story of Cain and Abel. Why were we given that story? Scientifically, you may have an explanation for it, but I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/take-the-story-of-cain-and-abel-why-were-we-given-that-story/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Despite my extremely modest prices, dealers and art lovers are turning their backs on me. It is very depressing to see the lack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/despite-my-extremely-modest-prices-dealers-and-art-lovers-are-turning/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [I've seen few things more depressing than the end-of-season Giants-Padres series in 2001 in which Barry Bonds hit his 68th homer of the year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-rodrick/i-ve-seen-few-things-more-depressing-than-the-end-of-season-giants/) [Stephen Rodrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-rodrick/) > [Everything we do really is just a little marker on the long road to death. And sometimes that’s overwhelmingly depressing to me, and sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/everything-we-do-really-is-just-a-little-marker-on-the-long-road-to/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) [Browse all 888 Depressing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One of the depressing things one realizes as one gets older is how much of one's tastes and attitudes are simply products of economic circumstance at the time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nick Hornby" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/one-of-the-depressing-things-one-realizes-as-one-gets-older-is-how/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Depressing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/one-of-the-depressing-things-one-realizes-as-one-gets-older-is-how/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/nick-hornby-325_depressing_one-of-the-depressing-things-one-realize_1550822.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/nick-hornby-325_depressing_one-of-the-depressing-things-one-realize_1550822.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/nick-hornby-325_depressing_one-of-the-depressing-things-one-realize_1550822.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One of the depressing things one realizes as one gets older is how much of one's tastes and attitudes are…” — Nick Hornby", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nick Hornby", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One of the depressing things one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/one-of-the-depressing-things-one-realizes-as-one-gets-older-is-how/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/one-of-the-depressing-things-one-realizes-as-one-gets-older-is-how/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```